What's maintenance like for a used manual car in the US?

I'm looking into buying a used car with a manual transmission, particularly a Honda Civic or VW Golf. Does anyone have experience with this type of situation?

What would the maintenance be like for these cars? How often? Is it expensive?

Any other advice is much appreciated.

Typically you'll be in good shape with these cars, buying them will be a reasonable price. Getting a vw is risky if you want to avoid paying for any under the hood issues since German engineering ain't the best… Lol. I have a '01 Golf (auto) and have had my engine light come on several times in the 2 years I've had it. Nothing serious though, it's gone away the next day. I bought it for 6k (listed for 7k) with 60k miles on it, really good shape. Sorry I don't have much information on manual maintenance.

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