Suggestion/Advice to buy a car?

I'm new to US and got my licence recently. Looking forward to buy a used car below 10k bracket and below are the one's I've shortlisted.

1)Jeep Wrangler
2)Honda Element
3)BMW X3
4)Mercedes Benz ML350
5)Acura RDX
6)Toyota FJ Cruiser
7)Nissan Murrano or Rogue

I have no plans for long drives since I can rent a car if I have any. The normal usage will be to commute between office and home and to hang around in the nearby localities.

Almost all the above cars within 10k bracket have ran more 100k miles and are 2004-2005 models. Forget about the Gas Mileage it gives, I'm ok if it gives some 15 MPG. Acura is beyond my budget (comes close to 14 K, but still putting in the list I heard it's a tech freaks heaven). I liked BMZ X3 and Benz ML350 but heard its not a good move to buy these if they have crossed some 90k miles. And also maintenance appears to be very costly. Jeep looks nice but heard it quite rough and uncomfortable. Not sure how true this. One of my friend suggested to go with Murrano or Rogue since its a bit cheap but I still have a second thought to go with Nissan.

So folks. Any thoughts on this? Any suggestions? Excited to hear from you.

Of that group, the FJ Cruiser or Element will give you the least trouble. Cars are only designed to last 200K miles, so when you are looking keep that in mind. After 200K most are not worth fixing. Also, the 100-200K zone is where expensive repairs like axles, ball joints, etc. Tend to happen. Any Honda product with a V-6 must have timing belt changes, this includes Acura. It is expensive ($500-$1000) so do not buy one that needs a belt change or is close to needing one. You are literally better off with one with more miles and a new belt. Typically, American cars are the least expensive to have repaired while European models are the most expensive. Among foreign companies, the more common the car is in America, the easier they are to get serviced.

For that price bracket focus on either the Honda, Acura or one of the Nissans. The Mercedes and BMW will very expensive to maintain and insure. The Jeep is of poor quality, noisy and rough riding.

Choice 4