Help me pick out my car!

You can't go wrong with a Honda. Civics and Accords are great and reliable cars, but way too common, so I would go with a Prelude if you can find one. I got my 97 Prelude for 4k and I love it.

Whatever car you do buy, make sure that the timing belt has been replaced recently. Otherwise, you're going to have to spend another 1k or so to replace it. If the seller doesn't know, then don't buy it. If a timing belt breaks, then the car is finished.

Also don't use ebay to buy cars. Autotrader, Vehix, or Craigslist is the way to go.

 

If you want a re-sell price get a Toyota, Honda, or Mazda. You can find some nice corollas with around 100k miles for that price. Mitsubishi eclipses also look really nice and can be found with 80k miles for around that price. Plus both of those are cheap to insure and easy on gas. I have a Mazda 6 2008 and love it. Great mileage and comfort. Remember buying a car is easy but selling it for the right price isn't. Be careful and good luck.