Another happy '97 owner checking in... I bought our '97 in April '06 with 36,000 miles on the clock. We're now well over 40,000 with no real trouble to report. The car was well cared for and in nice shape when I found it. Be sure to do as rdancd816 said and get a PPI on whatever car you choose. Also, check the known trouble spots, as he's pointed out. Randall's write-up on his experience is excellent reading, as well. Don't rush into the first one you lay eyes on. They are reasonably plentiful and sales are slow, particularly at this time of year.
The '97 2.5 won't take your breath away as far as acceleration goes, but it's not a slug either. It handles and stops very well and it's a lot of fun to drive. I purposely chose a '97 because they are reasonable (allowing some extra change for maintenance and modification) and they don't have the same engine trouble that some of the '98/'99 cars do. That's not to say that the RMS doesn't go bad in the '97s because it does, although mine didn't.
Your original question was about the mileage. From what I know, (which isn't much, because I'm obviously not very smart) the car should have grenaded by now if it was going to. After all, it has been running without incident for 10 years. Forty-seven-thousand miles is about where I'd begin to be concerned with clutch life, though we recently had a clutch life thread and the numbers were all over the map. A clutch is just a maintenance item anyway, and it'll give you the opportunity to take a peek at your RMS.
Good luck in your search. Check back with us when you settle on one.
Our '97...
