What's a good car for around 5000?

How long is a piece of string? How high is up? How deep is down?

Maybe you can try getting answers for some of the other unanswerable questions too...

Out of those 4 mentioned, pick either the Toyota or Acura. They generally have much lower maintenance costs.

But, as with any used vehicle, make sure to have it inspected by a 3rd party dealer or other trusted shop prior to finalizing the deal. This is your best defense against being saddled with any unanticipated repairs within the foreseeable future.

A used Honda Civic for sure, make sure it's been maintained. They are great on gas, and if maintained, it's pretty common for them to last well past 200,000 miles. Honda accords are great too but are usually a bit more expensive, a bit roomier, and a bit worse on gas. They're more of family cars, but we got our used 2001 Honda Civic for 1000$ and our used 2007 Honda Accord for 8000$. Both with a bit over 100,000 miles. Either is great. Stay away from fords whatever you do!

Buy Japanese or Korean such as a 2000-2006 Toyota Corolla, Acura Integra or Hyundai Elantra. Look for one owned and driven by an older person who lives in an upper-class neighborhood and has kept maintenance records. Avoid anything owned / driven by a teenager or young 20-something with high mileage and poor records.