Teen looking for sports car for $5000

[ProductParadise]

I am 15 saving up for a car. I have been looking at a 2002 Mustang or a 2004 Subaru wrx. Do you have any other suggestions?

[JeffreyEagan]

Imports, me boy.

[psychot]

Wrx for 5 grand will be almost impossible, i would say compromise and try and find a rs or ts if your dead set on a subaru.

[hazza_ob]

MOTORBIKE!

[Mo5]

Mazda MX-5... Cheap and fun

[SeriouslyMikey]

How the heck do you expect to even get $5,000? Plus, wouldn't the insurance on that be way too much as well? 

[hazza_ob]

they're so much cheaper (buying costs, fuel costs, maintenance costs) and they're so much cooler, you could pull so many girls with it haha

[Guest]

Hire a Ferrari 458 for a day.

[Lord Pantaloons]

My suggestion is to not buy a sportscar for your first car.

[Hans Christian | Teri]

You can get a top condition first gen RX-7 for 5 grand, plus it will keep your insurance and parents happy as it's not mind blowingly fast (but still fast enough and rear wheel drive so plenty of fun). The N/A 12A or 13B is also ridiculously durable (if treated and maintained right).

[AMICLG]

Wrx for 5 grand will be almost impossible, i would say compromise and try and find a rs or ts if your dead set on a subaru.

Your thinking of the WRX STI, the standard WRX (which transmission is meh) can be had for about 6K depending on year and mileage.

[techswede]

Gaz volga

 

No but seriously

It would be easier to narrow it down if i knew where you are located and what the used car market looks like.

And as usual i wouldn't reccomend a sports car as a first car. 

[Faceman]

If you are patient, you will be able to find a 150,000+ mile late early 2000s Mercedes Benz C-Class for around $6,000-$8,000.

 

Beautiful cars, I call mine the Magic Carpet Ride, its as if you are gliding over the pavement.

 

Patience is key though, don't rush into anything.  Do your research.

[Gofspar]

I am 15 saving up for a car. I have been looking at a 2002 Mustang or a 2004 Subaru wrx. Do you have any other suggestions?

Get an RX8 or a Stang, great first cars,

[SeriouslyMikey]

If you are patient, you will be able to find a 150,000+ mile late early 2000s Mercedes Benz C-Class for around $6,000-$8,000.

 

Beautiful cars, I call mine the Magic Carpet Ride, its as if you are gliding over the pavement.

 

You drive on the pavement? But the people walking.

[psychot]

Your thinking of the WRX STI, the standard WRX (which transmission is meh) can be had for about 6K depending on year and mileage.

Your right that you can get one for that much, but its gonna be in questionable shape and not an ideal first car.

[Darkman]

My suggestion is to not buy a sportscar for your first car.

^ This, get something simple and a little older that wouldn't be such a big deal if it got damaged.

Instead of, "Oh shit, just hit a buck with the WRX, and insurance isn't covering!"

[Hans Christian | Teri]

If you are patient, you will be able to find a 150,000+ mile late early 2000s Mercedes Benz C-Class for around $6,000-$8,000.

 

Beautiful cars, I call mine the Magic Carpet Ride, its as if you are gliding over the pavement.

 

Patience is key though, don't rush into anything.  Do your research.

 

He's looking for a sports car, not a limo.

 

And as usual i wouldn't reccomend a sports car as a first car. 

 

Why not? MX-5s, S2000s, S13's etc are no more dangerous than every other car on the road. It's how you're driving that matters, not what you drive.

[Lotus]

Mazda MX-5... Cheap and fun

This. For a sports car in your price range, there is no subsitute. Avoid NB cars though, they're not as fun and weigh too much for their engine.

[samcool55]

Maybe a skyline R32 fits in your budget. It might be over your budget, don't know pricing in US, at least here you can get a nice and cheap one for 5k

[AMICLG]

Your right that you can get one for that much, but its gonna be in questionable shape and not an ideal first car.

True, and knowing that the WRX transmission isn't as good as the STI, buying one used with 100,000+ miles with some of them being hammered on, it wouldn't make a good first car.

[WinNut]

buy a used Honda Civic with an M/T, save up some money by working, and buy a dream car.

[techswede]

He's looking for a sports car, not a limo.

 

 

Why not? MX-5s, S2000s, S13's etc are no more dangerous than every other car on the road. It's how you're driving that matters, not what you drive.

The C-class is not a limo

 

I know a teenager might not crash a "Sporty" car. But the insurance companies don't know that. 

[Lord Pantaloons]

^ This, get something simple and a little older that wouldn't be such a big deal if it got damaged.

Instead of, "Oh shit, just hit a buck with the WRX, and insurance isn't covering!"

Not only that but vehicles like those are not a proper vehicle for a teenager learning how to drive, there needs to be no capability for performance or speed so the temptation to do something daft never arises. People who have been driving for decades have enough trouble scraping together enough braincells to pay attention while they're driving. Some teenager filled with hormones and lacking proper forethought is twice as dangerous to themselves and other people than anyone else on the road and four times as dangerous in something with even a moderate level of performance.

 

Not to mention the insurance cost of having a new driving in a sports car.

[Hans Christian | Teri]

The C-class is not a limo

 

I know a teenager might not crash a "Sporty" car. But the insurance companies don't know that. 

 

Well it's definitely not a sports car either. Insurance can be a problem, especially here in Europe, but I hear they're not too bad in the US. In any case you're often able to persuade them into a lower price bracket solely based on the amount of horsepower your car doesn't have. Ie. getting a decent price on a 100hp 80's RX-7 shouldn't be much of a problem, but the car weighs next to nothing and there's easy gains in the engine as well so it will still be a ton of fun.