Hi, my name is Beth, and just minutes after buying my very first car, something I had worked towards and been so excited about, it broke down and filled with smoke on the drive home. What should have been one of the happiest moments of my life turned into one of the most stressful and overwhelming experiences I have ever had.

Within about five minutes of leaving the seller's house, the car began to fail, and suddenly there was smoke surrounding us while my older sister was in the driver's seat beside me. In that moment, I was genuinely terrified. I did not know what was happening or if we were safe. It felt like everything had gone wrong all at once.

Since then, I have been left with an essentially unusable car and a seller who is now refusing to return my money despite previously agreeing to as I called her on the side of the road in a panic. I feel completely stuck. My options right now are either to start from scratch and try to save again, which could take a long time, also leaving me with no car when i turn 18 - essentially no freedom which is all i wish for; or somehow come up with thousands of dollars I do not have to replace the engine, which would cost more than what I paid for the car in the first place.

As a Year 12 student, I am already dealing with the pressure of my final year of school, and this situation has added a level of stress that has been really hard to manage. It is not just about the financial loss; it is the emotional impact as well. What was meant to be a huge milestone for me has turned into something overwhelming, and it has been difficult trying to balance this with everything else going on in my life.

Any support, no matter how small, would mean so much to me and help me get back on the road, ready for me to become an adult. Thank you for taking the time to read my story.