My VW Golfs Auto Tranny just went bad so i must sell it unfortunately...

I've been looking on CraigsList and was thinking of getting a 5 Speed Ford Focus ZX3(80k miles about)... the car must be reliable and last me through many years since i am not the one paying for it.

just wondering if there reliable cars and if not what problems do most of you encounter with them. also would like to know some positives and negatives possibly