It was very reliable for the most part. I only had problems with my automatic tranny. I ended up having it rebuilt twice $$$, and it was never perfect. So I would recommend staying away from auto equipped cars. The manual tranny in those cars are bullet proof...a T-5 *I think*...the same they used in the 5.0 mustangs of that era. It was a great first car. It never left me stranded. It was what sparked my interest in cars, and Z's especially.