If you can’t afford to buy a $10k car in cash outright and can only put down $8k to finance the rest... then just buy an $8k car outright and be done.

Want vs need. There is a reason so many people are up to their eyeballs in debt. I want people to thrive and build wealth, not give all their money to the bank.

Buy what you can with cash. If you can only afford a $8k car. Then buy that with cash, save up another $5k.. sell your car for $7k, and take that to buy a $12k with cash. Save up another $5k, sell your car for $11k and go buy a $16k car with cash.. each step will bring a nicer vehicle without having any debt. Repeat the steps until you get your dream car.