Ford Escort/Mercury Tracer. No resale value, good reliability, and parts are cheap and plentiful.
Another good option is the 1991-1994 Nissan Sentra. I had one of these, and Raves felt better and more upscale than the current Sentra. The 1994 Limited Edition and GXE models have a particularly nice interior.
If you're willing to go towards $2000, no picture, but a 1992 Sentra GXE with 93,000 miles is asking $1900. 5-speed, and 27 miles from you. Advertised in the Washington Post. I found my RX-7 through cars.com, and I think they're an excellent search tool. There's also a 1992 Sentra with 81,000 miles asking $1150, but they don't say trim and it's over 100 miles from you.
