[greglepore]

The newer cars certainly have more stuff to break, but the older cars certainly have their issues. The 124s that Shaun is looking at have weak head gaskets (the replacements are reengineered) that are a 2500-3k job to replace, bad wiring harnesses, and known transmission issues. Still, the solidity of the car is frikin' amazing, and the interiors pretty much bulletproof.
People complain about the post Chrysler cars, but they seem as well built as Beemers from the same era, maybe better. They're not as robust as the 124's, but the build costs on those cars would have priced them out of the modern market.