Originally Posted by tbomachines

That stinks!! I'm sorry to hear, but hopefully everyone was okay. I'd suggest maybe looking at a Subaru Forester, or a Mazda 3...both very good cars in that price range (though they'd be a bit older). You could also add the Ford Focus hatch to that list, since there are plenty to choose from and they are also pretty good cars. Given the price range, I'd say the 3 would be my top choice...almost ended in one myself when I was on the market last year but settled for a VW GTI.