It all boils down to one thing.
Maintenance. My car has maintenance records dating all the way back to 1993 and how much did I pay?
$800. Yep, that's right.
Bad transmission and horrible maintenance from the 2nd owner (only for a year).
I put $1200 into the car and I'm driving it every day without a hitch. All I did was give the car some maintenance it hasn't received in a year (wasn't driven much in that year) and I'm still driving. The transmission blew out, but it's been replaced with a $70 transmission from a junkyard until I get the last piece to my 5 speed manual swap.
Why not let us know some information about the car? Mileage? Price? Overall condition? I'm sure we can find a few weak points in the car for you to negotiate a price on.
It's a used car everything isn't going to be perfect. It's going to need some work..that's why it's a used car.
Good luck.