Im 16 years old , ive been working for the past year so I could save up enough for a down payment on a G35 coupe or RX-8 if I like it.

I'd be taking out a 5 year loan and my parents would help me pay about a 4th of the payment each month.

Just tonight my Dad told me his friend is selling his 1997 Corvette, around 15000 miles on it and in excellent condition, has been garaged and taking care of very well for around 25 grand

Now im faced with a dilema, should I take a loan out and get the Vette and save about 10 G's or should I wait a year and keep saving for a G35 Coupe (seen the car in person and im in love with it) or rx-8 (never seen it in person).

Im leaning towards the Vette.

BTW: im pretty paranoid and have obsessive compulsive disorder so I doubt i'd be doing any street racing or going over the speed limit for that matter :D . I know alot of you are gonna say get a crap car for your first, but think how many chicks ill get with a beautiful red vette :D

Thanks for your time, please dont flame me and stuff like that. Sorry for the bad grammar and spelling.

Hey Az986!

Welcome!

I know that some will say you shouldn't have such a nice car this early out....I am not one of them. Personally IMO, if you have the means, go for it.

Some things I think you should consider.

1. Insurance. Don't know if you are going to pay for that or not. It will be pretty steep.

2. Driving experience. Just know that as an inexperienced driver, you are at a higher risk of damaging such nice cars.

3. $$$. Loans suck. Just make sure that when you are 20 you will still be comfortable paying off a car you bought when you were 16.


Beyond all that, I would say save the cash and buy the vett. That way, you can save up for the mazdaspeed version!!!

I however, AM one of those people. At 16 I think that most people don't know how to drive properly, much less handle the power of a Vette.

Next, it depends on what yer looking for. Personally I'd get a Miata for 3 or 4 grand and just beat on it thru college.. very upgradeable and you'll learn to drive in that car better than you will in a Vette.

When you finish out college buy yourself a present with the years you've learned to drive and take the true potential of that car you get to the track.

Just my $.02, but if you're 16 you probably won't listen to me anyway... I know when I was 16 I had a big head, and it's not till I got into an accident doing stupid stuff at the behest of my friends that I realized that everybody that told me what I'm telling YOU, was right.

Thanks for the replys.


Keep them coming.


Heres a question for everybody, if you were 16 and had a choice, which car would you get out of the 3 I listed.

How about this option:

Buy the 'Vette now, making sure that you have a good deal. By "good deal", I don't mean a steal, but don't spend more on it than it is worth, it is only a used 'Vette, not a Ferrari ($25k for a '97 'Vette in good condition should be a good deal, IIRC). In a year, if you find that you would really much prefer an RX8, then you shouldn't have lost too much in bluebook value over the year, and you should be able to sell it and get the RX8 after all. It will cost more than saving up for it, but it is an option.

I know it's tempting to get all the car you can, but that option of a nice car at $10k less is a good one, if that's a car that you will be happy with. Don't forget, those two other cars bought new will probably lose about that much in one to two years in depreciation.

---jps

P.S. He's 16, and a '97 'Vette is a cheaper option for him? *sigh*

Hi Az986!

When I was 17 I got an A4.. =P

If I am you I would go for the Rx-8, which, is what I'm doing. I'm currently 19 years old & working for my car as well.

Corvette is fast... TOO FAST. I considered a 99 corvette, sat in it, and thought it was too fast for me. You can't really put the vette engine into any use on the road anyway: Speeding tickets + it's dangerous. However, a saving of 10G's IS pretty impressive and the Vette would give you more bragging rights(I think). But it is also a two-seater which might be inconvient at times.

G35 Coupe: I was gonna get this car! But it's kinda big & heavy. And its look, though smooth & pretty, doesn't stand out in the crowd, plus it doesn't have yellow colour. Has a nice number standard features though.

Rx-8: More outstanding look. Light, which means better handling. Require manual because the auto transmission would not do what the engine should since this is high-reving engine? But manual is inconvient sometimes as well, which, you have to consider.

