Completely agree with Ryzza. I picked up my AE94 Corolla hatch today, ahah.
Stick to Japanese or Australian manufacturers, european cars are expensive to get parts for and repair (anything where anyone has to touch your car...)
I payed 2800 aud for my corolla, 95000 km's, drives like new, theres A stain on the passenger seat, and the exterior has the standard 17 year old car marks (scratched bumpers, a bit rough, but actually... more like a 10 year old car), so dont think that you have to pay a lot to get something good, there are gems here and there.
Dont be looking for quick, reliable and cheap. You'll only ever get 2 of them, often with cheap cars you'll only get 1, and it wont be quick.
Just some stuff to think about. I really really want to make it clear that you do NOT want anything european for a first car. I know theyre cool, I really do, I was tempted to buy an Audi 80, nothin wrong with it, but when something DOES go wrong with it, it'll come off the road til I can afford to fix it. Just stick to something commonish (nothing wrong with old corollas, cressida's are cheap and they have a straight 6, pulsars are good, the list goes on and on- hell, go for a charade or a starlet, theyre freakin awesome, lightweight, good engines, just a lot are manual, and I only have an auto license til my green p's, so they were out of the question for me unfortunately)
edit: and as dan said, go for something stock. You just cant trust people to have done things properly. Especially lowering, you've got a fair chance that they just cut the springs instead of replacing the entire suspension setup.