My personal advice:
They're good, solid cars so long as you know the history of the car you're buying, OR you buy from a reputable dealer that offers a warranty. Next time you're due for an oil change, go full synthetic (you'll never look back) and make sure to stay on top of your oil changes. Also, stick to a maintenance schedule:
(Just a quick example)
- Oil change every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. ($20-30)
- Rotate/balance tires about every 5,000-10,000 miles and check coolant levels, replace when necessary. (Depends on shop)
- Approximately every 20,000 miles you'll want to replace your brake pads (Depends, but expect to spend somewhere around $60-70 for a full set of OEM-quality replacements) and also change your transmission fluid.
- Every 30,000 miles, change the air filter and spark plugs, and you might as well change the wires while you're at it. ($15 for filter, $15 for plugs and $30-60 for wires)
- At 50,000 miles you'll want to have your transmission fluid flushed, and filter replaced. (Depends on shop)
- At around 60,000 miles you'll want to replace your rotors, flush your coolant system, add new coolant. ($200-250 for a set of OEM-replacement rotors, and coolant maintenance depends on the shop)
- And at around 90,000 expect to replace your timing belt, water pump, tensioner etc. (Typically ~$1,200 for parts and labor)
Just want to be sure you know what you're getting into before you take the leap.
Don't get me wrong-- they're great, solid cars, and you'll find a LOT of pleased people roaming around these boards.