HELP I need a reliable used car

Pick up a Neon and have the timing belt replaced and water pump and drive the crap out of it.
And the head gasket while your in there.....Get a 5sp if you can, the A/T is a PITA to fix. AT Leaks and almost impossible CA smog regulations here caused me to scrap a pretty nice condition 96 Breeze. Smog shop fixed it: had it for a week and put 90 miles on it and it just barely passed smog recert, by like 2 points? New cat installed after the first fail, then it failed 2nd time and off to the smog program test and fix site. Never found what they fixed but it was $2 short of the CA grant limit on fixing it before they had to buy it off me for cash for clunkers. You want a reliable truck, Id suggest (sic) an older >'84 22R Toyota. They just keep going and are super cheap to maintain.