Those reviews are the stupidest things to go by.
First off, you don't know how well the person cared for the car.
Second, most people that are content with a vehicle don't go shouting its praises whenever possible. However, those that are dissatisfied love to make as much ado as possible about how they feel.
Best thing to do is what you did. Join a forum about the car and ask the owners how their cars are honestly faring.
You'll see some of the most common problems here are simple things such as a dirty MAF or IAC valve, or timing incorrectly set on 98+ models.
