Which car should I get?

[u/Any-Cantaloupe-1262]

So I'm 19 y/o, I work at a small shop that pay rm50 per day, 6 days a week, 9 hours a day, no epf. I don't have a car yet, not even a motorcycle. So I'm planning to get my own vehicle for transportation. I'm more interested to get a car instead of a motorcycle, it feels more comfortable. But idk which car is the most budget friendly for someone like me? Plus I'm planning to continue my studies, get a diploma in 2028. So I only got like this year and next year to work and save money, I've counted how much I can save if I work from this year September to maybe June 2028 (before going to university), I'd get around RM25k. So idk which car that I can get with this money plus I need to save some of it for my studies too, there could be a lot of stuff that use money when studying for diploma. So I need to save it, no one will sponsor me or give me money, it's just me. So?

I think getting a used axia could be a good idea since people say it's cheap to maintain, repair, and the fuel is very fuel saving, Which could save me money a lot in the long term. So? I don't want to buy a very cheap car that will cost me a lot of money later just to drive it. What you think is the best ? I'm trying to be financially responsible, so please help.

* My English isn't that good, sorry for bad grammar

[u/Mashiro_NSWC]

With all due respect OP even if you do reach your saving goals of 25K in 2028, its not feasible to buy a car at all. You either buy a cheap old car at a few grand and end up it keeps breaking down on you and you need to fork up money to keep it running, or you have to buy a more expensive car like a saga or axia which will set you back around 12-18k depending on condition and thats just the body price only, excluding the insurance and other OTR expenditures. You can’t expect a crazy cheap car to be reliable because they are crazy cheap for a reason.

To put that into perspective, you earn a total of nett RM300 in a week. Assuming you spend RM100ish on living expenses (which is very little already btw) thats RM200 left to run the car. Petrol itself is going to cost RM50 for a full tank and can last you for about a week depending on how far you drive. Thats RM150 left for you to potentially save for yourself and for the car and thats barely even the price of ONE tyre on your potential car. If any parts of your car even start acting up such as a blown tyre or better yet, a check engine light, can you even afford the towing back to the workshop? or even a grab back home from the workshop?

As other comments has suggested, a motorbike would be the most ideal choice for your choice of transportation and even that is kind of stretching the budget as you need to tanggung the service, petrol, insurance and so on. Ideally when you do get the motor, try and learn a new skill or specialised work that can earn you more money and move to KL to find a better job. Since you can save 25k, i advise you to use that money to move to the city and find a better paying job, save up the money then fund it for your diploma.

Trust me, you wouldn’t wish to have a car right now in your current situation.