Matt,
I bought my R33 with a similar problem. I did, however, have the car inspected before I had bought the car. He was 90% certain it was the coilpacks (which as you've found out, it a common problem).
The tacho was also faulty (again, a common problem)
So knowing that those things are wrong, and also knowing fixing both are very straight forward diy's, I got quotes from professionals to fix both, presented that to the seller and shook the f*ck out of the selling price
Naturally any quotes from mechanics are going to be sky high when they quote factory parts! Haha
He accepts (as like your seller, he knew f*ck all about cars) because he thinks his car is terminally ill, and you make a killing - with extra money now ready for mods! Good luck.