The first 850 on your list sounds like it is worn out. I love the line, "our mechanic assures us it is a malfunctioning light, not the engine." That's like people who take the battery out of a smoke detector because they assume it is malfunctioning. Hmmmm. The second car may be worthwhile in light of the fact that it has been owned by people who were methodical enough to keep repair receipts. But it has a lot of miles. Any chance you can go up a step to a car from the 2000s and with far fewer miles? This may be less frustrating on the long run.