Need advice for a friend
 

Ok guys, a friend is looking at a 2005 MSM. He says it looks good and has about 100k. He says there are maintenance records for it. However the current owner has been running mid grade and regular in it.

Would the lower octane hurt the engine???

My experience with MSM is strictly limited and I have not seen the car.

Any ideas on what it should be worth with good body and paint? No wrecks and the interior is supposed to look like new.

The owner is a moron. The MSM has a knock sensor, if I recall, so it probably isn't hurt.

I would do a simple compression test before purchasing because it is a turbo car that's been run on regular. You want less than 15% variation between cylinders to ensure there is no ring damage.

I don't know what they are worth.

The factory ECU is not so hot. Neither is the intercooler. You can gain quite a few horses and lose that silly horsepower dip in the midrange with a Megasquirt 3 from Reverent. And opening up the exhaust helps a bit after you get the MS in it.

The stock 17 inch wheels are very heavy and make the car slower than it should be. Lightweight 15s wake it up nicely. The Mazdaspeed Bilsteins are valved really, really well.

That jibes with my memory, although I have no idea where the knock sensor lives in the car. The tests listed are reasonable, the equipment suggested is appropriate.

If the rubber elbow on the intake manifold is still there, replace it with either the FM or BEGI metal part!!

Best place for pricing checks would be recent EBAY sales

Good luck.

Thanks guys. I will pass it on, along with the recommendation to keep any offers well below blue book and to not be afraid of walking away from the deal. There are many other MSMs out there.