<prompt> Human: My mechanic recently said that my car likely has 3-5 years left, which is nothing to sneeze at, but it made me start thinking about the next car. Im wondering if I start saving now, could I save enough that buying a new car would be reasonable? How much should one save before buying a car? Should I completely stay away from financing and only buy a car I have the cash for, or is there a certain percentage of the price that you can save that makes buying new a decent idea, the way you save 20 for a house?  <response>: How much should one save before buying a car?Probably however much the car you want will cost. 