Don't get a VW, unless you get like a 2.0. They're a pain in the ass to keep up with, especially the electrical systems.

Don't put the money into stocks. I still don't think it's a good time, you'd be taking a big risk.

+1

But who cares? It's annoying, but that is how HS kids act. Even if he would get a shlt car and mod it to make it faster, he'll still get accused of his mommy and daddy paying for it. You can't win with HS drama bullshlt.

your looking for a "show stopper", something quick, and under 15k. Pick two of them because its gonna be pretty hard to cover all three

Get a 90's Sentra, Corolla, or something of the sort. Then you don't have to do anything to it mechanically. Put some strurts/springs, strut bars, poly here and there. SS brake lines, good fluid, a mildly aggressive pad set. Good tires in stock size(maybe slightly wider, depends on whatever size comes stock.), and possibly some cheap used light wheels(fight the urge for big dumb wheels. 17's are overkill when original wheels were 15"...you cant get much rubber on them anyway, they weigh a lot more and will just slow you down).

Then learn how to drive, properly. You could teach a monkey how to "drive". Any old idiot can use the pedals and turn the wheel. These fools are out there everyday and usually are the ones who skip a red and crash into your new to you car. Learn about momentum. It is very rewarding to drive a lightly hopped up **** box cooking down a twisty back road at a 45mph avg. This way, if you loose it into a field or something, it generally isn't that bad.
Having a car that you can mutter to yourself "hit me bitch" when someone is tailgating you and just lock your brakes a quick second to see if they are paying attention and watch them hurl their phone or spill their coffee on their lap is just awesome too. Most people on the road don't deserve to be there anyway IMHO. They should get on a bus. I also think a first time drivers car should never exceed $2000. That is just dumb. Something will happen to it. You'll crash it, someone else will hit it, a tree will fall on it, will get vandalized, just something. And it will most definitely suck when it does.

Think about the car game maybe in a 3 part, 6 year plan, for now.

Year 1-2. Upgraded suspension ****box
Year 3-4. Modified 90's sporty car. Swapped Integra, DSM, Swapped or stuffed and blown 240, etc
Year 5-6. Brand new or excellent shape used sports car. 370Z, EVO, STi, or whatever you want if you save and invest(smartly) money from now till then.


I wish I could go back and do this route. Would have saved me lots of money over the years.

Under $15K you can get a used GTO, then wreck it cause its too much car for you, them make my car worth just a little big more :-)

Hey, OP, get a MKIV Supra NA! You can get a really nice one for cheap- $10-13K.

It's kinda moddable- exhaust, intake, headers will yield you a little over 200whp. Don't quote me on this, but I think they came with traction control and LSD (I'm more knowledgeable on the TTs)

It is a head turner and reliable. It's basically a lexus IS300 (which is also another good alternative)

It's quick, but not fast enough to kill you... or fast enough to beat many cars street racing (so it might be a good way to prevent you from racing, LOL)

Get a Ford Probe if you think they look cool. They aren't terrible cars, and they are semi quick with a little work and really fun to drive. For a few hundred dollars off craigslist/ebay you can turn one into a big go kart. This was my brothers old one: http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_i...039_medium.jpghttp://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_i...0038_large.jpg

dont get something expensive. you crash your first car... especially if you're learning to drive and will be driving in the snow for the first time. use your money and go to college.

A 300ZX TT is a TERRIBLE DD. It sucks in snow, will cost you $1500+/yr in maintenance, and it's RWD. After owning 5 Z32s to this day, and 4 being DDs, take my advice.

lolwut. i never crashed any cars. people have crashed into me but that doesnt count.

regardless if you crashed or not...

I know you can't predict the world and stick by it, but you WILL get hit or hit something in your first car...

I had a 97 4 cyl with the gt bumpers and wing. 5 speed, manual windows, I really liked it. Good on gas too. I've been trying to look for another one with relatively low miles but no luck

+1

Had the front end of the old Saturn ripped off, my S15 had multiple cars run into it, the Dodge has had it's fair share of deer and cars, the Firebird has had it's fair share of the Dodge (don't ask), the Ion has been rear ended, and the Safari has ripped off 3 different mirrors from 3 different cars.

You can have my SRT4 with a rebuilt motor for 12k, Already modified and considered a show stopper. I have the trophys to prove it. Needs a little work though but great for someone getting into the game

I'm gonna recommend something econobox and fwd for your first car. Civic, Corolla, Focus, etc. Play with the suspension a bit and call it a day. Your gonna get raped on anything related to a sports car being in your teens. You are in an insurance companies nightmare to make a long story short. How about looking for a 91-94 Sentra Se-R? You can find them cheap and they are a blast to drive. If you want to learn how to drive rwd, I would pick up a beater 2wd pickup truck that is a stick down the road and learn on that.

Buy something cheap, reliable, and easy to work on like a Civic Si or something similar. You'll have plenty of time later in life to buy something fast. The hardest part is making it out of your teens alive and with a good driving record.

You have 15k to spend on a car and your 16?

Just buy a civic and get someone to GSR swap it and get used to that power. Your gonna think its fast as **** and thats good, because thats already enough power to kill yourself. People don't realize that its a question of dying sometimes if you don't respect power. A swapped 240 will spin 4th gear in the wet on stock turbo... so if you get on it in 4th going 50 and don't know how to handle wheelspin you can slide into a pole. Its actually really easy to do.

Take it easy man, a GSR swapped civic will hang with stock evos/stock STi's, stock swapped 240s, 350Zs, etc. Its not slow but it won't kill you either. I could sit here and tell you that you shouldn't spend more than 5k on your first car, but your not going to because its a perspective thing and you don't understand.

The beautiful thing is, that once your civic is swapped, after the first year you can drop a turbo kit on the swap and put down like 340whp which is STUPID fast in a honda. Yeah, its not a 1000hp car, but that setup with the right suspension and slicks I can see hanging with 400whp evos/STis/240s/DSMs, etc...

05-06 Legacy GT, Might even be able to find a spec B for 15k. Almost an sti engine, Turbo AWD not bad on insurance (22 full coverage clean record my own plan $800 every 6 month for that and a 93 civic).

Keep it stock for alittle while then mods are really cheap to make it a mid 13sec car. I have one and just enjoy the way it drives, might not be a show stopper but i enjoy the sleeper style.

Thank you for the wake up call,
I was thinking my insurance is high, but apparently it isn't since 3 cars and 2 bikes are about the same you pay for one car. of course my newest car is a 1999, but my R6 is an 03.

I spend a lot of time & money with up-keep on the Audi. Having said that the AWD is great... It's easy to recover from mistakes, which is really important for new drivers.
A subi or evo sounds like a good choice.

Being 16 I would highly suggest looking into something cheap and that the insurance companies are not going to hit you with high costs. I drive that for a few years and treat yourself later on down the road.

My parents gave me an 88 Celebrity with 194K to get me by till i was ready. Being young i really did do some dumb **** with that car however being limited.. it kept me from getting into trouble or hurting myself thankfully. Overtime i learned to respect the car and I still have it too this day. I now respect all the cars i own now and I one day plan to treat myself to a bigger toy. However with the money I saved over the years I am looking to shortly buying my first house which is so much of a better investment then sinking it into your car.

Hope you're not talking about the new SI. ****. That. Engine bay.