Some context: i've never needed a car, because i've mostly lived in cities where you can get around using transit.
I've recently moved to a rural area where unless you have a car, you're shit outta luck on the weekends, because there are either no buses or one bus a day to move around. I can make it decently far riding a bike, but it is not a substitute for a car, unfortunately. I make a modest salary, and while i don't have a lot in the way of savings, i just saw a car the next town over for sale for a very low price (under 1000). I spoke to the owner and they were very clear that the car is pretty old (1999) and needs some work, but that it still works regardless.
Considering that the car would be mostly a convenience, and that gas/insurance shouldn't be too much of a expense... am I dumb for jumping in on this bargain? might I be in over my head in case the car needs a whole bunch of repairs?
You might be over your head because old cars have old parts that break, and even being confident in your own skills might not be enough. You're more than likely going to be committing multiple times the value of the car in maintenance/insurance/gas/etc. It's probably a good idea to get an estimate of what it'd take you to run the car yearly. Do some research on common problems with your car (or the platform itself) - more than likely there's an old PHPbb forum with some information you can use to get a sense of what's going to happen at what mileage.