Car Loans .......

I called my dad few days ago and we talked about people buying brand new car. Maybe this can be his trick to ask for new ride as I promised him since last year. Haha... Anyway, technically I dont specify when I will buy car for the family even though that was one of the first thing that i thinked since i started working.
For me, I can tell how broke a person is by looking at what he is driving. A prestigious and luxurious car simply means the owner is full of debt, and has less cash for other more important expenses. This may not be true all the time but I know my neighborhood quite well.
Purchasing a car is going to be my biggest 'big ticket item' after a house. I will take months and a lot of courage for me to go to the dealer and asking the price tag. This is mainly because I am so afraid of having liability and not be able to pay the loan in the future. In contrary, others are proud to have such liability which i think way too heavy to carry.
It is amuse me how a girl, with a monthly salary of RM2000 (USD667) is able to purchase a brand new RM80,000 (USD26,667) car. Let say she made down payment of RM10,000. With loan interest of 2.5% per annum, this young lady has to pay RM794 per month for 9 years.Yes... 9 years.
In comparison, the down payment is equivalent to 5 months salary and monthly payment is 40% of the paycheck. For me, these numbers are too big to swallow. Not to forget annual insurance, road tax, service and maintenance. And last but not least, the petrol price rises steadily over last few years.
When I am about to finish my degree, I have outlined my spending plan for the next few years. I have made several plans according to my earning. As an engineer, I am expecting monthly salary of no less than RM2500. After several months working, I will consider to buy a car for myself because of necessity.
I will go for a second hand Proton Wira (Malaysian national car) which is about RM23000. I pay RM3000 for down payment. With 4% per annum interest rate, I need to pay RM400 monthly for installment. Then after 5 years, I will consider buying a better car. This way, I have more money to save and invest.