Steering wheel belt/water pump/timing belt all at 97,000 miles... all for $899 easy to find parts, my husband says it's one of the easiest cars he's ever worked on. I had hardly spent a penny on it before that, only 1 or 2 rims because I had slid on ice into a curb or two, and tire replacement. Recently the dashboard material has started to breakdown in the sun. I never did like the windshield wiper fluid device, it was placed on the hood of the car and would clog up as soon as it got some sand in the ejector part.
This car is reliable even in 30 degrees below 0 parked outside as well as 100 degree heat. It is fun to drive, and easy to park in small spaces. I never replaced the manual transmission it never did give out. The seats are very comfortable. I kept waiting for it to give me a reason to get rid of it and get a newer car, but it never did.
Another reason to hang onto it would be that it has almost no resale value.
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