Guys above are giving solid advice. Buy what she can with cash. Don't have to limit to the Corolla/Civic either, Kia and Hyundai have got good reliability records lately. I'm about to get rid of my Camry and I've always been disappointed with the interior - stuff like the panel where the window switches started coming loose and there's no way to fix it. The interior overall has been a disappointment even though overall it's been reliable.
I'm out looking at used cars right now myself. Is it me, or are they a lot more expensive? It seems like you just don't get much discount for used. I'm looking at SUVs like the Explorer, Pilot or Highlander - Pilot for example lists at 42K for a top end model, but stuff coming off lease is selling for about 36K with 30K miles. That's about $2,000 for 10K miles, and it seems to keep depreciating around that rate. You get a bigger drop down when the thing gets past 60K miles and the manufacturers warranties start expiring.
I'm out looking at used cars right now myself. Is it me, or are they a lot more expensive? It seems like you just don't get much discount for used. I'm looking at SUVs like the Explorer, Pilot or Highlander - Pilot for example lists at 42K for a top end model, but stuff coming off lease is selling for about 36K with 30K miles. That's about $2,000 for 10K miles, and it seems to keep depreciating around that rate. You get a bigger drop down when the thing gets past 60K miles and the manufacturers warranties start expiring.