Hello All,

I am a student in one of the American cities. The bus system in my city is pretty poor and I usually spend an average of one-and-a-half hours on the rod for a distance of about 14 miles (the distance from Ojuelegba to Ikeja). I have to ago to my internship from school about 3 times a week and I have had to stay on the road for close to 3 hours (to and fro), catching and leaving buses, for almost 9 months. I have almost $4000 and towards the end of the year, I should have $10,000, if my plans come to fruition. When I came here initially, I believed a car was above me and that I really did not need it. But I guess since I have had to interact with people who have cars, and who by and large have the Nigerian big-boy-we-must-enjoy-life mentality, I started to consider getting a car few months back. So, in essence, my plans to get a car is as equally inspired by the need to get around more conveniently and the need to prove levels in school, which may not be a good reason I guess. The problem is I talked to one of my professors recently and he told me about how it is unwise to get a car as a student and how I should endure the terrible bus system and save and invest my money. Basically he was saying that the cost of maintenance of a car and the costs of things like insurance etc was not a wise burden for a student to take on. Since I may stop my internship before I can get a car and basically work on campus, I feel like when I get a car it will be under-utilized and will therefore be a bad decision. I believe I can cut on the costs of insurance by buying a cheap car, but then I also feel that will rob me of the prestige and satisfaction I should get from buying a car. Besides the cheaper/older the car, the more likely it is that I will need constant visits to the mechanic, something I cannot afford to do as a student, both in terms of money an d time. I will have to go to places form time to time if I get a car and stop my internship. But I am not just sure if the pleasure and comfort of buying a car outweighs the potential rewards of investing my money for the future. I need your well thought-out advices.

Thanks