I'm still driving my first car, which coincidentally also cost exactly $1000. 97' Mazda Protege with 90,000 miles on it at the time, I've added a few thousand since I've had it. Crack in the windshield, engine light constantly on, air conditioning doesn't work, lock is broken on the driver side door, rattle in the exhaust, and a few days ago the plastic guard thing on the bottom front of the car fell off and was dragging on the road as I was driving. It has now fallen off completely.
For a first car it's good, and all I ever wanted was something that would get me from A to B. Plus it has that color that's somewhere between beige and gold, meaning that I never have to wash the thing because it's the exact same color as the dirt that accumulates on it. Even if I did make it sparkling clean, it's not like it would look good anyway since it's so full of dents that it looks like you squeezed a soda can too hard.