Should I sell my car and buy a cheaper one to pay for things?

I got in some trouble and I have to pay court costs that can possibly go up to $1200 and I have about two dollars and no job. (I'm willing to work, I just didn't have a job because I was in school and just got out.) I'm trying really hard to get a job right now but I have to pay like $500 in less than three weeks. I also want to live in an apartment starting in August. So I was going to save all summer to put money towards an apartment but now I mucked up and have to pay for a bunch of stuff. I still want to live in an apartment in the same town as my college and I want to work there too, so I wouldn't be going anywhere far so I wouldn't need a super nice car. I could probably sell my car for about $6000 and I thought about buying a car for $3000 so Then I would have $3000 left over and could pay off my court costs and also have extra money AND all the money I made this summer could be saved. I also could find a car that is cheaper on insurance. But is this a bad idea? I'm not a picky person about how nice my car is as long as it runs and doesn't eat up gas. I've looked at cars in my area for sale and there's a few that I would definitely drive and be interested in. My car now though is a Honda Civic great on gas and paid off and reliable. But I can get money from it which I need bad.

Lots of Q's…1st of all, for your honda: you need to look at the edmunds website to see what the actual value is for the vehicle if you sold it to a private party, or a dealer; 2nd - it will be difficult to find a decent vehicle for $ 3000 that does not need lots of work… Maybe consider a small cc motorcycle or a scooter ; 3rd - as far as an apt… NO WAY, sorry… You need to have good credit + a steady source of income… Sorry to be a bearer of bad news, but that's the reality of what you are asking about.

If you aren't very careful, a cheaper car may end up costing you more money in repairs. Your plan could work IF you can actually get $6000 for your car, AND you don't owe on a car loan, AND you can find a good car for $3000 that doesn't have major problems.

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