here is what I did when buying my 2012 mitusbishi lancer for 7k. You struggle to find something after looking through multiple dealerships and suddenly the bank your mom works at, has a client who dies and their estate just wants to get rid of the car and not make a profit and you buy it. this is also my 2nd dead lady car. She did not die in the car (sadly)

I had a nissan, I ran that thing into the ground and it was worth it. Lasted me 6 years (I also did not treat it that well) when another brand would have died a lot sooner