Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, and Toyota Corolla all have very high reliability ratings. You should be able to get one that is over 5 years old with roughly 100K miles on it for under 6K. Your best bet is to buy from a private party off craigslist rather than a dealership. Just look it over really well, check the transmission fluid, check the codes for free at an auto parts store, and have your mechanic put it on the lift to see underneath. If it wasn't owned by a teenager or a blonde, and if there is a stack of maintenance receipts showing regular oil changes and a new timing belt, you are good to go. Take care of a car like that and don't beat on it, and you can get 300K out of it.