Faults:

I had a spark plug blow out, but upon backtracking to find the problem, the last person to give it a tune up didn't put it back in right.

My clutch burned out at about 128,000 miles. This was my fault due to accelerating too much without shifting.

The transmission had to be rebuilt at 130,000, partially due to old age, partially because I was learning on it and couldn't shift right for the first two weeks I owned it.

Paint job is worn - I suspect due to age.

General Comments:

Gas mileage is extraordinary at 30 mpg in the city and 40 on the highway - with low grade fuel.

Even though it is an economy car, it handles fabulously. You can take a corner fast and with ease.

Though it doesn't get much power from its small engine, I seriously have not had any problems with it. Almost anoyingly durable.

In rough weather, it almost feels like it is a normal, dry road.

Cheap to buy and maintain - has had far less problems than many new cars.

Faults:

As basically all SE-R's do, mine is completely rusted out. I actually have a drywall screw holding a fender on.

Also, like the typical SE-R, the idle is crap. And I need a new MAS & O2 sensor. (typical)

My exhaust has gaps in the pipes at three different places.

And I believe that's about it. However, I will say that everything that has happened so far happens to most, if not all, SE-R's.

General Comments:

This car is my favorite car of all time along with DSM's. I bought the car for $1400, and have spent about $500 - $700. However, almost none of that money went to mechanical problems. I spent most of it KYB struts and Bridgestone Potenza tires. By the way, I am into performance. I would just say, for anyone looking for their first car and is into performance, you can't beat this. And you can easily find one with a nice body, it's just that I live in Cleveland, Ohio. And I needed a car quickly, so I bought a cheap, dependable performance car. On top of that, it gets great gas mileage. I race it all the time, and it handles the beating every time. Another great thing, if you're into performance, is that it red-lines at about 7800 RPM. Though you should shift by 7500RPM. The best thing is, it makes power all the way up to the shift point. I have beat 5.0's, Camaro's, and many other "muscle" cars. And it's one of the easiest N/A engines to swap a turbo on, because many cars in Japan with the same engine come turbo. By the way, the engine is the SR20DE. The SE-R comes turbo all-wheel-drive in Japan. And anyone who knows cars will tell you that the SR20 is basically bullet-proof. It's indestructible. And the car handles like a dream. The are one of the best handling FWD cars of all time. Best car I ever bought for the money. And easy to work on in the back yard.