What are the most reliable vehicles i can buy for around 7000 or under?

Question

i am an 18 year old college student and i need a reliable way to get to work and school, i dont know anything about mechanics so when my car breaks down (which it seems to do about once a week) i just freak out and cry. the car i drive now is a VW beetle and the parts for it are about twice as expensive because they are european. so basically i just need advice on what type of vehicle i should be looking for i was thinking maybe a neon, taurus, stratus? or even a small truck like a ford ranger- ive heard theyre pretty reliable. i just need something that wont break down or cost a fortune to fix, and preferibly on the smaller side, cuz i suck at parking large vehicles, lol

please anyone with knowledge of cars help me out!

thank you

Answer 1

a used Honda Civic is your best bet.  

Answer 2

If looks aren't an issue always go with the japanese.

Older toyotas and honda sedans are bland, but they last forever

Any Honda accord /civic or Toyota camry / corrolla is a safe bet the only issue is  that these car retain their resale value well so  one under 7,000 may be several years old.

You also may want to look at hyundai, If you can stretch your budget a little I think the 2008 accents start at 8000 and they come with  a 100K / 10 year warranty. Also 2-3 year old accents and elantras def. fall in your range

Stay away from Dodge/chrystler....

Answer 3

If your looking for something reliable, don't go for a Dodge/Ford/GM if your buying used.

Try looking into a honda civic or a toyota corolla. They're highly reliable (My corolla had 140k miles on it when i traded it in), and amazing on gas. Plus, they're super cheap to fix because there are so many parts to them!  They're small, compact, and easy to find- Perfect for the college student.

Answer 4

$4,000

98 Acura CL

98 Ford Mustang V6

98 Honda Accord or Civic

98 Nissan Frontier or Pathfinder

98 Subaru Impreza or Legacy

98-00 Toyota Corolla or Echo 00

Dodge neon is very unreliable, avoid

Ford Taurus

04 sedan $6K, 03 $4K

Dodge Stratus also unreliable, avoid

Ford Ranger 2WD

98-00 $4 to $6,000

01-02 $6 to $8,000

look at Mazda Protege

98-00 $4,000

01-02 $6,000

Toyota Echo

00 -02 $4 to $6,000

03-04 $6 to $8,000