[sspolo]

Hello, Well I just recently got a job so now I can finally start saving some cash to buy a Camaro in around a year. In the mean time I need to buy a used car.
I've been looking around craigslist and I am interested on either a 92-95 Civic or a 95-98 Eclipse. My first choice would be a Civic since it has the 1.5 motor and the MPG estimates are really good(29-35 city 35-41 hwy).
The problem is that I'm wanting to spend around $1,500 at the most, so this leaves me with 200,000+ mile cars. So I'm wondering, what tips can you guys give me to look for on a car with these many miles?
I searched around and most people posting about a 200k mile car are bragging about reaching such number, so I didn't get much help.
The most I could find was:

1. Turn on the car and listen to how it starts.
2. Open the hood and listen to anything out of the ordinary.
3. Rev the car and listen to anything out of the ordinary.
4. White smoke = engine is about to die.

That's all I could find. Anyone else got any tips they'd like to share??

Also, I've read that there are better more reliable cars out there at that price (such as Nissan or Toyota) although those cars seem really boring and similar to me(the Toyota is basically the same from1990-2002 IMO). The Civic and the Eclipse seem a bit more stylish for that year.

I'm going to buy a V8 Camaro, so I'd like to keep the car I buy in the next few days for school or places I wouldn't trust. So I'd prefer that the car would run at least a few more years.

It would also be appreciated if anyone can share info they have on those cars in that year. Or if you know of a car (~$1,500) that is reliable at 200k+ miles.

Anyways... I just went on and on. My main point is, what should I check on a 200,000+ mile car?