I am going to devote around 10% of my monthly income to a monthly payment for my car, using an APR of 4.3% which was stated to be around the average on one of the sites I was reviewing. I'm going to get a 2012 Toyota Corolla LE 4D Sedan as I read it was a reliable car, and on CarMax there was one for sale for $11,998. So I'm going to invest the $3,000 as a down payment, and pay $291 a month for 36 months, trying to minimize the amount of time I'm paying for the car without letting it take over my monthly income. Car insurance is around $200 a month for the Toyota Corolla, 13.8%, higher than the average of 9.6%, and I have to pay $100 for the registration. I'm adding another $40 a month for gas.
I chose this car for the reliability, I looked up cheap reliable cars and it consistently appeared at or near the top, I don't care about appearance really so long as it isn't embarrassing, I just want it to get me where I need to go.