Man, all I can tell you is there's not a whole lot of folks on this board who will say 'car'.
For my .02- cars will come and go, but you will always be a pilot; for me there would be no decision to make.
I would save up at least 5 grand. You might not need all of it, but there will always be little things you will want, like a headset, flight bag, transciever, etc.
Also, beware of flight schools milkin' ya. Try to get some kind of guarantee from them, and then look real hard for the back door they will inevitably use to sap more money or flight time from you.