<prompt> Human: Well, my car broke down today. Its currently at the mechanic, but they wont be able to get to it for a day or two, so I dont know what itll cost me yet. If Im lucky, I think it will be around 600. If Im really unlucky, it could be several thousand. The cars worth about 5,500, less any needed repairs.So, the good news is, Im totally prepared for this! Consider this a success story! The cars 14 years old, so Ive been planning for either a big repair or a new car sooner or later. Ive read Ramit Sethis book and I use one of his tips for savings accounts separate accounts for specific goals. I have a savings account specifically for my car repairs or a new car thats currently got about 5,500 in it. Paying for a repair or a down payment on a new car will not be a problem.While Im hoping this will be a quick repair, Im considering that it might be time to sell the car and get something newer and more reliable. This is where I have some interesting financial questions. Ive also been thinking about buying a house sometime in the next 2-6 years, but dont have any concrete plans yet. Because of that, I have a separate savings account that I had planned on using for a down payment for the house with 27,500 in it. If I wanted to, I could pay cash for a new car and hardly notice financially, aside from the fact that Id take 10-15k from my house savings account. Sets me back maybe a year, but I didnt have any real plans anyway.On the other hand, I assuming I decide to buy a new car, I could use the 5,500 for a down payment, not touch my house savings, and get a reasonable rate on a car loan. The benefit of doing this is that if I decide to buy a house or take on any other large expense in the next year or two, I have money ready to go. The downside is that Im paying interest on the loan when I dont really have to. I finished paying off school loans and my first car loan about a year ago and Ive really enjoyed being debt-free since then.So my question really boils down to this: It seems like the purchase of a new car provides me the opportunity to take out a 15,000 loan at a reasonable interest rate, and I might not have that opportunity otherwise. How beneficial is it to take the loan just for the purpose of keeping more cash on hand? Is it worthwhile to take the loan? Happy to hear any thoughts you have about anything!  <response>: Taking out a loan on a vehicle and paying it down quickly could always give you a positive nudge on your credit score. May be a factor when buying a house later depending on where your score sets. Honestly, your money isnt seeming like its earning you any interest right now, so opportunity cost of giving it up vs holding it and paying a small amount of interest is what you should be thinking. In my opinion, I say if youve got more than 6 months of safety net savings and still feel secure enough to approach a mortgage when youre ready, Id finance about 10k of a car and pay the rest in cash if the dealership doesnt have any type of penalties or missed discount opportunity or anything from not financing more of it. At least by financing it for 3 years, you can get a little more out of your assumed good credit rating. After all, paying more than 20 down on a mortgage isnt always the most practical financial decision when you evaluate present value of future cash flows. 