confused on what to do :s

Well I am happy to have my aunt help me out with getting a car, Shes going to pitch in about 1k. Wonder if I should go get a cheap car or finance through a used dealer on a nice used car. I feel iffy on that last part. I tried getting a loan through my credit union and they denied me. :( I asked for 6k..so  I don't know if I should go back and ask for 2 or 3k instead. I know the interest rates are what going to kill me if I got it through a dealer. herrmm....