my red hot car

My parents want to trade cars with me. They've been leasing a Neon for a year, and they want me to buy it and give them my (older) car for my brother to drive. Thing is, what I really want is a Toyota Prius. I won't be able to buy one this year or, unless I get a fellowship, next year, but trading up now means it'll be longer before I can trade up again. My car is 8 years old. It's really a question of whether it will last until I can afford the car I really want. It's probably smarter to get the year-old car now, rather than try to hang on to the old one long enough to replace it with sparkly new technology. It's not as fulfilling, though.