Faults:

Alternator went 4 months after purchased.

Flex pipe went 8 months after purchased.

Passenger side door sometimes would not unlock in the last month of ownership.

General Comments:

I fell in love with this car because it has a lot of "pep" for an 18 year old vehicle. She ran like she was 8 instead of 18.

Accelerated quickly with no problems, and handled like a dream. Drove it during the winter, it handled better than the family truck. Never had really any problems with her at all actually.

Flex pipe was easy and cheap to replace, alternator was a bit pricey, but she went 18 years without needing a new one.

The only problem I had with her was that she had a difficult tire size. P195/65r14's are hard to come by if you are buying used tires.

Faults:

Where to begin...

For the first 5,000 miles, the car was trouble free.

Timing chain guides broke, causing the timing to skip teeth. The timing chain actually broke, causing parts to get in the oil and fail the oil pump. Also, when we were in there, we replaced the water pump. This happened at 137,000 miles.

At 140,000 miles, it developed an exhaust leak. Never did get around to fixing it.

At 141,000 miles, it developed a coolant leak. The water pump was leaking. Had to replace water pump a second time.

At 141,500 miles, the starter started to squeal every time I started the car. Never fixed that either.

At 142,000 miles, the car started to burn oil. Previous owner must not have kept up on oil changes.

At 143,000 miles, my front motor mount collapsed.

At 144,000 miles, the transmission started slipping. Got a fluid change, and it started shifting like new again.

At 144,500 miles, the A/C stopped working. Dead compressor.

At 146,000 miles, the rear motor mount collapsed.

At 148,000 miles, the alternator went out.

At 149,000 miles, the valve cover gasket leaked a lot of oil, so I replaced it.

At 152,000 miles, it developed a slight knocking sound. It didn't sound like a rod, but it didn't sound like a lifter either. It sounded more like piston slap, but it did it all the time.

At 154,000 miles, the right CV joint broke.

At 154,300 miles, the front brake calipers developed a leak.

At 156,000 miles, the left CV joint broke.

At 157,000 miles, the motor mounts failed again. Never understood why.

At 159,000 miles, 2 bolts on the lower support (where the rear motor mount mounts to) decided to break, causing the engine to sag and it to run rough.

At 160,000 miles, the transmission started to whine real loud. At this point I said forget it, and just let it die.

General Comments:

The interior on this car is bullet proof and very modern for the age of the car. It was extremely comfortable, and I could see myself driving it across the country. If only the engine would have made it there.

Before I started having problems, the car was seriously quick for a four cylinder.

After the first 5,000 miles, it was just a headache. Good thing the car is so easy to work on myself cuz I saved thousands of dollars by fixing it myself.

Faults:

Timing chain guides broke at 138,000 miles.

Exhaust manifold bolts broke somehow, causing slight exhaust leak at 145,000 miles.

CV joints replaced at 152,000 miles.

Front motor mount replaced at 152,000 miles.

Rear motor mount replaced at 156,000 miles.

Valve cover gasket started leaking at 155,000 miles.

Lower support bushings worn out at 155,000 miles.

Other than the above minor problems (and common with any car), just oil changes, tire rotations, tranny fluid change and brakes.

General Comments:

The car runs really well in any weather. Everything still works on it including the A/C and all power.

The car was bought used, and as with any used car, it comes with its own set of problems. The owner before me didn't take very good care of it so I am fixing the damages from that, as well as taking extra care of vital components like the engine by doing oil changes every 2,000 miles versus 3,000 miles.

The car passes emissions with no problems and doesn't smoke unless driven extremely hard (6,000+ RPM's) while the engine is cold (caused by the different metals in the engine expanding at different rates, not the engine being worn). The engine runs smooth and the car is very comfortable. I would take it on a trip across country without worrying about anything.