Good point!
I consider Toyota and Honda retained value perception (and consequently, price) to be somewhat above reasonable, they tend to be priced high.
Mazda3 has more balance here, I was able to buy a pristine-condition 4-years old Mazda3 of “step above base” trim for my wife for $9K and only needed to take care about “regular maintenance catch-up”, more to make my paranoia calm, than it was really required by the mechanical condition.
That is a hope as well.
@bcohen2010 I understand the argument. I made the same one when I put the $2,000 into it. At this point I am concerned she will break down in the middle of nowhere. Yes, that could happen with any vehicle but I would argue it is more likely to happen in a vehicle that has 165,000 miles than one with 40,000. Even my dad (who knows a bit about cars) agrees. Thanks for the advice though!
This is the same argument I’m making to my daughter, who is independent now, but listens to my advise on vehicles.
She is facing the choice of running her current Nissan Altima to the ground vs. replacing with something newer and more reliable.
The car has another year or two before CVT would likely fail, but it is still driving OK-ish at 110K miles.
Car keeps accumulating other things which may be deferred, but CVT will kill it for sure, as it would not make sense to pour $4500 into car you can barely sell private party for $3K on a good day… maybe…
So, she is recognizing the choice of getting stuck “somewhere far from home” vs preventative financial injection as totally valid, and her plan is to get it replaced somewhere before winter, as a planned event vs. totally unplanned “car decided to break down here and now” event. As a bonus, she can get a replacement and then sell old one on private party sale, likely pocketing 1-2 grand above trade-in.
That is exactly what I want to prevent. Once she gets her feet under her at school she will get a part-time job and help financially but she’s transferring to a university (heading towards Law) that is pretty demanding. I want her to have the best start possible. She’s a good kid so I don’t mind. Plus, she’s paying for her own schooling. This is small in comparison. 
The last year for Cobalt was 2010 in North America. It was replaced with the Cruze. My daughter has a 2012 Cruze and I still happy with it.
We did a lease for a kia optima, $200 a month, a lease might be a consideration. No repairs, tires brakes or worries.
Barky, replacement of wear items is not covered under a typical lease. If my brakes or tires wear out during the three year lease term, it’s on me to get them replaced. I’m only covered for those items that are under warranty.
On our second lease vehicle, 36k miles allowed for 3 years, I would consider it improbable one would need brakes or tires.
Most “new” vehicles with which I am familiar needed new tires somewhere in the 20k-25k mileage range. If your car didn’t fall into that category, you should consider yourself to be… lucky.
My wife with her lousy driving has been known to go through a set of front pads in 17,000 miles. Fortunately we only have 12,000 miles on the current vehicle and the three year lease ends this August.
on every occasion I was trying to run numbers of lease vs. longer-term ownership, I was coming ahead big time, even with repairs, but in fairness, doing repairs in DIY mode saves a lot
Consider me lucky then. I still consider it improbable
Agreed! I had to replace tires on my CR-V lease. I made it to 33,000 miles. 5 months before the lease was up. sigh But, I ended up going over mileage by about 3,000 miles. They could have charged me $450 but “forgave” it since I had put good tires on it. I would lease with them again. I am looking into the better option; lease vs. used.
If her spacial sense is that bad then you should spend money for drivers lessons because I consider her unsafe for the roads.
Also for about 15000.00 a new Chevrolet Spark can be found and there are Ford Fiesta new for lower payments than some used vehicles.
Being a good parent means being concerned about one’s children, certainly. I understand that. I lived that. But one must be careful not to make life unrealistically easy for the offspring. There is a fine line between being concerned and becoming a “snowplow” parent.
I was worried the whole five years my son went off to undergrad and grad school and my daughter went off to an entire 4 year undergrad program (married and finishing grad school now). They both went to schools 4 hours distant.
I supplied them (son paid half) with older (but relatively safe) vehicles. My wife and I both worked and could afford to buy newer vehicles, but that is not what learning about life is about and as a parent, not running for a “most popular” award, but rather teaching the realities of life and the hardships and expenses was important and justified. Keeping older cars alive and somewhat reliable teaches important life skills and financial skills. My kids still respect me now.
You mentioned “single mom” and needing to “keep the price down,” so I believe buying a $10,000 car might not be the best choice. It might be better to accept that you will worry all the way until the daughter flies the nest. (With or without the car, you’ll worry, anyhow, probably).
We did not sacrifice our retirement for our kids, but we did support and encourage them and they turned out pretty well.
I have never broken down on the road (and I drive older cars) and my kids never broke down on the road (although I worried about it). I taught them both how to take care of a vehicle, prepare the car for a trip, and what to check and what precautions to take.
They appreciate what they have now much more because they earned it, not because things were given to them or obstacles were plowed out of the way on the road to becoming responsible adults. Just saying…
You never did say if the entire 06 Escape was evaluated by your mechanic, only that the wheel speed sensors were. Be sure to assess the whole vehicle. The money already spent on the front-end should have made it quite safe.
I’d still consider that vehicle. I’d at least start out there and see how that goes.
CSA
She isn’t that bad. I wouldn’t let her drive if I was concerned she might hurt someone. Geez. She is just more comfortable. People are not kind to others who go slow. We can’t all be NASCAR drivers. 
@common_sense_answer I appreciate the life advice. I am a single mom but make a good salary. I live within my means, thus the $10,000 price tag. I can afford much higher but choose not to. My daughter has worked two jobs every summer (one full-time, one part) to pay her way through school. She’s learned how to be financially responsible. I have broken down in the middle of the night when I was in my 20s, so please pardon my worry.
I appreciate the concern but I’ve got this.
I just looked on autotrader, New car, $10,000 max price
23 Brand new cars under $10,000 popped up within 25 miles of where I live, so they would still have full factory warranty.
They were all 2018’s and probably no power windows or A/C, I didn’t check that far.
Most of them were Fiestas
our 15’ civic is worth about 9500. Plus tax. Does your kid need a 10k civic? Or a 7k one and put 2k in a repair fund?
A Civic is a very definite possibility!