My husband pointed out that we had spent $3k on maintenance on the Grand AM in less than a year. I said I could get a car payment that is less than that monthly. I really wanted a VW Rabbit or GTI, but my husband told me I couldn't put money down on one until I promised to check out the options from Kia. I spent more on the Kia than I would have on a used Rabbit, but I got a 125k mile warranty with it and it would cost less to make look cool. The Rabbit would have needed to be lowered before I would be willing to be seen driving it. In the end, for my situation, it would cost about the same in the long run, even though the used Rabbit would be cheaper on monthly payments.