What kind of car should I get?

[elkinrutdrivemenuts]

In that price range you can find a nice TDI Jetta and have a great commuter car.  You will love the 700+ miles to a tank

[fillthefreezer]

toyota corolla or camry. between my last two im at 700,000 miles

[Skillet]

LOL, I would sooner walk than buy a used VW.  Probably be walking if you bought the VW anyway... I've never owned one that didn't have an electrical gremlin in it.  Of course, I've never owned one newer than a 1998 - but those cars have been so bad for me (and one of my co-workers who found out about the auto in his Jetta) I'll never own another that I have to rely on for transportation.  Won't take many of the regular repairs those things need before you lose any advantage in fuel savings you thought you had...

My commuter is a 1999 Toyota Solara (two door camry) with a manual trans.  I really like it - 30 mpg on the highway and 24 in town, peppy enough, has been completely free of problems. Based on your list and my preferences, if I'm you I'm looking for that low-mile Mazda 3 with a manual trans.   

[bracer40]

Get the most recent issue of consumers report "Cars Issue". They'll provide you more hard data in one place than you'll find anywhere else. And being a non-profit organization, they're about as an un-biased source you can find.
Every car I've purchased was researched 1st in CR.
Never been unhappy with a single vehicle.

You can probably find the most recent issue free in the resources section of your public library (a gov't funded agency I love!)

[baker5150]

I switched my wife from an Audi to a TDI Jetta, I will never look back.

Repair cost may be a bit more than the Japanese cars, but I more than make up for it in fuel savings.

Audi's are 100,000 mile cars.  They are just too expensive to repair, you can't even get wiper blades from anywhere but the dealership. 

[huntnphool]

 I'd be looking at anything made by Honda or Toyota and run like hell away from anything European.

[fillthefreezer]

Repair cost may be a bit more than the Japanese cars, but I more than make up for it in fuel savings.

really? my corolla avg 38. with fwy tanks up to 42 and my camry avg 29 in town with 32 all fwy

[TheHunt]

Prius...  All hunters and fisher-people should be driving one.  LOL...   

If it was me, I would choose a Toyota

[gee_unit360]

toyota corolla or camry. between my last two im at 700,000 miles

[DRobnsn]

Prius...  All hunters and fisher-people should be driving one.  LOL...   

If it was me, I would choose a Toyota

It's hard to argue with the idea that at the daily mileage he's talking a Prius will essentially make its own payment in fuel savings over buying and fueling most mid 20mpg rigs. Yes they are ugly and yes they have a stereo type but money is money. Plus they are extremely reliable with very little maintenance. Just tint the windows so no one can see you and put some hunting stickers on it 

[Special T]

I would vote a vw TDI over a Prius any day