Used Cars: to buy or not to buy?, ford escort station wagon, ford escapes

Question
My 1996 Ford Escort station wagon is paid for and running well for having gone over 200,000 miles and getting 30 mpg.  I've tried to maintain it and am happy not to worry about a car payment. I know I'll have to get a car eventually and would love an Escape Hybrid or that type of car, but am open to anything economical.  I'm wondering if I should keep driving my Escort until it drops and then get a good used car.  I've never bought a new car.  What do you think?  Are there some economical cars out there that are reliable, good mileage, and not costing more due to the energy/gas crunch?  Not sure what to do in these times?  Gas here is $4.19/gal and climbing.

Answer
Well it is definetly hard times out there, and I would approach this very cautiously.  I would run the escort as long as you can, but when it got to the point of possibly breaking down, I would consider something else.  I have sold new cars most of my life, in the last 5 years I have sold only used, so here is my advice.  First off,I would not buy a new car period.  You can find a year or two year old car, and save a bunch of $$$.  It really boils down to this if you can possibly pay cash for a vehicle, you can generally find some good cars for under $5000.00.  If you want something better, and are willing to make payments, what kind of payment are you comfortable with, and that would determine going for a nice under $10,000 type car, or finding a 1 year or 2 year old car.  The Toyotas and Hondas are the best bang for the buck regardless of price range.  The Ford Escapes are another good choice.  And if you end up buying a used car buy from some place with a good reputation, run a carfax report, and have the car checked out by a mechanic of your choice.