As a prior tercel owner I must say the paseo is a good car as long as the engine does not give way.
I know 3 tercel owners (1995 and earlier) who had their engines shot, that includes my beloved 1994 tercel.
The 1997 has a revised engine but toyota still hasnt got it right. In terms of reliablity its better than the previous engine however teh same problems with regards to the waterpump that needs fixing, the valve clatter above 100K miles and the head gasket's weak nature still exists. However if the car is well taken care of and you give it regular maintainance (not just lube, air filter and rotating tyres but rather sticking to a proper scheule for things) it will give you years of good service.
For 60K its got enough life left.Most of the problems of the tercels (major ones) show up in teh 100K range. However keep an eye on that water pump that blew for me at 70K then again at 95K (the following year).
If its cheap and your not going to drive it alaska and back every day your fine.. otherwise i would look else where.