Gen1 newb saying hello

Glad to meet you. Just bought a 2001 with 87k on it in Boston this week. Purty excited.

So far I've switched out a fuse to get the cigarette lighter working again, noticed a couple of q-tip-sized rust spots on one wheel well which will be my first DIY project, taking it to get a once-over at an independent mechanic tomorrow so I'll have a better idea of the overall state.
Oil looks good, coolant looks good, brake fluid looks good, tires look maybe. Engine sounds like a car of this age, but no knocks/pings/high idle. Most noticeable noises are from the battery system as it does it's job turning on & off. Steering is very slightly tight at the outer edges (when you turn all the way to the left or right), which would normally make me think to put steering fluid in, but there isn't any. Heard there was a recall for a bearing that would cause tight left turns, & that rack & pinion is a common problem, so I'll look into that more. Shifting between park/reverse/drive is a tiny bit stiff, but nothing I wouldn't expect for an older car. Maybe some regreasing at 90k? Carfax says the battery was changed about a year ago, still haven't gone through the service records to check, but I assume that's the little battery in the trunk. Haven't figured out how to check up on the transmission fluid yet.

Looking forward to learning a lot from you guys!

 

Oh yeah, dim headlights so far. They were rather yellow. I've started cleaning them with goop from the auto parts shop & will continue to clean them a few more times, maybe new bulbs or checking the wiring if that doesn't help.

 

I'll try that thanks. So far, I think it was just the yellowing of the bulb casing, but I'll test it out this week.