DO NOT BUY A NEW CAR!!!!!!
I say this for many reasons. 1 being the value of a new car driven off the lot will depreciate a great deal. meaning that 10 or 15 thousand dollar car will be worth a few thousand less if you were to sell it back. 2 since you are a new driver and only want a point a to point b car you want a used car because of the likely hood that you will hit something or something will hit you is pretty great. Its nothing against a new driver as we have all been there before that's just the stats talking.
If your thinking of buying new because of the insurance DONT... you can get full coverage on any car you buy (and I recommend it) and that will cover any damages to the car. You can also purchase fairly cheap coverage for things that may go wrong during the life of the car... go through your insurance agent since the ones on tv have a lot of special clauses that prevent you from really getting what you need at the price you need it.
SHOP SHOP SHOP... there are so many nice used cars out there that you should be able to get a really nice car for a great price. Please note that car dealerships mark up their cars dramatically. Don't feel bad about getting the price down a bit. I once talked a guy from $9000 on a car to $5000. If you know what you want and are going to buy today they will do all kinds of things to make it work.
Also note that they can tell when you are buying your first car or if you don't know what you are talking about... they will try to jerk you around and make you pay for things you don't want or raise the price on you for one thing or another. READ THE PAPERWORK... know what you are buying.
Purchase GAP insurance if the car is worth more than a few thousand. What this will do is pay off the balance of your loan in the event of an accident that totals the car. Google this to know what is an appropriate price to pay and the ins and outs of it. Its pretty simple.
Oh and Im a Ford person so that's what kind of car I would go with. I've never had any troubles with any of mine in the past. Plus I like that they didn't take any of the stimulus money.