Hondas and Toyotas keep their value too well, might as well buy them new. Of course, if you find a steal on an old Accord, Camry, Integra, Legend, Lexus SC300, etc, go for it. But you'll get a newer or bigger car for your budget with another brand.

Take a look at Nissan, Mazda, Subaru. Carfax is worth checking on the individual car. Consumer's Digest's reliability numbers are worth looking at. Edmunds.com has a lot of good pricing information.

My 1993 Nissan 240SX is 14 years old, and has had very few problems - I think about $3000 in repairs over the 12 years and 80,000 miles I've owned it. My four year old Mazda has been perfect so far.

--Tony