Saturns and Civics are good, Metros are better, Scooters and motorcycles are best.
If it were me, and I absolutely needed a car, I would probably get a civic hatch simply because they are probably the safest and most FE cars for your price range, something in the EF chassis series which would be around 1993 or so. If you don't necessarily need a "car" and just need transportation, look into a moped or otherwise. I'm looking into getting a decent 150cc moped for around town since I already have a sedan for long trips and I found some that are just around $1000-$1500. With your budget, you could probably even get a 250cc which run between $1500 and $2000
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