Help with Ford Escort vs. Saturn S-series

Hi all,
I've been searching for a used car at or under $2,000. I had originally wanted an older toyota or honda, but due to time constraints (I need the car ASAP to get to school and around in general), it doesn't look like I'll be able to wait until I find one.

What is popping up, however, are tons of older (93-99) Ford Escorts and Saturn S series.

I've been reading horror story after horror story about Saturns guzzling oil, especially from www.carsurvey.org (http://www.carsurvey.org), even though MSN Auto seems to have nothing to say about that besides those cars being decently reliable.

Escorts, it seems, don't have a particularly great reputation either.

Given the choices,
-95 Saturn SC 100k (needs inspection, will need tires) asking $1950

-96 Saturn SW 108k (just passed inspection) asking $1750

-97 Escort LX 150k (new tranny, breaks, tires, battery, alternator) asking $2000

-94 escort 117k (needs tires, breaks, inspection, cosmetic issues) has new clutch asking $750

-93 Escort hatchback 130K (needs inspection) new clutch asking $1200

-98 Escort 144k New tires, just inspected asking $1500, willing to drop. Original clutch though.

In general, am I better off with a newer one of these cars? (as in late 90's versus early 90's)

Any big, known problems with Escorts, or ones with Saturns besides the oil problems?

All these cars are manual transmission BTW.

Thanks for the help,
Steve Q

Saturns are good cars overall. 4 bangers in general burn oil more than other engines, though Saturn is one of the worst. As a former Saturn owner I have to say maintenence is key in order for them to run a long time. Are you mechanically inclined? Doing your own maintenence is best. Oil change every 3000 miles and not a mile over no matter if you use synthetic, non-synthetic, or part-synthetic. Keep EGR valve and throttle body clean. Its best to use the recommended NGK spark plugs. Don't ever put platinum plugs on a Saturn. Swap out the ECTS for the brass tipped unit from Saturn if it hasn't been done already. These are a few thing to think about from the top of my head when owning these cars. My dad is on his third Saturn and has been trouble free on all of them.

if you had to choose one of the i would go for the best deal being the 94 with 117k miles. you might have to put what your paying for it back into it for repars you said but it will ltill have the lowest miles and that really what you want when buying used.