Any recommendations on a good car for first time driver?

I'm a 22yr old female and am just about ready to finally get my first car. I'm wanting something that is generally known for being reliable, good on gas and nothing sporty. I'm not interested in Hondas as my brother has gone through two already due to their unreliability. They were both kept up but he was constantly having to put in a lot of money into those cars so I'd like to hopefully avoid those.

Added (1). They were his everyday cars for college, only being driven 4 days a week. One last maybe 2 years and the other a year.

Added (2). Yeah I only have a $5,000 budget for the car so I can't afford anything too new!

1968 Honda CT90 spring/valve?

I have a 1968 CT90, I noticed the other day that there's a component that is like a valve or something, it is just outside of the battery compartment, I looks like a small black cylinder with a a coil spring hooked through a rod in the middle of it. When I pull in the spring the rod in the middle moves, and then returns to where it was when I let go so it is supposed to move, however the spring isn't attached to anything, it's just dangling there. What is this piece and where does the spring attach to?

My dash indicator won't work?

My oil change was overdue and it dint tell me on my dash indicator, it works when I turn the keys but when I turn the car on it won't, it doesn't tell me anything when The car needs something done, it's a 2004 Honda

Why am i getting denied for an auto loan with good credit?

I have a 737 fico score for my credit card history. I had my credit checked by kia and they had my auto score at 723… Even tho i never purchased a car before. I went to honda and almost bought a car. Honda also approved me with a credit score check at 694. But when i went to my credit union to get an auto loan they denied me because I've never had auto loan history they said. HOW DO I GET HISTRY YOU DON't APPROVE ME? What i don't understand is why a credit union would deny me for $10,000 while dealerships would approve me of $22,000? Am i missing something?