<prompt> Human: Hello friends.::DISCLAIMER:: Im only 25, so Im really not too far removed from this group that Im yelling at, and I would have said all of this with equal vigor as a 20 year old.There are always a ton of posts in here by people asking for help affording a thing that they cant afford, but it has seemed especially prevalent the past week, and specifically with young posters. I wanted to throw out a little PSA.PLEASE DONT FINANCE A CAR. PLEASE. I know you think you have to, but you DONT. Your interest rate is going to be shit, and your insurance premium is going to be extra shit, and you dont need to kick off your adulthood with a gross debt over a depreciating asset!The alternative is simple, and this is how I know. When I was 18, I financed a 6k car for 29.9 interest. I was the fool of fools, and literally no one told me it was insanity, wtf did I know. Fortunately for me, that car was totaled 8 months later, and paid off, and I had learned enough to know that I didnt want to cough up a shit ton of my income towards interest and insurance anymore.I bought a 1992 Toyota Paseo with 220k miles for 800. It was aqua blue, and an absolute wreck. The clutch was shot, so I found one of those on craigslist too, and got it installed for 500 all-in, which I saved up for by limping the car around for a few months. 6 months later I posted the car up for 1400 without being in a rush to sell it, and found a buyer after a month for 1300 and sold it.I bought a 1987 Alfa Romeo with 130k miles with that 1300. It was AWESOME. Seriously, I was obsessed with that car. It had some weird air intake issue in the cold, and I found a guy to fix it for 400, which I again saved up for by limping the car around as-is for 2 months.After about 10 months, I sold that car for 1700, and had some other cash to throw in on a 1995 Mitsubishi Diamante with 90k miles for 2100. It was awesome. Looked nice, drove so smooth. Owned it for 2 years, got a better job. It needed a starter and alternator in this time period, about 500 total. I bought a 2007 Kia Rio5 hatchback for 5k after that, drove that for 2 years, and bought a 2013 Chevy Traverse with 50k miles for 20k and a 2013 Chevy Cruz with 40k miles for 9k, both cash, 2 months ago. I got a good job.Used cars dont depreciate like newer cars. People down in that price range want them to go. Financing a depreciating asset is the worst thing that you can do with your money, especially when your young credit qualifies for crappy interest and your under 25 driving record qualifies for expensive insurance. With a cheap ass car, you can get liability-only insurance, which is usually less than half what full coverage costs which you have to get when you finance.BE SMART. Youre here on PF, your mind is in the right place. Be. Smart.EditAddition: I want to add one note. The problem with financing any depreciating asset is that you cant get on top. When you finance a new car, not only are you paying majority interest at the beginning of the loan, but the cars value is TANKING. Because of this, if you lose your income somehow, or have another financial emergency, it is impossible to get out from under it. This makes it a huge risk.Another Edit: This is a truly interesting experience. Can PF really not even agree on this basic money-management advice? Im not one of those all debt is evil guys, debt can be great if it increases your cash flow or net worth, but a financed care NEVER DOES. Maybe some rich people will get in here and back me up on this. Its simple, guys. This is a poor use of money.The ONLY argument I could hear is if someone got a CRAZY low interest rate, and used the cash they would have spent to invest and out-perform their interest rate. But come on. When kids are financing cars, thats not whats happening.Final Edit: Okay. I understand that a lot of people finance vehicles under decent terms certainly better terms than mine, and didnt break their banks. I, again, understand that a large chunk of cash CAN be better applied elsewhere by a savvy investor, but will restate that this isnt generally what happens with someone in this category.Ill make just one more point. A person in this age group is experiencing wild rapid life change constantly. They generally dont know what theyre going to do long term, where theyll live, what theyll make, etc. Any financial liability therefore has an increased risk. Even if they financed at 0, if they have a 300mo car payment for 7 years on a car that theyre thousands upside-down on, their options are limited and their risk of defaulting is high. Sometimes it works out, and clearly it worked out for a lot of people here, but that doesnt make it the best decision. Wait to make long-term financial commitments until you know what youre life is going to look like long-term.There were some factors I didnt think about, and I appreciate this discussion, but Im sticking to my guns on this one. Debt depreciating asset wasted money, as are unnecessarily high insurance premiums.Assistant: I agree with you. So, I guess I was one of the rare instances that it was okay to finance a car. I 22 bought a new car last month for 0 APR, 0 Down.Human: Yes; car companies will offer 0 interest on cars theyre trying to clear out. Obviously thats a lot better, but wealth is about protecting your cash flow, so I would still take my route over this. Not to mention that your car, especially when going 0 down, is depreciating way faster than youre paying it off, so youre still way upside down and stuck in this payment. That can be a problem in a jam.  <response>: Not to mention that your car, especially when going 0 down, is depreciating way faster than youre paying it offSo add a down payment when you buy the car. Wow, now youre suddenly ahead on the loan. 