At that budget, it’s less about the specific car you should look for, and more about what’s near you on Facebook marketplace that’s not rusty and has less than 7 owners and hasn’t been “modded” by a teenager.
#Need car recommendations
reef minnow
Most will say Corolla civic etc and those are definitely good recommendations, but a $4k rusty civic full of autozone mods vs a $4k lancer with some records and was someone’s cheap commuter…. The lancer is the right call there
stable violet
Where in the hell did you find a pre 2000 with that miles???? That's worth money
jade acorn
Where in the hell did you find a pre 2000 with that miles???? That's worth money
Bought it off a blind guy
last hound
I'd say you could probably find a early 2000s Honda Accord roughly in that price range.
you could also look for the older Honda Fit.
NC Miata has come down in price so if you really dig around, hunt for bargains and try you might be able to find one around 4K.