Re: Funded by a car manufacturer by any chance?
Exactly. Why do you have to either spend your whole budget on the car, or on a cheaper car plus a bunch of silly upgrades? Where's the third option, for buying a cheaper car and banking the rest in case you need repairs or for vacations or whatever if you don't?
Anyway, I wouldn't buy a used car so old it doesn't have some warranty left, so you'd be able to figure out pretty quickly if you've landed a lemon without fixing it out of pocket. If you have a lemon, sell it, take the loss, and try again - that's why you spend less than the whole wad on the car!
Biting the hand that feeds IT
