Impractical but great fun to drive - Mazda Miata Still not bad to drive but more practical - Honda Integra or Prelude Not good to drive but much more practical - Honda Accord or Civic Very practical - Toyota Corolla, Camry or really anything else by Toyota. As others have said, buying out-of-warranty European cars can be a risky business. Nothing may go wrong - but if it does, it will usually end up costing quite a bit. As a rather pointless anecdote, in 2000 a friend of mine bought a 1995 BMW 318 coupe. Lovely car - drove very nicely and had an upgraded sound system, leather seats with fleece covers for the front seats, moonroof, and factory alloys. Less than a year after he purchased it, as he was driving home one afternoon, the car made a sickening noise , lost all power and ground to a halt. The reason? One snapped timing belt. The cost? Several thousands of dollars due to various internal engine parts having gone awry. If you're going to get a used car more than a few years old, try to ensure that it has been serviced religiously. For those ultra-cautious car purchasers out there, Toyota and Mazda use "non-interference" engines, so that if your timing belt breaks, your engine does not self-destruct as happened to my friend's car. I'm not sure about Honda, however.
