I Need Help. I have to buy a car, but it has to be CHEAP!

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Here's the short version of my situation. I had a car, i got into a wreck (not my fault), the guys insurance company paid off my car, totaled it, and left me $500 to buy a new car. My mom gave me $500, so i had a total of $1000 to buy a car. so after a month of looking i couldnt go any longer with out a car. I made a hastey decision bought a POS 1986 Ford Mustang Convertable. a week after i bought it, it was in the shop. It cost $1350 to fix everything that needed to be fixed to drive it legally. Two weeks later it was in the shop again. Thankfully that time only cost me $250. Its starting to act up again, and i dont have the time, or money to put in it. I need to buy a new car. I have the POS to use as a trade in and about $1500 on top of it for a down payment. I was thinking about going to KIA because they will give me $3000 for my POS. any ideas on where else to go, or what kind of KIA to buy? I really dont know much about those cars, so i need as much help and advice as possible.