Need to buy a Car- what should I get?

The newer Cavaliers were known to be pretty reliable, 2005 was thir last year before the Cobalt took over for it.
Japanese cars will likely be older and more used up than an equivalent American brand in your price range

@Joe guy Yes they did, prior to the recalls ALL Toyotas were automatically recommend by CR.

Second paragraph from the bottom

Give it up, ragtop. They did not get an automatic recommend. Your local community college has remedial reading classes. They were recommended because they were evaluated and recommended, model by model, year by year, and because of specific problems for a while, the recommended rating was removed until the problems were resolved.

From time to time we get people who say CR doesn’t really know how to evaluate cars, though their large staff has been doing it for many decades. “Listen to me and I will give you the straight story.”

I have a brother just like that. So, what does he drive? A Ford Ranger, and just bought another not long ago, I think before they stopped making them. Hee, hee.

Yes they did, prior to the recalls ALL Toyotas were automatically recommend by CR.

WOW…where did you hear that load of poop.

@irlandes there is nothing to give up. They 100% recommended Toyota blindly, just because it was a Toyota. Mean while the would not recomend the same car marketed by GM. IE prism and matrix. This is a proven fact, sorry if reality does not agree with you.

I remember that one year of the Toyota Camry was on the list of used cars to avoid some years back. As far as new cars are concerned, the Toyota Yaris, 4Runner and FJ Cruiser CR said scored too low in their tests to be recommended. The statement:
“In 2008, Consumers Reports decided it would no longer bestow automatic “recommended” ratings on all Toyota models”, referred to the recommendation of a first year model that scored well in CR’s tests. Other makes had to be out long enough for CR to collect data from its subscribers concerning the repair record. Up to that time, Toyota products that scored well in CR’s tests were recommended because the repair record of Toyota vehicles had been so good. It was not a positive recommendation of all CR vehicles–just the ones that scored high in handling, driveabilty, riding comfort, etc.
The Toyota Yaris has a good repair record, but does not score high in CR’s tests. It may be a great purchase as a used car if the buyer can overlook its inherent deficiencies.

It’s not what you buy; it’s how it was driven and maintained. That part is something that can be near impossible to determine.
Even a car with very low miles on it does not automatically get a free pass.

Would a satisfactory result from a compression test help eliminate some questions regarding the soundness of the motor?

Some yes, but not all… While this is a GREAT idea, and should give you a good idea as to the health of the motor,you still dont know what shape the bottom end is in. Good Compression says you have good rings, and valve seats (a great place to start)… However the lower end may still have issues, but there is no good way to test this.