Last words: You REALLY have to think if spending ALL this money into ONE car is worth it. I don't know how much you're earning but if u simply invest every bit of money you have into this car, when you want to buy something else eg: clothes, sporting equip etc but doesn't have the money, you might regret it,Just like I have

LASTLY, beware of the RWD, extremely slippery when it's raining. I spun my boxster 180 degrees around when I was turning....:(

if i were you i would go and get the vette...

nothing cooler than a 16 year old, that can say his first car that he "basically" payed for was a corvette. go for it man!

the g35 coupe is alright, and the rx8 is great but i think the corvette is definately good enough for a 16 year old. but then again its all up to you.

if i were you're age i'd definately be leaning towards the corvette.... trust me... chicks no what corvettes are. They really don't know what a g35 is, or an rx-8. when you start mixing numbers and letters, thats when some of the ladies get lost when it comes to cars.


ladies don't hurt me when i say this... but the average woman can't really tell cars apart. One example would be this guy's next door neighbour who thought a 94 Rx-7 was a viper.

Originally posted by rx-8_or?
...LASTLY, beware of the RWD, extremely slippery when it's raining. I spun my boxster 180 degrees around when I was turning....:( That wasn't RWD, that was you. Odds are that whatever you did to put yourself around in the Boxster would have put you around in another car.

---jps

Originally posted by Az986
Heres a question for everybody, if you were 16 and had a choice, which car would you get out of the 3 I listed.

I can't answer your quesiton because I wouldn't get any of them. I agree with Herc, I'd get a used Miata. I would not want to be saddled with car payments while still in high school and college. While all your friends are going out you'll need to go to work to pay for your car, which will be parked. You'll end up loving the car but hating all the work you have to do just to make the payments. That may be fine for you, but I know I would rather be out partying or studying and get to drive a paid for Miata every day than have to work long hours just to make car payments.

Where do you live? If it ever snows there, you'll either need to shell out big $$$ for snow tires, or you won't be able to drive on snowy days. Remember, the worst combination for snow and ice is high power, RWD, and wide high-performance tires.

Insurance is another *huge* payment. Will your parents pay for that? If they will pay for it now, will they continue to pay for it for the next 5 years?

Do you have enough savings to pay for your first accident? I'm not saying you won't be careful, and you may be a great driver. Nevertheless, people hit curbs, get dinged in parking lot, keyed, broken into, etc. No matter how careful you are, you'll have some major unexpected things to pay for.

If after taking all of these things into consideration you still think you can afford one of these cars and are willing to make the sacrific, I'd go with the Vette. You know that it will maintain its value much more than the other two, since it's used. Also, at 16 you can get away with having a 2-seater. Later in life that may be more difficult.

Good luck, and please, take a high performance driving class, or do some autocrossing! There's no better way that I know of to learn how to drive and what the limits of the car are. Better to learn in a safe open area than on the street!

I have to agree with Herc & Rich, get the Miata. It is bar far the best choice if you take everything into consideration.

You will not regret it!

I don't care how much money you have or how young you are. Get what ever you want. You already know what you want.

Remember..... With great power comes great responsibility!

Originally posted by danger
One example would be this guy's next door neighbour who thought a 94 Rx-7 was a viper.

BUY AN FD!!!! you'd save a futher few thousand $$'s over the Corvette... then, when it needs a rebuild, just make sure it goes back in the car the RIGHT way: bigger oil coolers, way bigger rad, single turbo conversion, and whatever-else-FD-experts-tell-you-would-improve-the-life-of-the-engine... then, you can have sweet ass performance, not TOO much power, and a car some girls will mistake for a Viper ;) AHAHAHAA!!! sweet ass!!

seriously though, i'm not THAT biased when it comes to sports cars (back me up on this guys ;)), and i think the operating costs of owning a Corvette would MORE than offset the money you'd save by getting something like the G35 or RX-8... G35 has the coolness factor of being able to outfit it like a Skyline, and the 8 is just a fun, but still functional car...
if getting a roadster isn't a problem for you, practically speaking, then ya, i'd agree with Herc and Rich and Zoom, and say to get a Miata, or an FC ;) (rotary power!!), which are cheap, easy to maintain, cheap on insurance, cheap, and cheap... then take the $19K you save, and INVEST IT!! then... well, then you could finance nearly anything you'd like with a college degree, a nice job, and a fat down-payment like that...

Do you guys really think this poster is really legit? It seems so typical of the 16-17 year old posts of "what car do you recommend?"

Maybe I'm just getting cynical.

Thanks for all the replys guys!

I live in Maryland and it does'nt snow much here, prob 3 times a year, so it would'nt be to big of a problem.

