. This 2012 Toyota Prius for $13449. The thing which SUCKS about NYC TLC is that all vehicles over 5 model years face mandatory retirement. The only cars you can consider for NY work are now brand spanking new. If you decide to go with an older model in NY there is less time to fully make it work for you. However, in Jersey, I believe there are no such rules. I think you can use a car as old as 2004 in Jersey.
Lets say you wanted to do this exclusively in Jersey. Get something like this car. You can go with the cloth seats and soldier on with them or go to a local car upholstery shop and they will convert it to imitation leather seats for less than a G.