i think it really just depends on your immediate financial situation, if you need to get out, i think you should be looking harder at the 35mpg for under $1500 category.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...mpg-30489.html
$3500 for a shiny '96 doesn't sound like that much better place to me than where you are in the long run. if you were sitting in a 20, or even $15k car right now i think making a move would be alot easier to justify, but owing 7k on a '14 anything isnt too bad of a boat to be in