Good used car buy.

My wife bought a 2000 4-cylinder LX before we got married. I was actually pretty impressed with this car - the 2.0 liter I-4 isn't the smoothest or quickest engine in the world, but it moves the car decently - and you can get 30-32 mpg on the highway with it (with the automatic). Back seat passengers have excellent leg room, as well.

From what I can tell, 626's had some major issues with automatic transmissions from 1994-1998, but apparently they fixed these issues by 1998. We've got almost 50,000 miles on our 626 and - other than being a little clunky - the transmission still operates effectively.

Don't expect much performance from the 2.0 liter/automatic combo. It gets the job done and the mileage is decent. Some reviewers complain that the engine is underpowered for the size of the car - but the car is actually under 3000 pounds, which is pretty small these days. This engine/transmission performs well in flat parts of the country, but struggles more in mountainous regions.

Resale values on this car are very low. Buy one used and enjoy it. You get a lot of car for the money. It's not up to par with the Hondas and Toyotas of the same vintage - but it's a better bargain