An FD was my first choice, but I dont know a whole lot about cars, and I certainly dont know alot about rotarys, and I would be using it for my daily driver and I dont think a twin turbo FD would hold up to long considering I wouldnt know how to care for the engine really.

I dont really care much for miatas, older ones with the pop up lights expecially.

Az986,

I’m afraid I can’t indorse any of the cars you mentioned because…

1) Even if you’re extremely privileged, you won’t be able to enjoy the experience of “moving up” very much later in life. In other words, what are you going to do for an encore??? Get a turbo Porsche, Ferrari, etc. OK, then what. Don’t deny yourself the enjoyment of moving up many times in life & don’t deny yourself the incentive moving up provides to drive you to setting / achieving goals.

2) Everyone will want to brag about beating your fast car. Either you will give into the temptation to accept challenges or you’ll be ridiculed for lacking the skill / guts to exploit your cars potential.

3) High performance cars aren’t conducive to DIY maintenance or modification due to their complexity, fine tolerance, cramped clearances etc. If you want to learn how to work on cars, get something simple.

My pics:

1) Miata: World class handling, not too powerful & super reliable.

2) 5.0 Mustang: Four seats, ultra simple / crude while still being RWD.

3) Mini Pick-Up. Poor mans really cross racer that can cart your crap off to college.

Sorry, I know this isn't want you wanted to hear.

Originally posted by Az986
An FD was my first choice, but I dont know a whole lot about cars, and I certainly dont know alot about rotarys, and I would be using it for my daily driver and I dont think a twin turbo FD would hold up to long considering I wouldnt know how to care for the engine really.

you don't have to be a mechanic to own an FD!! :D really, if you like the car, don't be scared of it 'cause it's a rotary... there are only a very very very very few and simple things you've got to watch for, and maintenance is the same as on any other engine...
i'm not an FD owner, or even an FC owner (yet... a ways to go still), but i've been around the boards a bit, and read a little...
heat is the biggest enemy, but with a turbo timer (a computer thingy that lets your engine run after you take the keys out of the ignition and lock your car, just for a few minutes, to let the turbos cool), or a conversion from the dual turbo setup to a single turbo (which is no more complicated than turboing a car that didn't have one before, except that the RX-7's bay is huge enough for the twins), better quality radiators and oil coolers... changing the oil every 2999 miles is a MUST, but other than that, just do the plugs when they need doin', do the fuel filters with every oil change or something('cuase they're the Miata ones, which are freakin' small for a car with this much go)...
it's not a Ferrari on maintenance, and it's not like you need to get it rebuilt every month, or year, or five years (if you take good care of it), it's just that you have to be wary...

honestly, if you really thought about it, and were only apprehensive because of the engine thing, really, REALLY, i hope you reconsider... get something different, get something unique, get the RX-7, please, our age bracket (under 20) really needs to wake-up from the horror of pink Civics and their ilk, and show 'em all what REAL import performance is all about...

Originally posted by Az986

I know alot of you are gonna say get a crap car for your first, but think how many chicks ill get with a beautiful red vette :D


Um, yeah. (Insert Dr. Evil voice) RrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigggggghT!

Dude, I got chicks in high school with a $75, 14 year old Celica. First car, first, um you know... I'm going to play adult here and suggest you act responsibly. For you to buy a new car at 16 is, in a word, silly. No, stupid. Ask your dad for the money and invest it in something worthwhile. The depreciation of a new car makes the "investment" the worst possible at your age. Buy a house that will increase in value. Put it this way: buy a new car now for $30k instead of a beater for $1,000. When you're 21, you'll want to call me and I'll tell you to imagine holding a wad of cash equal to that plus interest plus opportunity costs and lighting it on fire. If you save that money, when you're 30, it will be probably $70k you'll be out (the rule of thumb is that money should double about every 7 years). You do the math. Chicks really dig money.

I'm not flaming you, I'm just telling you the truth. You will need several years to learn how to drive. I mean really learn how to drive. We all did. And in the process, you're going to go through some equipment and most likely total a car or 4. I totaled my Celica just being a 17 year old driver (but I had Todd's T Bird beat to that turn!).

As you get older, your priorities will come into line and you'll understand. And your parents won't have to put flowers on your grave.

