I think you are making a good choice wrt finances and encourage you to stay the course. I suspect you are thinking hard about the price point at which it makes sense to sell the 124. Although you are willing to drive a beater, it does need to be reliable and (I presume) air conditioned. Used car prices are crazy these days. A quick gander shows $4K will get you a 2004 Honda Civic with 150K miles on it. If the 124 sells for $10K, is it worth it to step down to the older Honda to generate $6K in capital? It's a decision for you to make, but frankly driving a 20 year old car doesn't strike me as excessively lavish. Best of luck wherever it takes you.