thought: keep the Tercel through the winter, assuming it's still road-worthy. keep it until it costs more to fix than it's worth. advice: IF you buy German or American, find a one/two year old vehicle that has the Certified/Pre-owned warranty from the manufacturer. Will normally extend you to 6 years/100,000 miles. Definitely needed on German cars. I speak from experience, having owned Audi (A6, A8, S5) and knowing the prez of the M-B owner's club. misc. rambling: the newest 4 wheeled vehicle I own is a 2004. My cars/truck have 91,000, 107,000 and 131,000 miles on them. They all look respectable (no major dings, no rust), and they all run fine. I could pay cash for just about any new vehicle except a Veyron, but just can't justify it to myself. But, I'm not your age, and i'm not chaufeuring young women around, either - and we know that even though they shouldn't, they will judge you in part based on what you drive. thought: narrow your choices to 4 (or less) vehicles. test drive one of each. decide which one you want, then find the best deal you can. since you have a running vehicle you should have plenty of time to find a great deal.