Thanks for the replies--very helpful. There are no maintenance records for the car which does make me skeptical. Would a mechanic be able to inspect the transmission to determine how much it has left, or are tranny failures more unpredictable than that? I live in a metro area of 2 million, so access...

I'm also thinking about buying an 850--a 1995 sedan with 130,000 miles on it, hopefully for about $2,500 (US). I'm attracted to the car's safety, styling, and potential longevity, but I'm concerned about the maintenance costs. Is it risky to expect the thing to run well with this many miles on it? A...