Suze Orman would say no. I watch her "can I afford it?" segment all the time. The first thing she checks for is if you have an 8 month emergency fund. As in, do you have enough money in the bank to continue to live your current lifestyle for 8 months with no changes? This is in case you lose your job or get in an accident, etc. She checks for this even before 401k, etc. You don't have the savings. If your current car works fine, then I say save your money until you can pay cash. But that's me and I'm ultra-conservative with money.
But not having a car payment is about the best feeling ever
