the VW 1.8 engines are great..normaly VW's in general are very reliable even more so with a stick vs an auto... i have bought a few 'beaters" for not alot of money...the way i look at "cheap cars" is i fugure about $200 worth of use value per month (notincluding rutine mantainance), so in short, if i pay $500 for a car, and drive it 3 months.. i got more than my moneys worth from it..hopethat helps..goodluck