<prompt> Human: We are better off financially. We paid off our vehicle almost a year ago. I just want to say THANK YOU for the redditor that sent my wife and I money to purchase my sons car seat. We put it in the same vehicle we paid off. Wherever you are I just tell you Im going to pay it forward in the future!! Sorry I digress. My wife and I live with her grandma for cheaper rent. Her grandmothers house is surrounded by a lot of steep hills. We decided to brace for winter here and stay here longer. Our current vehicle wont make it uphill in the winter. Were looking for a family SUV that has a 4x4 and a V6. Current vehicle has neither. One car dealership has 0, 2 year or 30,000 mile warranty and no credit checks. But the vehicles are older and they want a high car payment 300-450 a month depending on the vehicle. I went there today. It was surprisingly laid back atmosphere. Were not sure on what to do. We only have 1,000 cash saved. Im the only one working and work full time at 14 an hour. We also get Social security income at 700 a month for my sons medical needs. Were currently improving my credit and well finally have better credit in a couple of months. So we have a few options and not sure what to pick. Of course we prefer paying cash but its not an option for us right now.What should my wife and I do?? ThanksAssistant: 500 would buy you snow tires, which unless youre climbing sheer ice would turn most fwd cars into fully capable snow machines. for reference we get a ton of snow where I live and my road is unplowed and I drove a rwd sports coupe in the winter .Your situation seems tenuous and youre talking in payments instead of actual list price. Its all scaring me. Youre in a prime situation to get destroyed by a car loan. I would avoid it at all costs. Human: Really? A RWD sports coupe in the winter? Wow! Our current vehicle is a 2008 Mazda Tribute SUV. It has a 2.3 liter 4 cylinder engine. Weve had the transmission rebuilt twice in the past five years. We dont want to do it a third time. Youre saying good winter tires would be good enough driving uphill and downhill during a winter storm?  <response>: 2 transmission rebuilds in 5 years is still a heck of a lot cheaper than a car payment every month for 5 years. 