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Re: Purchasing 2002 Prizm.
Overall - you can't beat the dependability of a PRISM (or basically the Corolla). Several years ago, I went to a Chevy dealer and was talking to one of the mechanics there and he said that what he drives. The service mgr said they ONLY THING they see those cars for are for oil changes !! That's it. A few years ago, I bought a 2002 for my daughter and it has been bullet proof. She's a young - but good driver - but still drives it likes she's at the Indy 500 track. In spite of this - it keeps going and going. A few months ago, I bought a 2001 for myself. The one I have has 95k miles on it, but even after 3000 miles - the oil is still so clear that you can't hardly see it on the dipstick. Bottom Line - I think the sludge problem is rare. As far as other problems - I'm not aware of any other ones. The main thing is to keep the oil changed, do a complete flush of the trans fluid and be sure the front end components are tight. You'll have to do struts and maybe rear stabilizer links - but any car will need these after a while.
Long story short: These cars are bullet proof if you maintain them. I just got 40 on the highway with mine and consistently get 35 running back/forth to work. It's a real gas sipper. Good luck.
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