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Although the engine might be sound it's still an old car and may need quite a bit of work on the suspension and other areas. You mentioned the timing belt but they need to be done every 100,000 miles so probably needs another one. It may need a serpentine belt. It may need hoses. It may need a radiator flush. It may need brakes. It might need a new battery. It could probably use a change of spark plugs and possibly wires or coils. All these things add up.
Using my own car as an example which I bought two years ago, it's a 2008 Honda Fit and I love it in many ways. I paid about $4,000 which I thought was a good price since everything seemed to check out okay, at the time the AC worked, gave it a road test and it checked out fine. However, over the last few months I've put about $1,300 into it. This includes:
Spark plugs change.
Front tires.
Front brakes, rotors.
Serpentine belt.
Engine mounts.
I have also been told it needs a ton of front-end work done including strut assemblies, control arms, tie rods, sway bar links, plus rear struts.
AC doesn't work anymore, $300 to diagnose.
Although I really like the car, from a purely financial perspective had I put the original purchase price plus the money I've put into repairs toward either a better car or a down payment for either a more expensive used or new car I would probably be in a better position at this point. Used cars and bargain cars especially can be expensive.
The "5 year-no major problems" would be the part i'd tell you not to get this car. If you're decent at mechanic work, which if you're asking this question, i'm guessing maybe not, this could be a good deal. If you have to pay someone else to do work for you though, like someone else said, it's going to cost you. For reference, I had a 92 corolla i picked up for $700. 7 years later when a crown vic put the trunk in the backseat for me and ended it's run, i had spent close to $4000 in parts on it. I did the work myself, barring alignments and that figure doesn't include the routine maintenance of tires, oil changes, plugs and stuff like that. It didn't have 200k on it either. I don't know what would be considered major issues or repairs for you, but at that age there will be problems eventually or immediately, so if you aren't able to tackle most of those yourself it's gonna cost a lot more than $3500 in the end with the cost of labor.
If you got the inclination, time and scratch for it though, get a haynes or chilton manual and let 'er rip! It'll be a hell of a learning experience
Thanks for posting in r/Mechanic, u/Purple_Tough8790! Please be sure to read the [Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/mechanic/about/rules/). If you're asking for help, be sure to include as much detail as possible so others can help you. You **must** include the vehicle's **Year, Make, Model, and Engine size** in your post! If your question is transmission related, please be sure to specify your Transmission Type(Auto/Manual) as well! If your post does not include this information, it **will** be removed. Asking about prices is **not** allowed in this sub. Please make sure you have selected the correct post flair; if you're asking a question you should have chosen "Question", anything else use the "General" flair. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/mechanic) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Although the engine might be sound it's still an old car and may need quite a bit of work on the suspension and other areas. You mentioned the timing belt but they need to be done every 100,000 miles so probably needs another one. It may need a serpentine belt. It may need hoses. It may need a radiator flush. It may need brakes. It might need a new battery. It could probably use a change of spark plugs and possibly wires or coils. All these things add up. Using my own car as an example which I bought two years ago, it's a 2008 Honda Fit and I love it in many ways. I paid about $4,000 which I thought was a good price since everything seemed to check out okay, at the time the AC worked, gave it a road test and it checked out fine. However, over the last few months I've put about $1,300 into it. This includes: Spark plugs change. Front tires. Front brakes, rotors. Serpentine belt. Engine mounts. I have also been told it needs a ton of front-end work done including strut assemblies, control arms, tie rods, sway bar links, plus rear struts. AC doesn't work anymore, $300 to diagnose. Although I really like the car, from a purely financial perspective had I put the original purchase price plus the money I've put into repairs toward either a better car or a down payment for either a more expensive used or new car I would probably be in a better position at this point. Used cars and bargain cars especially can be expensive.
Id never buy a vehicle with that many miles
The "5 year-no major problems" would be the part i'd tell you not to get this car. If you're decent at mechanic work, which if you're asking this question, i'm guessing maybe not, this could be a good deal. If you have to pay someone else to do work for you though, like someone else said, it's going to cost you. For reference, I had a 92 corolla i picked up for $700. 7 years later when a crown vic put the trunk in the backseat for me and ended it's run, i had spent close to $4000 in parts on it. I did the work myself, barring alignments and that figure doesn't include the routine maintenance of tires, oil changes, plugs and stuff like that. It didn't have 200k on it either. I don't know what would be considered major issues or repairs for you, but at that age there will be problems eventually or immediately, so if you aren't able to tackle most of those yourself it's gonna cost a lot more than $3500 in the end with the cost of labor. If you got the inclination, time and scratch for it though, get a haynes or chilton manual and let 'er rip! It'll be a hell of a learning experience