New and thinking about buying a Civic VX but need info.

[jeffcat]

INTRO:
First off, I'm new here. I previously owned a Pontiac Grand Prix GT, but the engine(and everything else) went terminal, so I'm on the lookout for a new car. Something extremely inexpensive and gets good mpg. I started out looking for Geo Metros and test drove one, but it was hacked pretty badly and the overall drive-ability was extremely poor to the point where I was pretty terrified, although I wouldn't rule a Metro out.

Anyways, I spotted a 1994 Honda VX locally. Why am I interested in this car? My mother previously owned a 1994 Civic LX and I had no problems with it's driving characteristics. I also find a hatch to be lighter, more functional, and better for mpg...all of which I'm seeking. Now, I am fairly intelligent when it comes to cars, but I am looking for something as cheap as possible due to financial hardship and not having a full time car personally. As the old saying goes, "you get what you pay for", and I understand that, so I was seeking out something with a lot of cosmetic damage that I either don't care about and/or could easily be fixed at a later date(my brother does auto body/painting).

CURRENT SITUATION
While hunting for a VX for the past couple weeks, I managed to find one in pretty rough shape cosmetically, but listed at $1300obo. Now like most, it's nearly an impossible task to find a VX that hasn't been hacked, destroyed, or otherwise tinkered with by dumb riceburner people that think a Honda Civic is a sports car. So, I called the owner and did a little stalking for information. The owner is a younger guy and riceburnerish...I know...terrifying. HOWEVER, he purchased the car supposedly from an old man and supposedly the car is in good working order with the Z1 engine and trans. He said he found another civic and decided to work on that one instead, since it needed less cosmetic work...I'm HOPING that he just set this to the side and decided to trash the other one before he started on this VX. The car has 204K miles on it, and cosmetically it has definitely seen better days, but I can live with that aspect. The brakes I guess need changed all the way around as well and he doesn't know when the timing belt was last serviced(he purchased the car this summer). After some stalking, I know the hood was a solid red when he purchased the car, but I think he started to scuff it to paint it in some ricey manner and stopped. I initially thought it might be fire related, but the engine looks fine under the hood, so I see no signs of fire...I think he just scuffed it for paint and didn't finish. My question is based on this information, how much do you think I should offer and what are some of the major issues I should look for with this Civic VX if I decide to go check it out in person?