<prompt> Human: Hi PF! Throwaway for obvious reasons. Id just like to hear some of everyones opinions on my current situation as I cant really decide what to do. Im about to graduate from a large university and have been lucky enough to secure a position starting in June with good pay 55k entry level, so around 3k a month take home pay after taxes401k etc. As a graduation gift my grandparents have offered to purchase a car for me, or give me some money to pay off my loans. Theyre really against used cars and would want the car purchase to be new, and they would most likely pay in cash. So far they really like the Honda HR-V, which I believe range between 20-25k or so. If I dont take the car I would guess theyd give me about 20k or so to put towards loans. I cant decide if I should take the new car from them or the money gift, and Id like some advice. Im extremely lucky and fortunate for this and its a really good problem to have. I have about 30k student debt in my name with interest rates ranging between 4-6 and my parents have about double that in their name which I really hope to help pay off eventually but probably dont have to worry about just yet. I believe my student loan payment plan is about 370 a month over 10 years, but I plan on paying it off quicker than that. I also have about 10k in savings, and my rent is going to be 450-500 a month starting in August. If I take the cash, Id have to put someor most of this savings towards a used car. I guess I could keep some of the cash gift for an emergency fund, but the goal of the gift would be to pay off my loans as soon as possible. I would look for decent used cars with maybe 40-50k miles and a handful of years old-- I want something that can last me a decent amount of time, not a garbage car. Which do you think would be the better option? Is a new car a good enough investment to warrant having a higher loan balance? If not, does anybody have any good recommendations of affordable used car models that hold their value and can last me a decent amount of time, Im not a car person! Thanks in advance, I appreciate it!  <response>: Get a trusty rusty Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic and put the rest towards the loans. 