NLAS,
I can only tell you my experience and I am not an expert at this. But ... my husband and I NEVER buy new cars anymore (and yes we could technically afford them if we really wanted to). By the time you have driven a new car off the lot, it has greatly depreciated in value. We typically buy "newer" used cars, because the most drastic depreciation happens in the first year of the car's life. So we get a relatively new car but let somebody else take the depreciation.
If you buy from a private individual, you can get a better deal, but it's risky. If you decide to look in the classifieds and find a car in your budget range that you are interested in, you really have to have a good relationship with a good mechanic --- somebody who will check it out thoroughly for you before you commit to buying it. Actually, having your own mechanic check out ANY car you want to buy is a good idea, but some commercial places have extensive records on maintenance etc. that you can check. However, if I had to buy a car all by myself I would probably still take it to a mechanic to be checked out before I bought it.
We bought several cars from auto rental companies. Some people complain that people drive those cars carelessly and therefore don't trust this type of deal, but we have had good luck. These companies will sell off any car that is 1 or 2 years old, and they keep good maintenance records that you can look at. We bought at 1987 Toyota Corolla like that, drove it til I think 1998, and never had a moment's trouble with it ... which basically led to us gravitating back to Toyotas again and again.
My dad used to say we ought to "buy American" ... but heck, my husband's extended family members work in the Toyota plant just outside of Lexington, Kentucky! It's only the high-level executives of the "American" brands that lose out when you buy a Toyota Avalon at least ---- there are Americans making your car. I have a hard time feeling sorry for the execs that run a company that don't produce as good of a product, so I have no angst at all over buying Japanese (or any other foreign make).
You have several options. If you have even a couple of thousand dollars saved (or the equivalent if you live outside the U.S.), you can get a reliable although probably junky-looking car. If it were me, I'd prefer an ugly, old car to being indebted to my N parents. Yes, you can take out a loan ... IF you have good credit and a good relationship with a bank or credit union. Often you can get MUCH better deals on loans at a credit union ... look up the credit unions in your area in the yellow pages, and find out their criteria for joining. You would be surprised ... in our area, we belong to the federal teachers' credit union and we are not teachers. Our credit union invites you to join if you work, live, or just go to church within the county. You can go to either a CU or your bank and ask for help in getting pre-approved for a car loan. They will be able to walk you through the process and at the end will be able to tell you the max that you can borrow. Then you have to go pick out the car you want to buy and they have to be assured that you are not getting gypped (because if you get ripped off, so do they).
I hate working with new car salesmen. I never feel like I really got the best deal because the whole negotiating process is like a big game for them. However, you usually can find a used car dealership that is associated with a new car dealership ... where when somebody buys a new car, they trade in their old car and then the dealership next door sells it. It is not as good of a deal as a private seller (like in the classifieds) but there's a little more feeling of security because your car may come with some kind of warranty or at least you feel like you have more recourse if you find yourself stuck in a bad deal.
Do you have friends that have been through this process before? If so, maybe one or more friends can go with you to car shop.
Once you have been through this process, you might get more confident to try more offbeat tactics next time. I have a friend who buys cars at car auctions, drives them awhile and fixes them up, and sells them at a profit --- it's a little side business for him. Eventually you might find somebody with that type of business going, and you can kind of tell them what you're looking for and they will keep their eye out for a good deal at auction.
I would say --- if you have at least a couple of thousand dollars or the equivalent saved, you can buy an old car outright and then start saving for a classier one, and not be dependent on your parents' "generosity" anymore. If not, you might have to get a loan but if you have a good job and good credit that should not be a problem.
I hope this helps at least give you an idea of what the process of car buying is like.
