First car..., does this sound good? Options

[spetsacdc]

I am buying my first car, and I am thinking about a celica.

The one for sale is a 1995 ST Liftback.

5 speed
145K miles (approx.)
a/c
power locks/windows
cruise control
tilt steering
cd player(new)
moon roof
spoiler

Replaced the clutch last year and have all mechanical records

It is in good shape with the exception of a scrape on the front passenger side fender (about 8" long?)

Kelly Blue Book private seller value is $3175


I am concerned about the milage. What problems could I run into at 145k?

I have read these are pretty reliable cars, but can someone comfirm that?

Also, I might find that it is fun to modify the car alittle as a hobby.
Is it worth it to add stuff onto a car with these high miles? I would not want to give it new stuff (paint job, bodykit) if it was about to die. It seems alittle crazy to be modifiying a car that is only $3000, what do the modifications do to the value of the car?

Also, I read that an engine you can swap for this car is the 4a-gze. Is this very hard to do, and if this enigne dies soon b/c of the high miles, how much does the engine swap cost?

Sorry I have alot of questions.

Thank you for your time.

[mark_426]

They're very reliable stock..

When you start modifying them, your cost/value won't go up much, and they generally aren't as reliable..

I doubt the engine will crap out on you anytime soon. It does depend a lot on the previous owners - if they changed oil every 10 or 20k miles, never changed timing belt, revved it high, etc, it won't be as good as a car someone cared about. You could probably find one with lower miles, but it will cost a little more.

Where are you from?

The swaps, depend on your mechanical/electrical abilities, time, resources, and so forth. There is a ton of information on this site about them, just use the search function, and check the stickies in the Engine section.