Car Loans

Hi!

My car had a pretty bad breakdown last night. I took it to the mechanic today, and they explained that it will cost $6,000 to fix the problems. For reference, this is a 2005 model with almost 200,000 miles. Not worth the cash to fix, even if I had it laying around.

I’ve been looking on CarMax for affordable used cars. The issue is that I have about $1,500 in savings, as I’ve been spending all of my money on grad school tuition. The cheaper and more reliable options are in the $18,000 to $20,000 range.

I’m afraid that my bank will deny me a loan considering my current account balance. Additionally, I haven’t picked out exactly which car I want yet, so when I was filling out the application, I just put down for a $20,000 loan just in case I go for one of the more expensive options.

My questions:
Do you think I will get denied the loan? And if so, what do I do next?
If I put down for a $20,000 loan and end up buying a $17,000 car, will I get in trouble?
Is there anything you would tell me to help me get through this process by myself?

Thanks in advance! I’m looking at picking up a second job just to help me through the next few months. Once my lease is up, I will try to move in with some friends so rent will be cheaper and I can put more towards the loan to avoid as much of the interest as possible.

My dad and I are currently not on speaking terms, so when I reached out, I was given the cold shoulder. Sorry for all the questions, but I didn’t know where else to go.