Buying a 2000 echo

[cheeks]

Hi There,

Mate of mine is trading in his 2000 Echo for $4000 and I was thinking of picking it up for a runaround whilst I finish my project car. It is the "stripper" model but has air-con.

I have a couple of queries regarding the car:

1. The air-con compressor sounds like it very close to gone. It still works but squeals like a bitch. Can someone give me a ball park figure for the repair bill?

2. It has no power steering but am wondering how hard it will be to fit if I can find a suitable donor vehicle?

3. Is there anything in particular fault wise i should be looking for?

Thanx Mark