<prompt> Human: I just graduated from college a few weeks ago, and I will be needing a vehicle for the commute to my new job and whatnot. I would like to purchase sooner rather than later, as my commute is either an hour train ride or 30 minutes in car. In college, I managed to save 9,000 between working summers and part time during the year. Fortunately, I dont have debt from scholarships. I will be moving far from home, so Im projecting about 2,000 in relocation expenses. I also have no credit history because Ive only had a checkingsavings account. The cars Im looking at are used Toyota RAV4 or Honda HR-V, with a max budget at 23,000. My pros and cons thought list:BUY- If I buy the car, Id put 3,000 down to maintain a safety net in my savings. Im worried I wont get a great interest rate because of my lack of credit. Because Ill be buying a relatively new car, I would plan on driving it for 10 years. LEASE- From what Ive seen, there are basically two deals: 0 down with a higher monthly payment or 2,000 down and a lower payment. I would be looking at a 2 or 3 year lease. Over the course of the lease, I would build my credit and save for a much larger down payment than I could currently put down. Side note- my commute is 11 miles one way, so I would need to be conscious of 12,000miyear cap on the lease, but it likely wont be an issue. Which seems like the better option financially? Any advice would be great to hear! EDIT- I cant believe I forgot this: I have a full time job secured as a software engineer, and Ill be making 70,000year with possible bonuses.Assistant: If it was me, I would buy a used car for a few thousand. Craigslist or something like that. Ride that until it dies. By that point, you will know how stable your financial situation is, and maybe upgrade. I would not get into car payments right after college at a first job. Human: If I buy a 10,000 used car with 125,000 miles on it, I foresee more problems maintaining it compared to a new car on a lease that I pay that same 10,000 over 36 months. I dont necessarily see the benefits of buying an older car in cash right away in my situation. Im making pretty good starter money at a large company in the technology space. It seems to be very stable employment, at the very least for 3 years.  <response>: I meant a car in a few thousand range. Not a 10,000 car with high miles. It sounds like you want a new car. Do what you want, but I have seen many college grads get stuck in a mortgage or car payment that they thought they could afford when they got them, but they get laid off or something else happens that they were not prepared for. Hopefully that does not happen to you. 