In all honesty its what you pay is what you'll get out of the vehicle. I say save up and either put a bigger down payment on a better vehicle and finance. Or get a loan and bank finance. I See a lot of negative reviews on people who are putting a 1000 down on vehicles from $3488-$6988 and expecting a perfect vehicle and complain "oh they sold me a lemon." That is not how it works... there is a reason they are listed at that. Its a fair price but I say save up 3-4k and use that as a down payment on a vehicle 8-11k and you will be better off. Its common sense. If you have 4k -7k you can probably finance a nice vehicle through the bank that's 12-15k if you have good credit, if not use it on a down payment. on the 8-11k vehicles.