<prompt> Human: Why I want a new car:Ive driven the car Im in right now since high school it is my first car. The leather is peeling off in the interior, one of the taillights barely works, and the transmission jerks around and feels off. While it runs right now, I have a feeling theres something seriously wrong with the transmission and I have no idea how much longer it will last. Another reason I want a new car is that Ive always wanted to drive a car with a stick, and the car Im in now looks very immature and high school ish. Some background information about me:I graduated college around 6 months ago. I got a job earning 63k in Knoxville, TN. I have 7k student loan debt that ends up with a minimum payment of 75. I have no other debts. I have around 900 surplus at the end of every month, after paying for everything rent, loan payments, etc. I already built up an emergency fund of 10k and I am contributing 9 to my 401k, which according to some calculators online, puts me on track to retire comfortably at 67.How much can I afford to spend monthly on a car? Should I finance a car or should I save up to pay in cash? Assistant: Brand new cars are rarely a good financial decision, mostly due to how harsh depreciation hits them. A 2-4 year old car has already taken the largest depreciation hit and doesnt really have too much in the way of expected maintenance. You could also look for something oldercheaper to keep the initial cost down, just make sure you are doing research on that specific model year car to avoid buying a lemon. Personally I would pay cash for whatever you do choose to buy. That may tip the scales towards the older cheaper side, depending on how quick you want to get a different car. Human: If I pay cash itll take a year to save up 12k. That seems like a really long time to wait, and Im not sure my current car will even last that long.  <response>: This sub is obscenely debt-averse so dont feel like you need to follow all of the advice word for word. The general sentiment is good, dont buy an expensive car and get a high interest loan stretched out across 72 months to keep the payment low enough, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with taking out a modest loan to help you get a car that you want so that you do not have to drive something that could die at any minute.Basically, have a little self control, dont overstretch yourself to get a luxury car, and shop around to get a low interest rate I got 3.5 a year ago IIRC and stay on top of your payments. 