Faults:

Both front CV joints were going when I bought it in 2005, and I finally replaced them in 2010 with about 160,000 miles.

Muffler 3 times and intermediate exhaust pipe once.

My front passenger side brake caliper seized up at around 100,000 miles, and my driver's side caliper is starting to go bad at about 177,000.

It does leak oil, but it isn't more than half a quart every 3,000 miles.

The seats have seen better days.

The window and door seals are currently glued on.

The passenger side rear door will no longer open, and I have no idea how that happened.

The trunk was poorly manufactured, there were two holes mirroring each other at each corner, which leaked every time it rained; it took me a while to find the source of the water. Based on the mildew smell, I finally tore all the padding out of the trunk at 160,000 miles.

My temperature and fuel gauge went out at about 90,000, and now work whenever they feel like it.

I blew an AC hose at about 80,000, got it fixed, and it stopped working at about 120,000.

General Comments:

This car gets phenomenal gas mileage. I have gotten 38 miles per gallon on the highway, but average about 33-34 and about 27 in the city. Even though it is not aerodynamic in any way (I named mine Hamilton after my toaster), it does surprisingly well in the MPG category.

It has an automatic 3 speed transmission, so it sits really easily at 55 mph, and when you travel above 65 mph, it sounds like the engine is going to jump out of the car. It doesn't have a tachometer, so I can't fathom what the RPMs are at 80 mph.

Highway travel is efficient, but this car is not comfortable. Once you sit in this car and drive it for 4 hours at a time, then sit in another car, you can absolutely notice a difference in the level of comfort. The seats are hard and there is no real lumbar support. If you have back problems, driving long distances in this car will irritate you.

Hamilton does not do a great job at reducing sound either. The road noise is something you get used to, but if are going from a newer car to this one, you will notice a difference.

Because he is so boxy and light, wind easily manipulates him while traveling. Semis really move him around when they pass, and it gets hairy sometimes if the weather is really bad.

My biggest problem with it has been the exhaust system. Probably due to poor replacement parts and bad luck, but I am on my 3rd muffler, and for a while I didn't have anything past the catalytic converter, and the car sounded like a tank. Each muffler has lasted about 20,000 miles, and you can only drive it around without a muffler for so long before you can't take the noise, or you are just straight embarrassed.

Also, I am not entirely aware of what the safety standards were in 1989, but based on its weight and its inability to reduce noise, I feel like I am driving an aluminum can, and if I get in an accident with anything other than a car, I do not believe the seat belt will help much.

Overall, this car has been great to me. I pretty much do all the maintenance (oil changes, replacing filters, rotating tires, brakes and even some body work) myself, and it is so old that I am not afraid to hurt him. Based on the fact that I have taken pretty good care of him, I anticipate that I will be driving him around for another 50k - 100k miles, and I am confident I will be behind the wheel when he reaches antique status in 2014.

Faults:

Alternator $120.

Starter $90.

Had to buy body parts to make it nicer $300.

General Comments:

I lost my license and job, and finally got my job back, scrounged and begged to get money for a car, and found this online for $650. I rode in it because I had no license, and then talked him down to $500.

The starter went out, so I took it apart, and it was black sludgy oily burnt all over, and did not look like it could start anything ever. I was too broke to fix it, so I push started it for months going to temp jobs.

It is a dream to push start; put it in second gear and it can push start in about 5-10 feet.

It is quiet and runs like new. The only signs of age are wear marks.

An unbelievable machine; my girlfriend bought it, and I still get misty thinking about how this great car got me back on track.