That's almost an impossible budget for a car that new unless you're buying a salvaged title

Having gone through this recently I'd suggest looking for older years.

Good luck.

EDITED -- I was in the same boat as you a year ago. A texags poster showed me another texags classified add with a 9 year old Acura TLX with 84K miles. Owned by one family the entire time, commuter car and garage kept. It was in good shape outside some scratches on the body and grill. I was satisfied to get that at $13,800 given where the market was.

So, I'll make the same recommendation to you. Maybe look for a 8-10 year old Acura/Lexus grandma car that has been well kept. And again, good luck. I love cars but hate buying them these days.

Your budget was reasonable 10 years ago for what you are looking for. Everything has increased by around $10k (for now and used Civics). People are paying close to $30k for a new Civic so they will not sell you one a couple years later for $12k. (Back in the day a new one was closer to $20k so $12k would not be too far off for used)

Also, very few Civics available for sale from private sellers and the ones that are available get eaten up by professional resellers who can move them for thousands more with no problem. The Civics usually available on Autotrader by private sellers are usually way overpriced (dealership prices by private seller) or something is off about the car which is why resellers aren't eager to make the first move. Very frustrating time to be a used car buyer if you want to make a deal like the old days. You basically need to get lucky.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. My girl turns 16 in June so we have time to adjust my expectations and budget to fit reality.