@marsch Whenever people ask advice on what first car to buy when you first start working, I would always advise to just get a myvi. I know it doesn’t look fancy but it’s inexpensive and worth it. The value doesnt drop that much and is always in high demand. My myvi bought in 2012 I think still has a resell value for 20k (according to Google). Maintenance is also very much bearable, routine service is well below RM500. Car is only a tool to bring you from point A to point B, and you’re a pilot so you won’t be driving alot too I suppose.
There were times I felt I needed to upgrade my lifestyle and get a new car, but I didn’t do it because after checking the cost (installments & maintenance) I asked myself why do I want to spend so much extra when my current car can just get me where I need to be. I can actually afford to pay up a new car without loan, but again what for? Maybe I’m just not someone that needs a fancy car to stroke my ego. I did upgrade other lifestyle aspects like dining, traveling, shopping etc, I just dgaf on what people think when they see what car I drive.
I read some of your comments that you intend to stick to your ori plan to start paying your parents, and I’m really proud of your decision. Don’t take family loans for granted because everyone has a scoring system that works in their mind. It’s not written out like how the banks do, you won’t even know how it is being evaluated.
Once you start working, work on a budget plan and focus on saving your 6 months emergency fund. Set a target amount to save every month. For me, I didn’t had much commitments when I first started working, only had a car loan and a cheaper study loan, so I committed to save 30% of my salary and it kinda remained throughout the years as a minimum portion to set aside every month.
Good luck OP!