<prompt> Human: At the engagement party of a longtime friend, her parents told me out of the blue they would like me to have their spare, unused, old beater car for free. In a way, this could be a windfall of sorts. But Im torn on whether to accept. Heres why: -I live in an urban center and have been surviving perfectly fine without a car. It would we be a wonderful convenience to have, but its not a necessity by any means. -Though the car was offered for free, I wouldnt feel right accepting it without giving them at least a few hundred dollars. Then, there is the cost to own and maintain the car, which is money I could save, put toward my student loans, or do anything else with. However, there is potential that it actually makes financial sense to take on the car. I currently travel home 350 miles every couple of months. Having my own car would add a huge degree of flexibility time cost over taking the bus or borrowing a friends, and would be cheaper than the train, a rental, or flying.Plus, the car is not worthless. If I buy it for 500, spend 1.5k to own it for a year, then sell it for 3-4k Id end up in the black. Finally, on a less logical note, Ive always been a car lover and a fan of this brand. I would get a lot of joy from owning and driving it. So, TL;DR: I dont need it and its an expense I could avoid. But its a convenience and pleasure, with potential financial benefits. Thoughts?  <response>: Id vote just take the car and use it until it clunks out. If youre getting it for free and get two or three years of use out of it before something goes wrong you got a free car out of the deal. If it needs something expensive just donate the car to charity or sell it for scrap, and you still wouldnt be out anything. You could drive it for years and have no issues. With it being an older car Id imagine the insurance isnt ridiculous on it. Youd have gas, insurance, registration and stickers for a car. 