<prompt> Human: Assuming you can afford the payments, or have saved up, is it ever smarter to buy a new car and hold it for a long time than to buy a used car that might have mechanical problems and cost you more in repairs?  <response>: Financially, its fairly easy to justify buying moderately used cars your entire life. Buuut... The reason we are responsible with our finances is so we can build wealth and enjoy it. I pretty much never recommend taking on a car payment. Instead, pay cash and save up until you can buy something you can afford. I would really urge anyone looking at new cars to wait until they have enough net worth to justify the severe depreciation hit.Personally, Ill probably drive used cars my entire life because no matter what because theyre just that much better of a deal to me. Used doesnt even have to be beater quality, really. It just means someone else had it previously. 