Speaking of cheapo cars...

[xxxalexxxx]

from my experience, Hyundai cars are very reliable, great quality (newer ones have like a 10 yr warranty anyway) and pretty comfy and you can get them for really cheap. So I would go with that. My brother in law drives a Sonata for business and the car isn't exactly taken care of as a car should be but he hasn't had one single problem with it in the last 10 yrs ( its a 98) except the window on the passanger side wouldn't work because the window motor gave out but even that was covered by the warranty. I would say its your best bet for the cheapest price.

and yes mini coopers do come in automatics as well. They are a little more pricey though vs most of the other cars u mentioned originally

[lapis986]

Toyota of orlando has ads all the time on tv here. They recently advertised a Corolla (sure it was a base model) for like 12K. High volume dealer I guess? You could probably recoup most of that when you sell it. Lots of service people here (working in the theme park service industry) who don't make too much money so cars in that price range or lower if used are always marketable. My Acura 3.2 has about 162K on it and runs like new- seriously everything works including the seat heaters. Killer Bose stereo was stock, ample room for a couple adults and friends to go out on the town If you can pick one up they are one of the nicer cars I've ever driven and I got 28-30 MPG on the highway. My son drives it now, I got my box!