Hi. I'm in quite a dilemma now what I'm shopping for a car. I'm 16, and I still have a year until i get my license. I've been saving quite a long time for this first car and I looked at my needs and wants(more so wants = )) and came to a conclusion as to what cars I might want to purchase. Please ignore the fact that I'm 16 and OMG IM GONNA CRASH THEE CAR. I'd say I am pretty responsible, and my parents believe that as well...for the most part. Now on to the choices....

Rx-8. I'm sure all you guys on this board know about this one. No further explanation

05' Mustang GT. I can afford the GT. I HATE the Mustangs out now, but I've grown a liking to this one. I guess its the styling.

Used BMW M3. I can only really afford pre-00' M3's so I'll have to settle for the more...boxier styling. I have a certain fetish for German cars, especially BMW's my father owns a 740il.

I'm sure some of you would know the drawbacks and positives of each such as performance, driveablity, and basically bang for the buck. The Mustang's a little bit of a wild-card since so few people have actually driven it. But from what I've read about people who have, sounds prettyy good. I'm just going wait till December(b-day month) and test drive all these beasts. Thank you in advance for the hopefully positive comments. I really don't want to hear the "you're too young for those you don't deserve any of them" type of talk. I worked hard for the money, and I want to make the right decision.

Frightening choices for a 16 year old, but then again that is just me. Being that you are posting on an RX-8 board, I would hazard a guess that the majority of people responding will suggest the '8. When it comes down to it though, you are the one who will be driving the car. Test drive each vehicle and see what really elicits the most smiles. Personally, I'd favor the M3. I hope to purchase one in the next 6 months...but it is at least a 5 year old car, and a BMW, both of which should be taken into consideration. Go with what you like, though. And whichever car you choose, please drive it responsibly. There are a lot of new/young drivers out there that kill themselves in something a lot less sporty than what you're looking at. Good luck!

Just remember to look at the total cost of ownership of each of the cars that you're looking at. Although you may be able to afford the initial purchase price, high performance cars require more maintenance than most other cars on the road. They tend to be equipped with large, expensive tires that wear down 15k-30k miles (depending on driving habits) and they also drink a lot of premium grade fuel. When something goes wrong in one of these cars it will cost a fair amount of money to fix. Insurance costs are also high, especially for a relatively inexperienced driver like you, and unless you want to risk losing the car if it is badly damaged (or your parent's house if you hit and injure someone), you want to place enough coverage on it to cover any situation that you can think of. Do your self a favor and make sure that you have enough money/income to not only purchase the car, but to keep it and maintain it like a high performance car deserves to be maintained without sacrificing things like your social life and education. Remember, having a nice car isn't the most important thing at this point in your life. With that said, go out and drive the cars that you are looking at. Drive their competitors as well, because you might find that the car that you enjoy the most is one that you haven't listed here. Good luck with your choice, and keep us posted. :)