Reply to "What are the basic things to look for"

Off the top of my head, I would make sure that any car you look at has NO RUST whatsoever. If there are any signs of tinworm, the stuff hidden in the compartments will be unbelievable. Get a car with the best body you can afford as this is by far the most expensive part of the car to get correct. Also, I am from the Midwest and it can get really humid here. The differing humidity and temperature in the summer puts condensation on the inside of the untreated sheetmetal, so summers are worse on the cars than winters (if you do not drive them in salted roads and just leave the cars sit). Monocoque cars in the midwest will rust from the inside out if left untreated in the humidity and temperature changes, even without running on salty roads in winter.

For this reason, the car will be rustproofed with that yellow Wurth rustproofing product. This is the same stuff that Mercedes and BMW uses to coat the inaccessible areas that are either welded or non paintable in the monocoque.

Engine rebuilds are cheap compared to getting bodywork correct -- the same can be said of interiors and transaxles. These are all expensive, but to get a body correct takes the "most money of them all...."

Best of luck in finding a good car -- there seems to be a lot out there, so you'll have lots to pick from -- and you should look at a lot of them so you get intimately familiar with them so you can make an informed decision.