Advice?

Mmmm.... cars. So, what kind of cars do you all own, and how much do you like 'em? How do they fare in wintery road conditions? Gas mileage good? How many miles on a used car is too much to consider? I'm thinking no more than 50k, tops, since we'll be putting a crapload of miles on the thing once we have it.

I'm drooling over Subaru Legacies and Outbacks, but I don't think we'll find one with a reasonable amount of miles in the price range we want (with automatic transmission... there are actually a handful meeting the first 2 criteria but they're stick shifts and I'm keen on learning stick). I'm also eyeing Volvo S40s, which are just a teensy bit above our price range. But they are a sweet, sweet ride. What's the chance we could talk a used car priced at $12,000 down to $9-10k?

We'll probably end up with a Ford/Toyota/Honda in the end, but a girl can dream.