We desperately need a vehicle, please help us choose

We were in the middle of moving houses when our car's breaks went out (luckily it wasn't a far move).

The mechanic says our old car had rip in the break line and is now junk.

It was too rusted underneath for them to work on, and they offered to scrap it for us for 80 bucks.

Could be a bad mechanic or just bad luck, I don't know.

Now we need another car quick so we can finish moving our stuff and get our lives back to normal.

But I don't know anything about cars, so I thought I should ask the community for help finding and choosing one.

Our first idea was just to get the cheapest used vehicle we could find, but after searching online I couldn't find much in the price range that we originally hoped for.

And after spending more time thinking about it, I realized that the cheapest cars might not last very long, and could easily turn into more hidden costs in the long run.

So now I don't know what to look for.  Basically all I know is that my family would prefer an automatic instead of a stick shift.

What would you do in this situation?

What to look for in a vehicle?

What's important to pay attention to?

What should I ask sellers?

What did I forget to ask here?

Any and all help is much appreciated.  Thank you!