Thanks to all for your input. I am concerned about rust that may have been "repaired" as it has had a recent paint job. I intend to get it on a hoist and have a better look underneath before I make any deal on it. The trunk looks good under the mat but has been recently sprayed with a black undercoat type material.
I will take a magnet with and check for plastic filler in the spots suggested and will have a good look under the fenders. The headliner is stained a bit around the dome type lights both front and back. Does that indicate leakage from the sunroof or is there another possible explanation? The driver's seat is a bit soft. There is a small hole in the middle of the seat where a spring punched it. I assume something has been done to avoid further problems with that spring but the seat could likely use some work. Is it difficult or expensive to repair? I assume the seat cover is available for a price. The air conditioning parts appear to be there but it does not work. The "cover" in the middle of the dash which I assume is over a speaker seems a bit damaged by time. A panel of some sort below the glove box appeared loose on the right edge. Apart from that, the interior seems reasonably good for the age of the car. The automatic transmission seems to stay in the lower gears unless one backs off on the throttle - then it shifts quite nicely - a bit hard perhaps. I didn't drive it like I stole it as the owner was with me and I didn't want to appear to abuse his car. The transmission didn't appear to slip or anything bad - it just seemed willing to stay in a lower gear unless I lifted a bit and let it shift. Is that normal or does it indicate a need for adjustment or a potential issue to be dealt with? I drove it to about 65 mph on the bypass and then into the city and around a few blocks with stop signs etc. It didn't miss a beat. All in all, it appeared pretty decent for a 30 year old car. I'm told it had a soft life but one never knows. I don't know the current owner personally. He tells me he is the 3rd owner. He tells me it has 100K miles on it. The first was a doctor who kept it a long time and supposedly did not drive it in winter. The second owner was the doctor's barber who ended up with it after providing storage for it for a few years in a heated parking garage at his apartment building. The current owner has only had it 4 years and has only driven it about 1K miles. He owns an aluminum boat building company and has kept it in the factory building since he got it as he has nowhere to keep it at home. He wishes to sell it because he is just not using it. The tires are Michelin and were new on it 4 years ago. The battery was also new 4 years ago. The current owner has replaced the short lines from one injector to the next that are overflow? I wondered how robust the starter or battery might be as it did not really sound powerful to me. I have no experience with this however so I don't know what to expect. It had been started and moved outside when I got there to look at it but I did have to cycle the glow plugs to start it the first time. I shut if off and restarted it when we got back from the test drive and it fired right up when warm. I guess the big issue is rust. I will have to see what it looks like underneath to ensure it is not just another old heap. Randy