Its still hard to jusitfy a new vehicle. I spend $200 - $300 a month in gas now, so say I buy a cheap car at $199/month and put only $100 a month gas in it I break even. But a new car will mean higher insurance so my cost goes up. And thats assuming my gas cost will drop from $200 to $100 wich means 40mpg min. Some cheap cars can't even do that. For example the Kia Optima the insurance company stuck me in barely got 25mpg.