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Avoid Foci entirely. They're garbage cars. The later Escorts, on the other hand, are pretty solid (not a surprise, being Mazda-based).
Old, non-basket-case Subarus that don't cost a fortune are hard to find, but are basically worth their weight in gold (and cheap to keep running, due to the interchangeability of Subaru parts-- all Legacies and Imprezas use the same drivetrain design, so you can swap a lot of parts around without a second thought, barring axle and driveshaft lengths). If you run into one again, jump on it. A few years ago, I was annoyed that my girlfriend missed out on a $300 first-gen Legacy that had a service history and only needed brake lines. She'd still be driving that if she got the cash together fast enough. They aren't the most efficient cars, but they're reliable, and easy and cheap to work on, as Japanese cars go.
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