I've had my 1242 8v for 3 years now. Broke down once- my fan belt was threading itself to peices.
Other than that, I've had usual rocker cover gasket (very cheap) and also replaced the sump. All in all, not bad reliability for a 10 year old car.
I often go on trips of a few hundred miles, and it eats the miles up no problem. As it's been said, don't expect to pay peanuts for a good runner, be prepared to ask questions and make sure you give it a good look over before you buy it.