<prompt> Human: So recently my dad had promised to give me his 2009 mini cooper as a graduation gift? Long story short... I sold my current car for about 3k and he turned around and didnt give me the car or money to purchase a new car. I am currently going into my final year of graduate engineering school. It is possible to get to and from school via the schools bus system but other things like food shopping, going to run random errands becomes a hassle as I would have to rely on someone else. I also have a girlfriend who is going to school 5.5 hrs away which it would leave me with a treacherous bus ride to visit her. Also as I begin job hunting going to and from interview becomes impossible without a car. I have never been without a car as I live in the suburbs and have always had one. So in my opinion I NEED A CAR. Ive been looking into cars and have found some older cars for cheap around 3k -6k with high mileage. But because of the type of travelling I need to do and the amount of headaches and money I put into my old car, I really dont want anything with more than 85k miles. This leaves me with a few options spend 10-14k on a car thats a few years old and will get me from A to B or spend 17-20k on a 2015 Mazda 3 hatchback sport. After test driving it I literally have fallen in love. Im not sure how much insurance will cost me since I am 22. I have been driving since I was 17 and have never been in an accident or received a ticket but my mom will be taking care of that. My thought process is why spend 10-14k on something that I truly dont enjoy and in a few years I might want to upgrade when I have a good paying engineering job. But I am also very cheap and dont necessarily dont want to take a loan to pay for a car. My mom would be helping me but I would be using money I have saved over my internships to pay for it as well. A little background. I have no student loans. After graduating with my masters I want to spend a few 2-5 months in SE asia or Europetravel. I have about 15k in total to begin life. So should I tuff it out and get a cheaper car and upgrade in a few years when I have more money. Or just get the car I really enjoy and keep it till it breaks. Also if your a gear head a know of a similar driving car that is a better value than the mazda 3 let me know. But the interior is very new and technologically advanced compared to many others in its class.  <response>: If you can tough it out just one more year with a crappy car, youre really going to be happy you didnt spend all your savings when it comes time to travel. 