Ford Edge (2013) - $9,800

With a comfortable and quiet cabin, plenty of essential features, composed handling, excellent performance, and available eco-friendly engines, the Ford Edge is quite attractive at this market price. Finding one like this with low mileage won't be easy, but if you're willing to negotiate a few thousand dollars, you might just get one.

The only complaint about this SUV is its automatic transmission, which is rather slow, even more so than the MyFord infotainment system, which connects to a phone in a complicated way and generally operates on the OS . The rest of the SUV is flawless.

Chevrolet Cruze (2014) - $9,800

The Cruze might seem like a scaled-down version of the Impala . With a small four-cylinder engine and a questionable transmission, there's hardly a better option at this price. However, if you're set on buying an American car, this might be the best way to go.

But remember that you need to have the transmission's health checked by a professional. In fact, make sure there's a transmission oil change record over time, so you don't have to replace the transmission in the vehicle, which could cost more than the car itself.