I'm doing some looking at the car market lately too - I'm thinking about buying a second car (we currently have one car that's getting older between my wife and myself). Anyways, for many of the Japanese brands that you mention (Toyota, Honda, Acura) there is not a very large drop in price until the car is quite a bit older (they hold their value well). For the money you mention ($9-11K) you'll probably be looking at a 4 to 6 year old Civic or Corolla. The price differential between the various trim lines (DX, LX, EX, etc) shrinks as the car gets older but then you've got more accessories that need to be repaired.
You might want to consider the non-"premiere" Japanese brands such as Mazda and Nissan. They don't have the same "cachet" as a Honda or a Toyota and don't hold their value as well but they are still very reliable.
If you're going to buy used you'll want to get a car with all the maintenance records and have it checked out completely by a qualified mechanic for that brand ($100 to $150).