l am looking for a reliable car!
AND l dont want a super old car.
l like the neons but i'm aware they are not that dependable.
l like civics.
l like the mazda protege but still dont know how good of cars they are.
l really like nissans (sentra, altima, and maxima)

and l also can not help but love the jeep grand cherokee but we all know they have bad gas mileage.

l will be driving to and from school, and just around the area mostly.
just need somethign reliable.
and sense l live in oregon maybe something that is not bad in rain/icy roads.

and maybe kinda cute too :)

Oh, l know this one.a pink Honda Civic!!! How about it? it is cute and fuel efficient (get it lifted and it will be awesome in bad weather)!!!

A CRX 88-91 would be a great choice. They get 35-45mpg & r also fun to drive, & r right in that price range. The only problem is finding one that has not been modified, or had the entire engine swapped out.
Also key things to look for when buying any used car.
1. Is the engine/drivetrain stock? muffler, intake, chip (with the types of cars listed. You r going to run into allot of ''Ricky Racers'' who amp up their civics & other imports. That is not conducive to longevity. Honda Toyota & Nissan have a team of engineers that spent millions of dollars developing the perfect balance of performance/durability)
2. Car stereo modified? Who did the install? (If Joe Schmo did the install & now the gas gauge does not work. It would be nice to know) Electrical gremlins can be extremely hard to identify. Which equals $$$$ to diagnose by a mechanic
3. Interior quality

150K to 250K miles is not uncommon with Hondas. Mazda MX-5 can even be raced starting with 100,000 miles on the motor. So with simple maintenance, they can go another 100,000.

what ever you decide to get, a used japanese car honda toyota or mitsu you cant go wrong, low upkeep.