What old pixels should i avoid?

I don't have an 8 but I'll say the 7 is probably the best phone I've owned so far. That aside I was also happy with the 3 and 4.
- Have a 7 now and an very pleased with it. I'm not really a power user tho so I'm easy to please. I do have a soft spot for my old 5a tho. That thing has a smaller screen, a battery for days, a damn headphone jack (rip) and the finger print scanner on the back was awesome. I miss all of that dearly.
  
  I've refurbished my 4A completely for those exact reasons, and with grapheneos i'm getting security updates too (at least for a while)
- I had the 7 pro and now have an 8 pro. It's better in every single aspect imo.

I've had 2, 5, and now a 7. All great phones.
- Are you me? Same progression.
  I didn't have issues when I still used them, well, using the 7 to type this. But I gave them to my girlfriend when I switched to a new one and she didn't have much luck.
  The Pixel 2 after a year started to have issues in cold weather, it would just shut down, no matter how much battery was left.
  The Pixel 5 she is using now has a power button issue. It gets stuck from time to time and can lead to something that looks like a bootloop. Then you need to get it unstuck and its fine again.

My 3 is still hanging on!
- Same, on my 3a right now. Deeply considering just buying new old stock of the same phone as a backup. :'D
  
  I just like having the finger print scanner on the back. 🤷🏻‍♂️
- Yep. I replaced the battery in mine. Eventually, it was time to upgrade

Not a 6a. Just no. I've had such a bad time with this phone. From 1 month in I've not had anything but a selfie cam. It's just gotten worse over time.
- I have a 6a. Great phone. However, I've had to do a warranty thru Google, which actually went well. My screen stopped responding.

I like my 7 and my son likes his 7a. Best buy had a refurbished 7 for $269. Might be able to find a 7a for a little less.

I was happy with my 4 and currently my 6. I'd get the newest one that's going to continue to have updates while you have it that fits in your budget. Whether that means updates from Google or something like GrapheneOS is up to you.

Pixel 3 has a know hardware issue with the camera so it will never focus and keep "adjusting" and you'll never get a clear picture. If you listen close you can hear it hitting the case. No software will fix it either, even custom camera controllers will not.
Otherwise its a good phone that does all the phone things you'd want and I personally enjoyed the size of it too. It was smaller and fit the hand better IMO

I've had 3, 4a, 6pro, and 8pro.
8pro is the best device, but not as cheap as you are looking. Avoid the 6 and 6 pro. Overheat like crazy. 3 was amazing and the 4a was fine , but the 3 has a batter camera.

I'd go for one with Android 14 support, so you get updates for a while longer with calyx/grapheneos. 5A or younger would be desirable

about time to move on from my 2xl
Geez, that phone hasn't gotten official Android or Security updates for the past 3.5 years.
If you can afford, I'd get the 8. It will receive support for another 6.5 years.
https://endoflife.date/pixel

The 5a 5G, unless you're prepared to reflow the solder on the SoC. The 5a has had a high failure rate, including the one my household had. Google replaced ours with a 6a under extended warranty.
If you want an analog headphone jack, the 5a is the last one to offer it.

4xl is good, but you'd need a new battery at this point.
- I just gave away my 4a 5G and the battery was fine.
  
  That's awesome! My 4xl was having a hard time making it through a day with minimal SoT.