Cars: You probably want a used car; however much you're planning to spend, the value is just so much better. I haven't seen anyone mention reliability. This should be especially important to you if you're not much of a car person. I highly recommend you go to your library and grab Consumer Reports' latest car issue. It has recommendations for used cars by price range based on what's been reliable, and lots of general car-buying advice. I think a lot of libraries have Consumer Reports online, so that may even save you a trip outside. I drive a Civic (purchased used) and am very pleased with it. Hondas and Toyotas in general are known for being solid, reliable and holding their value quite well.
Unless you manage to line up a private party sale, expect an unpleasant shopping experience. Be skeptical, haggle, and be ready to walk away. There are more cars out there. If you're not going to buy the car with cash, talk to your bank or credit union to get approved for a loan before car shopping. They'll give you a better deal than the dealership, who will use the financing to pull a fast one on you.
Phones: A couple years ago you had the choice between spending $600 on an iPhone, "flagship" Android (Samsung Galaxy/Nexus/HTC One/etc), or $200 junk. Nowadays the $600 phones are huge and you can get an excellent phone for $400ish if you don't mind it being slightly smaller; the iPhone SE, the Moto X Pure (what I have, and would recommend), OnePlus 3, etc. The Samsung Galaxy is still costly (and decent enough) but no longer head-and-shoulders better as it was in the Galaxy S3-S4 days. I would definitely recommend one of those phones rather than a $200-$250 "budget" phone, which are much better than they used to be but you'll be using it every day for two years so spend the money. I have used both iPhone and Android and really, both are fine. iOS has more and better apps and, perhaps surprisingly, better security; Android delivers a better value and saves you from the walled garden/branding phenomenon that some people find off-putting. If you have friends or family that prefer one platform, that may sway your decision. Ars Technica is my preferred source for reviews, and especially their roundups/guides, but they don't publish those quite as often as you would hope (they did a really nice one around December, but that's half a year ago now).
