sounds like a good case to go certified preowned. I know a lot of companies warranty up to 100k miles w/ certified used cars. but sound like she wants something nicer than your average econobox,

I would think a late model japanese car out of warranty would be reliable enough given no one has messed with it. If I were a young (err younger) person just going to college w/ 15k, and could only drive an AT, i'd probably be looking at:
the usual suspects:
is300
tsx
g35

maybe something a little different:
03-04 m45, not really a girl's car though
Legacy, although I'd want it in a stick.
last gen mazdaspeed 3

maybe consider picking up a 3rd party warranty if it's that important. Not sure how much they run, but there should be loads of cars to choose from around 15k.