<prompt> Human: Im 20F in need of a car...new or used. ASAP.Take home pay after retirement and benefits and taxes - 1,300-1,500 every two weeks.Expenses:Rentutilitiesfoodetc still living with parents - 400moCar insurance - expecting to be around 100mo with the new carPhone - 50Gym - 32Gas 75moI have 2k in checking, and 1.5k in savings. Payday is friday, so Ill have another 1.3-1.5k to work with.I am currently 10k in debt for school loans have one more semester to go! So this number will increase by a few grand. but have gotten refunds. I have 7k in the bank from school loans currently and am expecting to have more post spring semester. I will have to start paying them back November 2017. Some are subsidized and some are not, but they are all around 5 interest. How much should I be putting away in savings per month?How much of a monthly car payment should I take oncan afford?I want something not older than 5 years and highly reliable because I do not want to deal with major car repairs in the near future 5-10yrs when I do move out on my own. A car I am considering is the 2017 Honda civic ext. Trying to determine if this is something I can afford or if I need to pursue other options and let it go.I can lease it for 12k miles with 2k down for 211mo for 3 years. Residual is 62. Or I can buy it for 377mo over 5 years.I am worried about choosing to do something now that I wont be able to afford once school loans need to be paid.  <response>: A car I am considering is the 2017 Honda civic ext.Do not buy a new car.Honda Civics, Toyota Camrys, etc. are easy to find on the used market, easy to keep running, and lose a couple grand in value as soon as you drive it off.You should buy new if you like to pay several thousand more for your car for absolutely zero reason other than to say its new. If so, buy new. Otherwise, buy a couple years old and save cash.Buying new because ZOMG WHAT IF IT BREAKS AND I CANT CAR AND I DONT KNOW HOW TO FIX CAR AAHHH?Buy a two year old car, and its still under warranty. Also, its a Civic. Pretty much any town has a mechanic who can rebuild it with a roll of duct tape and a soda can for a couple bucks in loose change. OK, so I may be exaggerating a bit, but seriously: its really fucking easy to get cheap service for those. Warranties arent necessary.If you buy a used Civic and save 5K in the process, you now have 5K that you can put away for repairs. A Civic isnt likely to need 5K in repairs in the next 5 years. Shit, even if it did, you can take that 5K and literally go buy two backup cars at 2K a piece off of Craigslist and still have a grand left over for booze and hookers pizza. I want something not older than 5 years and highly reliable because I do not want to deal with major car repairs in the near future 5-10yrs when I do move out on my own.5 years? Shiiit. Its not 1960, homeboy. Cars last way longer than that without major repairs if you take proper care of them i.e. do whats actually required in terms of maintenance, not just I changed the oil once!That requirements pretty easy to fulfill. Youd pretty much have to try to find a car that wouldnt make it 5 years without major repairs. I am worried about choosing to do something now that I wont be able to afford once school loans need to be paid.See above, dont buy new or near new. How much should I be putting away in savings per month? As much as possible. How much of a monthly car payment should I take oncan afford?Thats up to you, but you shouldnt think of it based on that. Negotiate and purchase based on the total price inc. taxes etc. If you negotiate based on payment the dealer will bend you over a barrel and will make a killing on you.---Take away advice: go and find a 5-6 year old Civic or Camry. Find one with 100K miles and a clean history. Get a pre-purchase inspection and find one that has service records available. Spend no more than 10K and aim to spend as little as possible. Do not negotiate based on monthly payment. Take care of the car i.e. do the recommended maintenance in the manual when prescribed. 