<prompt> Human: Hello, I just turned 20 and I have a fund of about 12,000 allocated to getting a vehicle. Im in school but Im in the Army National Guard so I dont have any loans or debts to worry about. Through my drill weekend, GI Bill, and part time job Im making roughly 1100 month after all expenses food, rent, insurance, etc... So, really my question is, should I just buy a vehicle outright for 10,000? Or also I have never owned a credit card so I believe I have no credit score should I put a big down payment of like 7-8k on something like a new Kia Forte 17,000 ? With no credit history would my payments be outrageous despite a large down payment? Thanks for any and all help :-  <response>: There are plenty of great used options in the 10k range. Dont sell yourself a car you dont need if you havent saved up for it. I would recommend a 10k car over a 3k care just because repairs are a headache and theres fewer things that will go wrong. The headache of 3k cars dying within 2-3 years isnt fun. 