I was still in college at 20. Working literally 3 and sometimes 4 different jobs and grateful that my parents let me stay until I finished my degree.
What I drove then ... was a bike. Ok. So for an accurate comparison my first new car was a TJ wrangler, drove a 75 impala for years before that. Did I look at used? Sure, but in the end it was a wash. I wanted something that I maintained myself. I didn't care about the depreciation driving off of the lot because I planned on driving it into a rusty heap in the dirt which is what I did.
13 years later and many holes in the floor I bought my next new car ... with cash along with a couple motorcycles one new one used. Moral of the story? Don't make payments, new or used just buy what you can afford.