Hi, I drive a 1996 Saturn SW2 wagon. It's treated me well over the years, but it's getting old and unreliable and I am looking to replace it in 2016 or 2017. (My health issues and the weather here in Anchorage, Alaska make a bicycle unworkable as primary transportation for me.) I currently have about $16,000 saved up for the next car, and I'm adding at least $300 a month to that.
My condo is fully paid for but I have almost no other retirement/emergency savings, and I'm 48. I'd like to buy a car that will last me another 20 years; but I realize that buying a cheaper car may be better, even if I can't get as many years out of it, because I could invest the difference. I looked at other cars a few years ago when my cars engine died (I ended up buying a wreck with a good engine and having it installed in my car) and I wasn't really comfortable with most of the ones that were less than $8,000 to $10,000.