[sfontain]

It doesn't make sense to most of us why you would buy a car with the expectation that something is going to go wrong with it.

The transmissions in the '96-'99s were not "absolute crap." Most people who tell you they were either beat on theirs, didn't maintain it, or both. They are using essentially the same two transmissions in the 2000+ that they did in the '96-'99.

Common problems to be ready for? Not if you do the maintenance, and if the maintenance was done before you got it. These cars tend to do just fine if you take care of them, just like most any newer vehicle.