I bought '97 Escort back in 2002 when it was 175k for $1500. And, already started rusting and very bad tires although they were fairly new.
The work done on that car:
- Alternator (worn out, replaced it myself) $120
- Battery (worn out, replaced it myself) $60
- Spark plugs(worn out, replaced it myself) $20
- Clutch (no real reason,friend replaced it, I helped) $180 parts $100 labor
- Brake Pads (worn out, replaced it myself) 1st $20 cheap, no grip, worn out fast, 2nd $45 grip much better last longer.
- CV Joint (Problem while getting to the clutch, apparently it was welded to the hub) $0 part of clutch job
- Radiator (leaked then added Stop Leak, last foe 25k miles, created over heating, replaced with used one for $300 ran fine for another 10k)
- Tires $450 put in good A/S tires, much better tires than ones that come with
- T-belt ( started ripping and make whipping noise and replaced it, luck me not broken all the way yet) $120
Overall, it was a good cheap car. Rust even further, decided to sell it in 2008 when it was 240k for $800.
I spent about $3k for the car in total and get back $800. Roughly $2200 for 6 years or about $370/year. Not bad at all.