How much should I expect to pay for a car? And what do I need to know when looking at used cars?

I would also look at Hyundais. They are just as reliable as Hondas (according to Consumer Reports). They don't hold their resale value as well, however. This makes them excellent values as used cars. You can get a 2000 Elantra for around $3500. This year they also had a station wagon version, which might be good for hauling around stuff.

Oh, yeah - you definitely want to have a mechanic that you trust look over any used car that you're thinking about buying. This has the added benefit of being a test for the seller - anyone who doesn't want you taking the car to get inspected is not someone whose car you want to buy. Also look for a car that's got the maintenance records and that the car's getting regular oil changes, etc. A lot of folks recommend doing CarFax on a car they're interested in.

My personal experience is that cars tend to cost money after ten years - it seems like it takes about $1000 a year above basic maintenance to keep it in good shape after that time. So, if you want high reliability and need to car to last for four years, I would get a 2002 or newer. If you only need it for a year or two then a 1999 or 2000 might be fine. Obviously this is a very, very rough rule based solely on personal experience with about 5 different cars. I would also recommend that you go to the library and get the most recent Consumer Reports Auto Buying Guide. They give reliability reports for model year for each make of car. they also have a list of recommended used cars in different price ranges. When you are ready to go shopping, http://www.cars.com seems to have an extensive listing of used cars culled from all sorts of different sources. http://www.edmunds.com/ has a nice feature for estimating value based on local factors.

chiming in on getting it looked at by a mechanic - you can get an http://www.aaa-calif.com/auto/maintain/vip.aspx (that's the CA site). It costs about $100 IIRC, but it's a worthwhile investment to ensure you're not buying a lemon. Of course it's no guarantee that the thing won't curl up and die in a few months, but it's a good start in what essentially is a crapshoot market. The mechanic should also give you an estimate of the cars value, so you can tell if you're getting a good deal. And he'll be able to advise you on impending collateral expenses: need 4 new tires soon? - not cheap. As an added bonus, if you suggest to the dealer that this is something you want to do before you consider buying and they balk, you know it's time to walk away. Oh, and look around you - notice how there's a predominance of old Civics and Mitsubishi Galants on the road, and not so many Ford Escorts and Chevy Cavaliers...?

Oh, and on the note of Carfax reports, in CA it's state law that the Carfax report is displayed on used cars sold from dealerships. It might be the same in your state, otherwise again it's worth forking out a few bucks to see if your new ride was in fact previously written off.

If I'm traveling long distance (about 250- 400 miles ) once or twice a month, I would invest around $5000 in a car. Probably something like a - 1996 Honda - 1996 Toyota - or a 2002 American car like Ford, etc ... Try to find something under 100K miles.