We did the same for a number of years where we were broke. We had great success with Mitsubishi especially Carisma with direct injection, because the engine ticks like a diesel, and people don't like that. If you get a dud, you just sell it again, we didn't even have to lie about possible problems, when you buy dirt cheap, you don't lose much even if you have to resell.
But ALWAYS make sure you make a test drive, and look in the engine compartment, and check if the timing belt is OK among other things.
It's a hassle, and you usually have to check out several cars, but it's possible to have a car very cheaply that way. However in 8 years we needed towing 3 times, but the fixes were generally cheap too with used spare parts. Not money pits, more like a matter of spending a lot of extra time and effort.
I think most people if they have the money, they prefer to avoid the hassle to save money.
Carisma is to old now IMO, but there are always cars that are unpopular for some reason that doesn't really impact the usability of the car.