Late 90's - early 2000's ES300's and GS300's (don't let the higher mileage ward you off, they routinely go to 200k without major problems, mid 90's - early 2000's 3 & 5 series, or if you are feeling adventurous Audi A4-A6's same years. IMO, you can't get much better than the ES/GS 300's if you want a loaded 4-door car that will be reliable , get decent gas mileage, and will still be worth darn near what you would pay for it after a year(s) of use. Just to give you an example, found my brother's gf's parent's a 1998 ES300 that had 100k miles on it, great condition, just had the 100k miles service done, and that thing has been problem free for 45k miles now and is so much more than any other car they could have gotten in the under $10k price range (they ended up buying it for $7k). Most peeps will saying they are boring rides, and in a sense they are, but for me I'd take a luxurious, older, reliable car over a reliable, cheap, albeit newer car any day of the week.
) and you can get a nice one for around $12k at the most, i searched for quite a few of them for a dd but decided to hold off until i move back to Texas
