Buying a car

Depends on the car or truck.

Good point yes all depends on what your after
Yes they have mechanics to service them
If your after a SUV type and current shape you would be looking at $25grand or if your after a older chariot under $15grand
Prices are more then what you'd expect
But the mantenice on most I have seen are not what I would call safe
Better to buy new

Beware of flooded vehicles.

You can visit some famous auto web like Philkotse.com, Olx.com, Tsikot.com.ph, carmudi.com......for references. Hope you get an affordable car but well maintained.

Good Point

Just remember that any car that has lived near the ocean will have a high chance of having rust in it.

If you really need a car then you will have to buy one, but if you don't really need a car then consider the cost of owning one versus getting a taxi every day.  My figures show I could spend about 500php every day on a taxi and it would still be cheaper than the running and deprecation costs of owning a car.