Top used cars — $4,000 to $6,000
• Suzuki Aerio. A compact sedan with a bigger engine, better warranty and lower price tag than others in its class. Above average reliability according to MSN, and even available in all-wheel drive. You can find an 02 for $5,300 or so; an 07 can be had for a little over $11,000.
• 98 Honda Civic. No list of best-bet used car is complete without a Civic or an Accord from Honda. We plunked the 98 Civic in here. Around $5,500 -- and good gas mileage to boot (27/34)
• 95 Toyota Camry / 97 Toyota Corolla. No list of best-bet used cars is complete without these two dependability stalwarts either. (In fact, including the two Hondas above, these four cars hold their value as well as any vehicle on the market.) According to Kelley Blue Book, both of these Toyotas can be found for around $4,900.
• 93 Volvo 240. The Yuppie standard, the safety tank, the box that just keeps on rolling. Not cheap to fix when something breaks, but a car known for things not breaking; you can find a 93 in the $4,900 range -- which says a lot about a 15-year-old vehicle. (Note: a friend of one of our staffers is still driving around Richmond, Virginia in an 88 Volvo 240. Twenty years old and still worth $2,200 according to KBB.
What just missed this list:
• The Volkswagen Jetta. Mixed opinions on this car and its reliability. The best rated model was the 96, and you can find one for about $4,600.
• The Chevy Prizm. According to About.com, this is "an absolute sleeper of a car. It's basically a Tooyta Corolla sold as a Chevy." (Today, the most common Toyota/GM shared car is the Toyota Matrix / Pontiac Vibe). The 98 and 02 models have held up well in reliability, according to Consumer Reports and MSN, and fuel efficiency comes in at 27/37. You can find a 98 for around $5,000; an 02, according to KBB, will run between $6,600 and $7,400.
Other Price Ranges:
$4,000 to $6,000
$6,000 to $8,000
$8,000 to $10,000
$10,000 to $12,000