I have taken my very used mazda 323 1.8 liter to mom and pop shops
because it dies on me. They have it down to either the coil or the spark igniter. It dies after
about 10 or 15 minutes and then sometimes starts up again. Mom and Pop shop says it has
no spark when it is dead.
I have put abit of money in this thing (transmission,cv joints etc) and am wondering if it is worth
fixing. The body and brakes and interior are in good shape. It has about 124,000 miles on it.

 

Most common is a hole in the distributor rotor but i have replaced tons of ignitors. The coil is way past due for replacement so my vote would be replace the ignitor/pickup and coil. A rebuilt aftermarket distributor would be the cheapest route but do replace the coil.