I would avoid the auto in pre 2003. They are not as reliable as the manual. 2004 and later autos are pretty reliable.
The 2006 is a very nice car. However, many have camshaft issues. Replacement with a new timing belt is about $1000.
Having owned both, I like the 2006 because it's bigger and mine is loaded with features not available on the 2003. It also has standard stability control/yaw control, and is a little better in crash testing. You will get much better mpg on the 2003, everything else being equal.
Look through the buying checklists in the FAQ and see what the common problems are, too long to list here. Since you're going to bring all maintenance up to date, I wouldn't be scared of buying any used car as long as it's not been in any major accidents. In some states used cars from a dealer come with warranties, you could use that time to check for camshaft wear - make sure you know if they will actually cover it under a warranty or not first because I don't think a worn camshaft will directly cause failure until it's already shed major metal bits.
The 2006 is a very nice car. However, many have camshaft issues. Replacement with a new timing belt is about $1000.
Having owned both, I like the 2006 because it's bigger and mine is loaded with features not available on the 2003. It also has standard stability control/yaw control, and is a little better in crash testing. You will get much better mpg on the 2003, everything else being equal.
Look through the buying checklists in the FAQ and see what the common problems are, too long to list here. Since you're going to bring all maintenance up to date, I wouldn't be scared of buying any used car as long as it's not been in any major accidents. In some states used cars from a dealer come with warranties, you could use that time to check for camshaft wear - make sure you know if they will actually cover it under a warranty or not first because I don't think a worn camshaft will directly cause failure until it's already shed major metal bits.