Sounds like a youngster owned the 'go fast' car. He probably installed multiprong irridium spark plugs and one or more of the tips fell off and got stuck in an exhaust valve. Lots of work to fix. I would have the shop give me a printout of the compression on all 5 cylinders, just to be safe.

It is still a lot of money for the miles, depending on how well it was kept up.

To raise the car, you have to get new springs and struts/shocks. Not a cheap thing. If it has those low profile 18" wheels and 40 bias tires, that will also lower the car a bit.

As much as I like shifting my 850 NA car, I don't think the T5 would make for a very good commuter in its present state. And, WHY was the tranny replaced? The manual is bullet proof, the clutch usually lasting around 200K.

Personally, I would shop some more.