Quote Originally Posted by Vayda
What about a european car? BMWs and Volkswagens/Audis have great reliability records at higher mileages, so you could go with an older one with less worry. They also tend to pack on the safety features, which will drop your insurance. Most aren't coupes, which also lowers insurance. You wouldn't have fart can complaints or that sort of thing, engine parts aren't really as expensive as everyone says, and it's fairly easy to find a manual if you're into that.

I only suggest this because it's a third option you didn't detail at all in your post - you just covered japanese imports or domestics.
Thats true, I haven't really thought about the European market. I'm really not sure where to start as far as a euro car goes. A 95 M3 would be sweet, but then again, there goes the insurance thing again...damnit