When you’re buying old beaters you’ve got to have a very good eye, or a friend with a very good eye, a bit of luck, and be dedicated to treating the car very well. Ed, my friend who gets the super cheap beaters, goes over them very closely before the purchase, knows what’s broken, how important it is, and how much it will be to fix, all before purchasing. Then after purchase and initial repair he’s religious about preventative maintenance, and not pushing the car too hard or too fast. He’s good at getting 10,000 or more miles out of his little cheapies, slowly and with frequent oil changes.
My daughter’s old Jetta changed the oil all by itself. What a wonderful invention...never had to take it in for an oil change. Simply add one quart of oil with every tank or two of gas.