First, I'll ask everyone to try and keep flaming to a minimum.

Second, you'd probably be better off behind the wheel of a 2.5 RS, not a WRX. In all honesty, you may think you know your limits, however you're still a very inexperienced driver and have hardly had the time to explore them. If you did finance a car, you could modify it. You could also modify it on lease, however you might end up being required to buy out the car at the end of the lease. You'd have to ask the dealer on this one.

Stick with something that has a bit less power and is cheaper, probably older than a WRX. Unless you go to a rich school where a WRX wouldn't really stand out, your car (especially if you get a WRX) may be subjected to keying and other acts of jealousy by your peers. I would look at used cars for my first, and if I wanted to stick with Subaru I'd get a 99-01 2.5RS. They look good, handle good and are reasonably quick.

You might also consider just buying a much, much cheaper car and not resigning yourself to high car payments at such a young age. Having car payments when you want to buy tickets to prom or fix your car or take out a girl aren't fun. Good luck.

 

my question would be- how were you planning to afford the car?- if you have the money then so be it. second- if you pay were you planning on paying the full amount?. i can see dad dropping a huge down to where your payments would be minimal.. just to help you learn and build good budget habits.

when i was in high school i worked at 15 years old. i worked and paid for almost everything but rent. in my opinion i say go with a cheap used car(preferrably subaru) and use that until you are completely out on your own. but i also know that it would be PIMP to have a brand new wrx to drive to school! but really it sound like your dad has the say so... i wish my parents could have afforded a brand new car for me when i was in high school. whichever way you go, try to enroll yourself in a driver course or something similar.



aloha from the sumit of Mauna Kea

 

I'd definitely go with a used car then. When I was in highschool I was working 30 hours a week or so and paying only $100 a month for my 1986 Honda Accord. It wasn't too bad, but once you factor in gas, insurance and car payment, it eats in to your going out and having fun money. Plus, the more money you can make and save now, the better off you'll be later, especially if you go away to college. I was fortunate and able to save a bunch of money so that when I moved out of my parents house at 19 I had quite a bit in savings that allowed me to pay all the start up costs like deposits and furniture and food and such. Having a cheapo car was a big helper with that.

 

YOOO ADAM, welcome to the club

 

I know the feeling, I'm a little bit ahead of where you were. 18, I drive a 1995 mazda protege 5 spd, bought it used, I've paid for everything but insurance. Believe me on this one, it's better to buy a car outright and drive away without having to worry about payments than having payments, especially as a teenager. Things will break (although I've learned it's a good excuse for mods), and it's easier to have one less expense, especially when working a minimum wage job and going to school (I've been working since I was 14, and if I'd have had a car payment, I would not have been able to afford it all). That being said, your first car is a really cool thing, good luck!

 

i wouldnt start off with a wrx as a first car. you say you know your limits..well i did too. what can i say, if you get a wrx you're gonna wanna do crazy things. seems to me that you like to drive fast, because youre also talkin about a mustang youre interested in that runs 12.9's. maybe you should really start off with a less powerful car or something and then build up. i mean you say you know the limits, but you dont even have your license yet. its not a good idea to start off with a fast car, because you will abuse that horsepower GAURANTEED. and when you do that stupid **** will happen.

 

My first car was a TANK!

It was a 88' Ford ranger with a flat bed. I couldn't believe just how many accidents i got into. Nearly 3 rear end collisions. I've hit a person twice too. One time at a stop sign i rolled into him while looking at traffic thinking he rolled out but he stopped. The other time merging in the lanes and totalled my T100 pickup when traffic stop'ed and i was looking in my blind spot.

Besides the obvious thing of getting a lower class car for driving experience everyone has seemed to forgot what its like trying to insure a first time driver.. I can guarentee your drivers insurane a month will be MORE than your car payment on a new wrx.

 

waht car do u drive regularly..under ur permit? u should atleast have a year or so experience with a crappy car..then move up. i know the feeling htough, i mean..im only 17..and if i could..i would get a wrx in a heartbeat..because its a wrx. but for me..ive been driving a year now..driving a crappy camary..and believe me i know if i had the wrx..i wouldve gotten in atleast one accident..good thing the camary is **** and slow because i almost hit a car making a right turn opposite of me and i didnt realize it..now if i had that wrx i wouldve probably accelerated faster off of that stop sign. anyways, go for a 2.5RS..the 98-01 rs look REAL nice..and they are not that expensive..maybe a little bit hard to find but its nice.

 

Well, my first car was a 98 Civic Hatch and then a 99 Civic Sedan......I thought I could handle the hatch at first....Si motor and all. But, when it came time, I couldn't handle the Hatch as good as I thought.... in other words.... I would humble myself and start of with a more basic car....probably like a Honda or Nissan...but if your really bent on a Subaru...a 2.5 RS used would be good enough. Also, as far as the 04 WRX I have, here's how to financially look at it:
I have 2 years credit.....
Dropped 4 G's in addition to
Trading in my Civic Sedan for 8.5 G's

I pay $200 per a month......for 5 years.....
$160 Full coverage Insurance......per a month.....

If you calculate:

WRX 2004 Wagon MSRP $24,000+ But I landed it for $21,500

$4,000 + $8,500 = $12,500......

Now $12,000 Total without RE-Finacing (which I plan to do)

Total: $24,500 or $3,000 IN INTEREST!!!!!!!

That's in Hawaii...I don't know about Mainland. But, think of it....
You should have to have at least $7 G's saved up. And speaking of the insurance. Honestly, if you really want a Suby, get a USED 2.5 RS.

Then again, I didn't listen when I was a kid either. But take it from a guy who's 21 and been there and done that. I'd seriously thing about it, unless your rich, then go for it.

Haha

 

I was, not very long ago at all in your position so heres what I say:

Buy an older suby, like for example, an older legacy. That was (still own it) my first car, and i loved/love her to death. Its fairly safe, very cheap (1500ish for even a good one) runs forever with good maintnence (over 200k for me!) and pretty fun IMO to work on. Wasting all your money on a 24k car when you have things like gas, insurance, ect. to pay for is just plain dumb, when you can get the same "feel" from a much less expensive car. Then, in a few years when you get a little better job, save wisely, possibly invest, ect, you can upgrade to a better and newer car just as I did purchasing my '03 forester x.
Cheers
-Jeff

 

I say get like a 99-2000 2.5RS. You can always do a WRX swap, and it would still be cheap on insurance. I kind of wish I went that route, because I'm 19 and I'm still paying $4k in insurance per year without a single ticket or accident (knocks on wood).

I went from a 01 Celica GT-S (>2k insurance) to the wrx, and now my payments are huge, and defintely not fun.

Oleg