<prompt> Human: Ive owned my own car since college and have been lucky to not have any car payments to worry about. Unfortunately the past year my car has become unreliable with break downs and now its not worth the cost of anymore repairs. I need a new vehicle, but unfortunately my credit is very very poor due to medical bills and student loans. Both my parents are on disability and so I dont have anyone in the situation to co-sign either. Now Ive recently got two Secured credit cards to try and improve my credit, but its not going to be an overnight fix and I need a car soon. Now Im wondering if you recommend waiting until I get my tax refund back and try to buy a cheap temporary car for around 2k, or would getting a car loan that finances to bad credit but has high rates be beneficial to improving my credit so I know I can afford to make payments?I just got a job promotion and so my income will be improving, but my credit score holds me back in terms of financing Assistant: You dont want to take a car loan with bad credit. These are the kind of car purchases that become impossible to get out from under. We have multiple posts of just this situation here every day. What is the makemodelyearmileage of your current vehicle? How much have you spent repairing it this year?Human: My current car is a 2004 Dodge Stratus with 112,000 miles on it. Last year spent 300 on it for a camshaft sensor, then spent 1500 on it for new timing belt and basically engine had to be rebuilt because it seized up. Then another 300 for an oil valve leak. Thats not counting flat tire incidents, spark plugs, and dead batteries. Ive ended up broken down on the side of dark interstate roads one too many times and I need something I dont have to worry about. The next breakdown is sure to be its last  <response>: dont panic and use a few routine repairs as an excuse to get a car loan. with the exception of the engine rebuild, all those items are routine and could happen with any vehicle. spark plugs need to be replaced every so often, tires occasionally go flat. 