[Christ]

I agree on not fixing up your Caravan. They're not bad vans, but they're still not really worth fixing once they've gone south, unless the body is pristine.

What I don't agree with is buying a new car. I've grown rather accustomed to spending less than $500 on any vehicle I buy, running it for awhile, then selling it for more than I paid for it.

CARS isn't going to be around long enough for you to "mull over" the inventory, so to speak, so it's going to have to be a rash decision for you that you'll probably end up regretting, so it's not worth it. Drive the Caravan for awhile and save whatever money you'd be making as a car payment with the CARS program, and get youself a decent used car with low mileage. Hell, you can find CRX's for near $1000 usually, and often, you can find used Prii (Pree-eye, plural for Prius) and other decent mileage cars for under $5000. Since you're a college student, you may even be able to get a bank loan to help you out with financing, and you'll still be further ahead than if you traded in the van. Meanwhile you can either sell or junk the van, get a few hundred bucks to pay the first car payment, tank of gas, and a scan gauge, and teach yourself how to get 50+ MPG in your "new to you" ride.