I currently own a 2007 PT cruiser. In the past week I spent $627 on a tune up and repairs. The tune up cost $427. I have to pay for expensive dealership tune-ups to maintain my warranty which allows the cost of repairs to be $100 each visit. Every time I have taken this car to get serviced (since I bought the car used 4 years ago) it has needed $1000-2300 worth of work. If I didn't have the warranty on this car I would not be able to afford it.

I only make 38K a year starting 2 weeks ago. My new job is an hour away. I cannot move for the next 8 months because I would like to pay my debt off first ($8000 not including school loans and the $8000 is what I would like to pay off before moving).

My car cannot take this commute for long so I have started looking for a car. I have $2000 saved and $2100 in equity in the car because I was told the trade in value is $4000 and $1900 is left on the car note.

I am trying to figure out if I should buy a cheaper car like a used yaris, lease a new Honda civic, or some other option. I can afford about an 11000 note. I was seriously thinking about leasing the Honda civic and then buying after the lease ended. Any advice would be appreciated.

I like the yaris. Dependable, good gas mileage, nice styling.

What's the KBB value of the PT Cruiser? How many miles? I'm guessing you could get at least 6k if you sold it to an individual. Here are some good suggestions for selling your car when you already have a loan. http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=sell&story=sellLoan&subject=how_sell

The trade in for a fair PT cruiser is $3694 and the private sale of fair condition PT is $5279. There is some vibration in the wheel so I don't know if I could sell it. I put it on craigslist just now.

Personally I'd look to buy a used Honda Civic. They last for thousands of miles and the maintenance on them is usually minimal. Get the history on any vehicle you buy. Cafax.com is a good start. Although I'm sure there are others out there.

I second the used Honda Civic. I bought a used 2003 Honda Civic about 3 years ago(Sept 2009) for under $7k with only 43k miles on it. I've since taken it up to over 93k miles and it runs great. I did have to change the timing belt and water pump recently but that is required maintenance and wound up costing about $500 at a Honda dealer. Other than that, I changed the brake pads myself recently, changed the tires once after a flat, and have done the regular oil changes and maintenance costs have been very low.

I'd shy away from service warranties as they tend to not be cost effective. They are also not necessary if you get a reliable car. Given your current financial predicament, a used car would be best since you won't want to add more debt. A new civic would be too much money. Stick with the used Civics and check the carfax reports. Good luck with your search and hopefully you'll have better luck with the next car.