<prompt> Human: So like the title says, Im 25 and about to start my career making 70k salary a year and I desperately need a new car. The one I want is about 28k. Im looking to get it before I relocate so I have a good car for the rest of winter. If I get a loan from my bank, Im assuming its better to pay it off sooner than later, but Im not sure how much I can afford to pay off each month. My rent will be about 800 a month if thats any consolation. Im just not sure how I would go about balancing my finances since Im about to start making big purchases in my life. Any guidance is much appreciated, thanks in advance. Assistant: You sound like you need some guidance, so dont mind if I do.Dont buy the expensive new car. 30k? For what? For a metal box that drives you from point A to point B? That 30k car will be worth 15k in 5 years assuming you take excellent care of it. Not only is depreciation costing you big bucks just to drive, you will be paying sales tax on 30k and property taxes as well. Dont forget comprehensive insurance to protect your 30k car but even insurance cant protect you from deprecation. Since you are starting out and cant pay cash, you need a used car. Something in the 5-10k range will be everything you need. Cars in the range will be:- Reliable- Able to get you from A to B the same as 30k car- Fuel efficient- Past the stages of wallet burning depreciation- Cheaper to insure- Cheaper taxes- Leaving you for more important thingsRead the sidebar wiki on how to handle money. Basically, start saving for an emergency. Pay off debts. Save for retirement and other things like a house. Human: The main reason is that I want a dependable car with 4 wheel drive and great mileage. I know cars that have 4wd all start around 15-20k for the decent ones. Ill be traveling anywhere from 30-40co for work and I want something that will make it through the tough Detroit winters. But in that case, couldnt I just lease a car for a few years since it would be cheaper maybe in the short term?  <response>: Cars lose about 10-15 of their value every year. If you buy a new car that costs 28k, itll be worth about 20k in 2 years.Or, you could find the same car that is 2 years old and in good shape, probably still under warranty with low miles, and pay 20k instead of 28k. Itll still lose value, but not nearly as much. The most expensive part of owning a car is the first 2 years. 