Young lawyer, small town, reliable.

-If you are in a small town, first thing to do is talk to the local mechanics and find out what cars they can repair and are comfortable workng on.

Infiniti & Lexus are pretty unusual in a small town. Doubt the local mechanic sees many of them. Repairs would mean heading to a dealer possibly quite a bit away and that means more $$$$

Mazda engines do run forever and do not break down and do not have repair bills. I got one car with a Mazda engine to 198,000 and 22 years old before I had to give it up - and that was because the body finally got beyond my ability to maintain it free of rust. We have been using the same make & model of little station wagons for run-around errandcars for several years. All have had Mazda engines. Cumulatively those 5 cars had over 1,000,000+ miles between them before they went to the car graveyard. None ever had an engine repair. All they ever needed mechanically was routine maintenance between 135K -200K of engine timing belt& water pump one time each and wheel struts/bearings one time each and some hosese rpelaced for around $2000-2500 over the life of the car.

Mazda engines are great! (Honda too. ) Good mileage and cheap to maintain.

So I think the key is to find a car that is actually reliable but is considered unreliable by reputation. This way it will have depreciated but shouldn't cost a lot to repair - "Hitting them where they ain't"

So my suggestion is a 2006 - 2010 Jaguar XJ. An 08 can be had for around $10,000.

http://dashboard-light.com/vehicles/Jaguar_XJ.html

If you want something less "out there" consider something like an Infiniti G37

Just off lease is the 2013 Buick Encore are in the $13,000 range. Or pick up a new one for $16,000-18,000 and enjoy the included free maintence. With extended warranty on a used one for one grand or less, would provide an excellent, quiet, fuel efficent driver for smaller, rural dwelling. All while provided the quietest and a refined I terior that doesn't scream luxury on the outside.