Originally Posted by Christopher Shim

Then it is not a good sign because I just reached the owner prior and she tells me she usually will top the oil off every 500-700 miles so not sure if that's bad or not.

We don't know how much "topping off" is. It takes.8L between low and full. She also told me they only use synthetic for oil changes and refilling oil
She was concerned about quality, but she misplaced the money. Go non-synthetic or follow Noggin's advice. I use "Restore" additive and that fills in some cracks to reduce oil blow-by.

and that every 2000 miles she would use the fuel injection treatment by STP or Lucas. That means your fuel system is clean.
So according to her the car should be in great condition once the exhaust manifold is replaced but that oil burning and refilling seems really bad.

I might have to actually start looking for 1.5L replacement engines or look for a 1.8L Swap.

If it makes any difference I didn't have to pay that much for the car at all, but I am worried about all these repair issues that are at attention. My schedule makes it hard for me to dedicate some time to rebuild the engine that I currently have or even go to autozone to get the blinking check engine light read. You will give it to a mechanic to fix the exhaust and flexpipe. He will clear the code. He should not charge for that. If the CEL comes back let us know.

The mechanic they go to told the previous owner that the oil burning is due to old age of the car and it is NOT thing of great concern, probably a bad valve cover gasket or oil filter that it burns because of the crack in the exhaust manifold. This mechanic understands his customers. Don't put too much money in a cheap car, drive it until it dies. I would fix the exhaust $$ be damned, and the valve cover gasket set in addition to the things I posted earlier. (That's were the PO should have placed her money.) My choice for oil would be conventional "High Mileage" oil because it reconditions rubber seals, + "Restore". If you really need another engine get a 1.5L so the exhaust parts stay in place. I doubt you need a new engine. Topping off is inconvenient but a ok.

Also something I saw that was weird was when I first saw the car at the seller's place I noticed a burnt and ripped wall power cord (the one with 2 prongs and the round ground prong to plug into a house wall.) Tied around the engine near the lower right side of the engine bay, I asked the seller about that and she said that the owner before her lived in a very cold area and had to plug in a engine block heater into the wall to keep the engine from freezing temperatures. I am still not sure why the hell the ripped power cord is there and if that might play any role in the car acting the way it does aside from the exhaust manifold crack. Yes that's a block heater and you can cut that cable off and forget it. It has no effect on the engine.

The previous owner said she use to drive it in that condition for a few months going about 55mph or 60mph on the highway without any issues. She just wanted to get rid of the car off her insurance so she could buy another one.