<prompt> Human: Some background about my financial situation. Im 24, in graduate school with an unpaid internship and a job I work 20 hours at and take the bus to. My rent is paid by my financial aid overflow DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR but once MayJune hits, I pay my full rent in cash on my own until September rolls around again. I have a credit score in the excellent range that Ive been working on since I was 18. I pay two small credit card bills, insurance and phone bill, which all ad up to 245 monthly. I have never owned my own car, only driven my parents cars, and Im still included on their car insurance. My dilemma is this. Im not making enough money with my hours, and its impossible to take on more hours as I have to bus between work, internship, job and home, and the bus rides between each are between 30-45 minutes including wait times and all the stops each bus makes our bus system is very handicap friendly and services a LOT of wheelchair bound riders which is great, but slows down travel time a lot. Due to the layout of my city, walking would take longer and Ubers everyday would be too expensive. So I need a car.Ive heard such bad horror stories about folks leasing cars from sub prime auto lenders, but Im wondering if thats my only option as Im young and need a cheap CHEAP car payment. I would be needing a car somewhere under 5000 dollars total, nothing fancy, nothing new, just needs to start and stop, thats it. Is going to a credit union and talking auto loans even an option for me? I know credit unions give the best rates but I dont even know if I would be approved with my age and income level at the moment. Is the only option I have to suck it up and try not to be buried by a sub prime loan?  <response>: How are you going to make this car payment? You say you cant possibly save enough to buy something, so how on earth will you make the payment? You arent going to find a loan with long terms, so if you borrow 5000 and have to pay it off in 24 months, are you going to have more than 200 a month for the payment?If its a car loan, be ready for higher insurance too. You will have to have full coverage and your existing insurance doesnt cover something you havent purchased yet car insurance has to be purchased for each car owneddriven, it doesnt matter if your parents have you on their cars...you have to be insured on your car too.What about paying for tags?How are you going to afford a car payment and repairs? Chances are good that a cheap car will end up with some repairs or need tires.I would first see if you can scrape up 1 or 2 grand and buy a beater. Sell stuff if you need to. Ive purchased multiple cars for less than 3 grand and driven the tires off. Im currently driving a Sienna minivan I paid 2800 for and have had 3 years. Maybe ask your parents if you could rent one of their cars? Ask relatives if they have a car you could buy or rent from them. 