<prompt> Human: The question is very broad but let me lay out my scenario. Im 18 years old and I am leaving to bootcamp any time from now until april of 2017 which means I will leave home for about 4 years while Im on deployment. But in the meantime I want a car. So basically my question is would I be better off renting, buying, financing,or leasing a car if I only want to use it from now until the time I get shipped off to bootcamp? Id prefer not to pay for a car while Im on deployment but if I have to I will because Ill have the money to pay for it so what would be the best option?  <response>: Buying a new car is impractical. You would end up losing 20 or more of the cars price even if you resell it next year. A lease is also not practical as they are usually for 3 or so years. A sub 1 year lease would also have to pay for depreciation. Some newer trucks dont depreciate much, but the risk of buying an expensive new vehicle is too high with a upcoming deployment. Renting a car might make sense. But renting for months at a time is expensive. Renting just for when you need a car might be better. Using cabs, uber, public transportation, and the occasional rental probably makes the most sense. If you really want a car or drive a lot, maybe a older car makes sense. A 3000 car will probably sell for 3000 or close to it next April. 