<p>In my experience, the people who had cars in high school and/or college were the kids who whined about having huge college loans to pay off. Por ejemplo, one of my best friend's moms bought him a brand new SUV for his 16th birthday, yet can't pay $10k a year for college. Seems a bit of a waste to me.</p>
<p>Unless you're literally out in the middle of nowhere, then you don't need a car. And even if you are in the middle of nowhere, you don't "need" a car.</p>
<p>Im not in college but my sisters were...I believe that if u go to college in the city theres bound to be transportation thats public like my sister whom went to a 3 yr-bfa in photography program in boston...she brought her car up one semester in her 2nd yr and it made no sense she still took the T more often then her car...and who cannot beat the china town bus(we live on long island its just a short distance home from there) 10 dollars china town to china town for short trips she brought it home a few months later and took the ctb or amtrack up for the rest of time..</p>
<p>The money thing is why you buy an old car or get one that another family member would have been selling but couldn't because of low trade value.</p>
<p>In my case, I got a 1988 Acura Legend. The car was paid off in 1993 by my grandparents. Trade in value claims to be around $1000, but the dealers around here would have only given them about $500 for it. Since they were getting a new car, they gave me the Legend. The cost? $93 for the title/plate transfer fee.</p>
<p>If you do get a car this old, make sure it is well maintained and that it is a vehicle without a history of problems. Honda/Acura, Toyota/Lexus, and Volvo are all safe bets. My car has low mileage (107K) and I take care of it (oil changes, tranny flushes, replaced the brakes last year). Only complaint right now is that it has a stuck power antenna, but it's stuck in the up position so I guess that's better than being down, right?</p>
<p>And as for the original question, I answer a huge YES to this, but that is in large part because I commute so I need to get to campus daily. Also, most of my activities are off campus (church, for example) as are my jobs so I need one to get around. Plus I can go to the mall, ballpark, movies, whatever and not have to worry about finding a ride. If my car does break, we have a rarely used 1996 Volvo 850 (only 61K miles!) in my grandparents garage that I can borrow (and will eventually become mine when they downsize to one car).</p>
<p>As for breakdowns, I'd say you should get AAA (ask for it for Christmas/Hannukah/whatever you celebrate) in case something happens. Guys like me who are clueless about stuff like changing tires really need this. Make sure, if you're out of your town, that you find a good trusty mechanic--even if you can work on cars you won't be able to in a college parking lot. And when you have breaks at home, get your car tuned up/inspected then so that if something needs to be done you're not out of commission at college. (For example, I got an oil change on one of my finals days when I didn't have any tests).</p>
<p>And last but not least, on campus. Part of me wanted to have that old trusty Legend up there with me. I could have escaped the hell of Mount Union more often (driving into Canton every night would have been my plan). However, watch out for drunks on campus--I saw many cars banged up because of people who couldn't park right/drive right. Also, there is no garage at most colleges, so if you've got an older car or one that you spoil/keep safe, you're out of luck. After watching a ton of cars get ruined by idiots who drank alcohol, I am glad I kept my Legend at home even if it made my life a living hell for a few months--at least I had my car when I came back.</p>