Buying a cheap car for my brother

One of my brothers ran into money problems a while ago. He's been borrowing my BMW, but I want to buy him something cheap (and get that back). THe good thing is I can buy the sort of thing I would never dream of for myself. The bad thing is since he is reliant on a car to get to work, I can't buy him some of the awesome cheap stuff I've spotted, such as Peugeot 205 GTIs and E30 BMW 323is.

Here are a few of the searches I'm targeting. Want to spend something under $3,500 and want a Roadworthy Certificate for ease of registration. Bear in mind cars are more expensive here...

1997 Civic. Always liked Honda, although I'm not sure about wind up windows in this day and age:
http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?Cr=1&R=11418261&keywords=&trecs=169&__sid=12F465C944A6&__Ns=pCar_PriceSort_Decimal|0||pCar_RankSort_Int32|1||pCar_Make_String|0||pCar_Model_String|0&__Qpb=1&__Nne=15&__No=45&seot=1&__N=1216%201246%201247%201252%201282%204294965250%204294965322%20442&silo=1011

1998 Hyundai Coupe. I recall the suspension or something was by Porsche. The sort of car that is great to buy for someone else:
http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=11385917&YearFromShort=1637&__Qpb=1&Cr=6&__Ns=pCar_LastModifiedDate_DateTime|1&keywords=&YearToShort=1674&__N=1216%201246%201247%201252%201282%20903%201637%201674%201622%20442&silo=1011&__No=30&seot=1&__Nne=15&trecs=903&__sid=12F465C944A6

1997 626. Good looks. Appalling power to weight:
http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=11230315&YearFromShort=1637&__Qpb=1&Cr=6&__Ns=pCar_LastModifiedDate_DateTime|1&keywords=&YearToShort=1674&__N=1216%201246%201247%201252%201282%20903%201637%201674%201622%20442&silo=1011&__No=120&seot=1&__Nne=15&trecs=903&__sid=12F465C944A6

1996 Peugeot 306. A bit more sensible than the 205, but also heavier and less powerful. And will still probably fall apart:
http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=11290346&YearFromShort=1637&__Qpb=1&Cr=12&__Ns=pCar_LastModifiedDate_DateTime|1&keywords=&YearToShort=1674&__N=1216%201246%201247%201252%201282%20903%201637%201674%201622%20442&silo=1011&__No=150&seot=1&__Nne=15&trecs=903&__sid=12F465C944A6

Slightly damaged 1996 Mazda 30X/MX3. What makes this car unappealing apart from the damage is that there's an extremely low kay alternative for only 500 more. But the other one is an auto...
http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=11044221&YearFromShort=1637&__Qpb=1&Cr=10&__Ns=pCar_PriceSort_Decimal|0||pCar_RankSort_Int32|1||pCar_Make_String|0||pCar_Model_String|0&keywords=&YearToShort=1674&__N=1216%201246%201247%201252%201282%20903%201637%201674%201622%20442&silo=1011&__No=210&seot=1&__Nne=15&trecs=903&__sid=12F465C944A6

How's the insurance rated where you're at? That should have an influence of what you can get.

The first three are good. I kind of like the Hyundai Coupe. I heard they were pretty good. That 626 is good looking too.

My parents had a '98 Hyundai Coupe (Tiburon). They've since given it to my sister, who still has it. It's had some niggling little sensor problems here and there, and some typical part replacements you'll see on a car with over 170,000 kms (new alternator, etc), and problems with some cheap interior bits (the interior driver door handle is broken, the cassette deck has jammed, and the dashboard has warped in the sun) but it's still ticking, even though my sister and her husband treat the car like shit. Parts tend to be more expensive than expected whenever anything needs to be replaced, however.

It was always a good little car to drive. Not terribly powerful, but sporty enough. It had a decent ride but not overly-harsh like the 2nd-gen Coupes had.

Used 90's Mazdas are nightmares. Would not buy.

Wind up windows? Are you SHITTING us?? Best option to have, after a manual trans. Shows you give a shit about cars and are willing to sacrifice amenities for light weight. Because racecar.

Wait, just saw that MX3 was the 1.8L V6. BUY THAT SHIT.

All 30Xs here had the V6. There's a purple one for sale with the 2.5 swapped in because it's apparently a straight swap and more common engine.

Also, I think wind up windows are not always lighter than electrics...

No, not always. These days the frames are plastic or aluminum, and so is the window motor.

We had a shitty 1.6L 4 cyl in our MX-3, but the 1.8L is a little screamer.