My 1987 Cutlass Ciera, 4 Door. I drove it in high school. I received it in good working order, except for a rusted muffler, which was replaced. It had 187,000 miles. It was a decent car; however, I wanted a new one. I did everything in my power to kill it. This included (it's an automatic) popping it into first gear at speeds in excess of 55-60, taking it off-roading, popping numerous curbs, and hitting numerous large, concrete objects. I also went for over two years without changing the oil. In addition, either the radiator held no fluid (it definately had a leak), or very little; I never fixed this, or attempted to at least keep fluid in it. The only major things to ever happen to my car were my brake line bursting, and my catlytic converter dying. However, the driver's side door would not open from the inside (I had to roll down the window to get out), cruise control didn't work, the turn signal nob disconnected from the steering column, the plastic seatbelt coverings all broke, and the hood had a major dent in it from when I drove without securing the hood to the body (long story). Despite all these things, nothing ever happened to the engine, transmission, or anything else comparable to make it stop functioning.
Considering that I only have about 5000 miles on my ZX2, I can't really comment on it.