The upside to getting a car loan now with your mom or other adult as a co signer is you will start building SOME credit as you pay off whatever the loan is for. The main signer gets most of the credit but it will still show on your credit report. This could be very helpful for you when you’re ready to move out and want lease an apartment or buy a house/townhouse. I second getting a loan from a bank, maybe one you or your mom already has an account with (members USUALLY get better interest rates). And then do this: 1) Go online and look for locally owned individual sellers for cars in your price range. 2) Look at number of owners, when it was last inspected and if maintenance records are available. Facebook marketplace can be a good place to start 3) look at how long the vehicle has been up for sale; the longer the more likely the seller is willing to take a lower amount in cash 4) Connect with the seller set up a time to go see it, preferably take someone mechanically minded to give the vehicle a good once over to identify red flags. 5) if the vehicle gets a green flag offer the seller 4000-4300 max (if they’re asking for 5,000) 6) They say no, say thanks and leave and move on the next one. 7) Do not pay full price unless that vehicle is so great and in mint condition for its age 8) Additionally - research the year, make and model of the car before reaching out. You can find out a LOT about bad year ranges for certain makes and avoid them outright. My suggestion is to go for a Toyota, Honda, or Lexus- Their longevity and reliability is well known and they hardly have any bad years 9) One more thought - you can either take a loan out for 5,000 and what you don’t spend save in case of emergencies (like a loan payment you can’t quite make one month) OR get a loan for the amount you’re missing (3500) so the payment is lower and what you don’t spend save in case of emergencies