Reliable cheap commuter car

I'd check into how new of a Ford Focus you can get for that amount of money. 2005 onwards (after the interior was redone) should be pretty reliable, and they drive well.

A small Honda or Toyota would probably be more reliable, but you'd have to get a much older car to get one for $3,000. So this would likely even out.

Best of the bunch--if you can drive a manual--is the performance-oriented ST. Just a few of those around the country with asking prices under $4,000, but where there are a few maybe there's one for you.

A lot of people swear by the older Saturns, either the SL's or the L200. They can be bought uber cheap.

A Prizm (Geo or chevy) is a corolla for chevy money, always a good choice.

Personnaly, i have had great luck with Jeep Cherokees with the 4.0 and AW4 automatic. The drivetrain is bulletproof, just watch out for door and rocker rust.

I have an 11' Fiesta now that was $12k, I replaced my Suzuki Aerio. Never should have! My Aerio had more room & more reliable than Fiesta & I turned it in with about 250k on it. I only had to replace 1 wheel bearing & Suzuki parts were very affordable. I had the front wheel drive but they also have a 4x4 version.

I was getting about 30 mpg with it & that was with winter tires. Car was great in the snow & on dirt roads.

Reliable? Cheap? DavidNorbert I think covered it the best here.Saturns & Prizms are dead cheap and will get you places. Suzukis are also great (I have an SX4) but you have to either be handy with a wrench or make sure there's a local shop around that will fix them - no Suzuki dealers anymore.

If you are willing to go back 20 years and you live south of the road salt line you may consider a '95 to '98 Mazda Protege. Their weakest point is the air conditioning and a CEL for catalytic converter warm up efficiency. A manual transmission would be more reliable than one with the automatic.

Consider a Mazda 262 but only with manual transmission.

Of course with any car this old have it checked by a mechanic of your choice before handing over the money.