When I was in college, I went through a string of used cars.  So I actually did the math:  continuous minor to moderate repairs and parts cost, plus needing to buy another used car approximately every 2 years when inevitably something would go wrong that cost more to fix than the car was worth, divided by the number of months this had been going on, came out to approximately $333/mo.  So I bought a new Hyundai for $10K and paid $235/mo. for it.  It will be 5 years old this March and I hope to drive it at least another 5 years after that.