I'd be inclined towards the Vette. Think about it. It'll mature quicker than both the G35 and the RX-8, then there is the chick factor. It will be easier to insure a 97 Vette than a brand new RX-8 or G35. Go the Vette son, spend the rest of the money on modifications and make a 10-30k profit. Jesus loves you.

any update yet?!?

what have you decided to get?

ok, sorry to burst your bubble guys (some of you, at least)- but most girls in high school don't know jack about cars, and couldn't care less what a guy is driving, unless it leaks or something crappy like that. Girls care more about popularity, whether you're on the football team, whether they think you're cute, who your parents are, etc, etc. At least, the kind of girls it sounds like you're trying to attract will. I doubt the car factor's going to get you much in the way of females if you don't already have something else they're looking for. It's really not that high on the list.

And tommo- do you really think insurance for any kind of vette is going to be cheaper than an RX-8 or infiniti (and I'm not being sarcastic- I honestly don't know)? I'd be very surprised if that was the case- considering the corvette's a lot more dangerous, and more likely to get a highschooler in trouble. At least, I'd think so...

:)

If I have a choice between the vette, RX-8 and G35 coupe, then I'll choose the newer car. I think that insurance for all three will be outrageous for your age and therefore is not a make or break decision point. Even though you will get an insurance discount on 4 doors versus 2 doors. I think that the newer car will have at least a 5 years warranty and you don't have to worry about dishing out money for expensive repairs and maintenance. At least you don't have to worry about repairs for 5 years. If you are mechanically inclined or gifted then you don't have to worry about this. I think having 4 doors and 4 seats is more practical because it's just more room for your stuff and your friends. If you're interested in getting hot 'babes' then I rather have 3 hot 'babes' in my car then just one. Just kidding, no offense intended ladies...

In terms of picking from the three based on performance, looking, power, then it's all subjective. Get what you want.

Plus, did you consider the cost to own a car those particular sport cars? I know I didn't think much about it and that was MY big mistake when I bought my BMW M3. Sure, I thought I made a good deal by buying a used BMW car for $2K less than what the dealer wanted, but little did I know it would actually cost me more to own it. If you look on WWW.edmunds.com, they have a neat info chart comparing actual cost of a vehicle and their respective cost to own. I think for a $30k sport car, you'll end up paying an extra $10k for maintenance and other expenses to own it. I know it cost me $300 dollars a pop for each tires on my M3 every year or so.

Disclaimer Note: This is only my opinion.

Don't flame me for this, but i am going to suggust something that many will hate me for. Get a civic. Super cheap, easy to maintain, reliable, and cheap to insure. It is probably not a good a idea for your first car to be a high powered sports car. You may be a very resposible person, but sports cars are much less forgiving than an econobox. After you drive for a year or two, sell the civic and then decide what is best for you. By then the 8 will be out and you will be a more experience driver. Just my $.02.

Originally posted by cueball1029
Don't flame me for this, but i am going to suggust something that many will hate me for. Get a civic. Super cheap, easy to maintain, reliable, and cheap to insure. It is probably not a good a idea for your first car to be a high powered sports car. You may be a very resposible person, but sports cars are much less forgiving than an econobox. After you drive for a year or two, sell the civic and then decide what is best for you. By then the 8 will be out and you will be a more experience driver. Just my $.02. I'll second that, but tell you to get a Protege or Miata instead :)

Yeah how bout get a used 2001 Miata from individuals, save the tax and save you some pressure of being in a serious debt. If you REALLY want to get a vette, G35 or Rx-8 later on, you can sell it and get them. It's gonna cost you approx extra $2000 if you buy/sell it urself, but if you decide to get the expensive ones... you are Locked in with the debt for YEARS!

Btw, Odds are that you're wrong, Spunik, it was the RWD.

Originally posted by rx-8_or?
Btw, Odds are that you're wrong, Spunik, it was the RWD. Shyeah, right. The problem was with the car, not the driver...

---jps

Originally posted by rx-8_or?
Btw, Odds are that you're wrong, Spunik, it was the RWD.

uh, nope, driver. there are techniques and methods for safely driving RWD cars in very slippery conditions: just look at the world of rally in the upper echelons, all the way up until the 1970's... it was all rear wheel drive. still, today, in the lower classes you can still find RWD only classes in loose surface rallying.
the problem was the technique: a little too much throttle, or too tight a radius for the speed he was travelling... it doesn't take much. try driving a kart too fast, you'll see what i mean. when you don't drive it too fast, notice how it won't try to trade ends on you...