This.
I drive an SL1 everyday, owned it for a year, put almost 20,000 on it. It needed a radiator and that's it, everything else I've replaced (battery, motor mounts, exhaust parts, valve cover gasket) were all things I saw as annoying. I see 40mpg on the freeway during the summer and it has never let me down. 167k and still runs like a dream.
Caveat: The are little rattle boxes with some miles.