I wish the picts would blow up more but it looks like a decent car.

Look for rust and body/interior issues. Mechanical stuff can be much cheaper to fix, but a rust bucket will always be a rust bucket.

The engine should fire right off and idle smooth. A little smoke is ok when it is cold. Also if the car has been sitting it will smoke more then normal. But when warm and if in good tune these engines really don't smoke much. You really have to idle one around for awhile to get a good puff.

As for noise it will sound like a diesel, listen for loud sounds that sound like someone is hitting the engine with a hammer.

As for the rest of the car make sure high dollar items like the sunroof, AC/climate control, abd cruise control work. Everything else is pretty cheap and simple to fix.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200