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Question: I’m going to graduate soon, and based on the jobs I’ve been applying to, I think I can expect to end up in a small city or a suburb afterwards. That means I’ll need a car, of course! Unfortunately, the car I used back in high school and sometimes in college recently headed to the great highway in the sky, which means I’ll need to start over with a new car in my post-grad life.

I want to keep costs down (I’ll be right out of college, after all), so my thought was that I’d buy a cheap old car. But others have warned me that an old car can actually be more expensive than a new one, because it might break down and need repairs. What’s the truth?

Answer:  The debate you refer to is an old one among car buffs, and it remains somewhat unresolved–largely because the heart of the issue is the condition of the car in question.

Car maintenance is essential to the good health of a car, say technicians at NYADI, a training school for automotive and diesel technicians. A well-maintained car is more reliable, fuel-efficient, and less likely to break down and need costly repairs.

In other words, you can extend the life of your car by investing in routine maintenance–and seeking help quickly in the event that you need more serious repairs, say top mechanics at Lebanon, Oregon’s Main Auto Body. If you have a well-maintained older vehicle, there’s a good chance that you can keep it going for years and years, despite the fears of those who are advising you against a used car.

But, of course, you can’t know for sure exactly what kind of care your used car got before it was in your hands. You can reduce the risk in the equation by opting for used vehicles from reputable dealers, vehicles with fewer years or fewer miles in their past, or vehicles that have been certified in some way by a dealer or manufacturer. But, ultimately, the only way to have complete knowledge of a car’s past and ensure that it has received great maintenance is to buy a new car and be the person in charge of keeping it in good shape! That’s the case some experts make for a new car.

New cars have disadvantages, too, however–the biggest being the price. New cars depreciate fast, making the first few years of a new car’s life disproportionately expensive. Why not let someone else shoulder that financial burden, some experts ask? Being a car’s first owner and enjoying warranty protections are great perks of buying new, but used cars–risky or not–are cheap. And lightly used cars split the difference, some say.

In the end, each option has its own advantages and disadvantages. You may want to consider a used car from a reliable dealer as your first vehicle–it’ll take less out of your pocket as you get started on your career. Later in life, you can revisit this debate–which will, no doubt, still be raging.

“Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car.” — E.B. White