I'll have to agree with some of the guys on here. You need to determine what is actually wrong with the car. A bad radiator doesn't mean blown water seals unless you overheated the car. Did that occur? What else has led you to the conclusion that you have blown water seals? In any case, PM or email me for the numbers of some good shops in SoCal.

I may have a stock radiator for you in a week or two.

Where in SoCal are you located?

 

I did the same thing back in '97 with my '93 Touring. Well before there was all this online support. But I was actually smart enough (had been burned before) and purchased a warranty. The car was overheating before I bought it, but not knowing the cars were troublesome ( my mom had owned an FB and an FC with zero problems), they said they fixed it and I bought it. 1 week later, it was overheating. Went back and forth to the dealer 5 times, before they decided it had to have the motor replaced. Luckily they said the warranty would cover it. Turns out the warranty company wouldn't cover it, but Mazda (Bob King Mazda in Winston Salem, NC) paid the $6K out of pocket and fixed the car. If a dealer offers a warranty on a car.........GET IT.

 

Its threads like this that make me nervous everytime I sell an fd. You were in no way screwed by the dealership. These cars are prone to this failure. You didnt do the research and now you want to blame someone else. Mazda dealerships dont know **** about our cars and if you got it from a different dealership there is even less chance they have a clue about our cars. Chalk it up as a mistake and move on with life. You can find a used stock radiator for around $75 shipped in the forsale section. Buy one, replace it, and drive the car until you can afford a daily driver. Everyone makes mistakes like this but most can realize it was their own mistake not someone elses. This car is amazing and addicting most just forget to tell you about the fact it is a PITA from time to time. Good luck either way.