James Bailey

Compared to walking, taking the bus, or having your mother drive you around......ANY CAR IS FUN. And frankly having a car older than you are is often a very BAD idea.
Also worth mentioning that owning and driving a car is expensive....the government in 2013 allows you to deduct as a business expense at a rate of 56.5 cents per mile. Uncle Sam is NOT known for being generous to taxpayers so that is a rather low number. Means that a 5 mile drive to and from school is going to cost more than $10.00. Put on 10,000 miles in a year and you have spent a quick $5,600 or so !
As a new driver the odds are one in five that you will wreck the car and sadly the rate of teen death is like 7 times that of the adult population. Probably one reason your mother wants the airbags.
Fun cute sporty car consider a Miata , I know kind of a girlish car but they do make up the largest class of SCCA racers Not being able to seat more than one other person as a teen driver actually greatly reduces your chance of an accident

dr bob

The most fun first car you'll find is the one that reliably gets you where you need to go at a relatively low cost.

I very carefully track my car costs, and find that I need to budget in the dollars-per-mile range for total cost of operation. This rate assumes that my depreciation is now zero, and that the initial first-year $18k cost of the car purchased 16 years ago has bee completely amortized. So think dollars-per-mile just to drive it, not for buying it. I think Jim is being very kind in his estimates that are based on IRS business mileage allowances. Around here, just fuel cost exceeds $.25/mile. And my maintenance labor and cost of the tools and garage aren't part of my dollars/mile calc either. That's just parts, tires, insurance, and wax. My whaite-haired insurance costs are likely a bit less than a youngster might be able to negotiate.

So look at your car options with your budget, talent and schedule in mind. Than buy the nicest, best-maintained '90+ 928 you can find. Treat it well, keep it well fed and happy, and it will reward you with a driving pleasure that is really tough to match. Just don't speed, don't run into anything or anybody, and you won't test the airbags.

Nicole

I recently sold my low mileage 2000 Saab 9-3 SE to a student for $5500. She got a lot of car for the money; one that is quicker than she needs, more luxurious than she expected, and in a condition that will last her through her college years. Granted, it only got 24mpg (less whenever I had fun with it, which was often). But it was well built, practical, relatively comfortable to ride in, and had the best heating and AC in any car I have ever owned.

She was the first person who looked at it: https://rennlist.com/forums/for-sale...condition.html

And just in case it happens, it's a good idea to add a roll bar. Beats death or being paralyzed from a rollover. Yes, yes, it won't happen to you - it only happens to others. I thought that, too, until I crawled out of a 911 that lay on its roof. And I didn't even drive...

James Bailey

Plus with a roll bar you CAN take it to the racetrack. And a few hours of track instruction and experience spinning, sliding, panic stops will make you a far better driver far more quickly. Makes an "emergency" much less of an issue, teaching you the limits of both you and the car !!
Getting a drivers license really just means that you can then learn how to drive !!

docmirror

The Golf/GTI after 1999 have one of the highest safety ratings avail in the 'small' car range. I have a GTI and while it is lower maintenance than the Porsches it is not perfect. My advice for fun and cheap and reliable would be to shop for the nicest 99-04 GTi with manual trans you can find. Many of them have been modified, or thrashed, so finding one that is not carved up will be a challenge.

They need regular cam belt changes, and other things like many modern cars, but they will return good economy(I get over 30MPG), and plenty of fun while maintaining some safety.

docmirror

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/ctd/3765737699.html

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/3765570399.html

Buy this!: http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/ctd/3673310042.html

James Bailey

Plus the 2004 1.8 turbo GTI will out run most early 928s Just looks like a box !

GregBBRD

From the 928's that I've seen crashed, I'm going to bet that a 928 without an airbag is safer than a Golf/GTI with one.....as long as you are wearing a seat belt.

The punishment these 928's will take and still allow the doors to open and close amazes me, to this day.

docmirror

They are strong cars that's no doubt. But - no, almost any car with an airbag will outperform a car without one given the same impact forces. The GTI has 6 airbags for front, side, and corner protection. Most of the human damage comes from the body impacting something inside the pax compartment, so despite the compartment being strong and not deforming, the inertia of the body against the hard metal things in there is literally a 'killer'. Airbags keep the body from slamming a lot of these things in an impact.

SteveG

If your parents veto a non-airbag car, they are not going to allow an Alpha convertible. Someone already said, a bagless 928 is tons safer than that Alpha, or a Miata if you don't do something stupid, hoping you don't. Clearly from your two choices so far you want something with style.

The GTI makes sense, bags and all, it's probably a safe car; you can die at 45 (mph) depending on what you hit or hits you. I don't know your budget. You might also consider a Prelude, not quite as unique as the Alpha, but it has its devotees. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda...item20d1d21d33 or similar. There is a ton of "improvement" you can do if you are a wrench; it all costs $$, Porsche or Honda. My first dream was an Austin Healy. My father's first comment was "It's not practical." It was crushing, but he was right of course, so my expectations came down, considerably.

There is a car out there for you, but college and car . . . the styling aspect may have to wait.

whatudrivin

Not to go off topic but my uncle just acquired a 50s model Austin Healey Sprite. Not in good condition at all but I think he will be restoring it. Will have to post pictures sometime.

Wisconsin Joe

Ok, I have a few questions:

How old are you?
Where do you live (US? What state? Not US? What country? I'm not looking for specifics beyond that)
What is your budget for purchase?
What is your operational budget (how much can you afford per month or year to keep it on the road?)
How much experience do you have working on cars?
Do you have access to a decent set of tools?
Do you have access to assistance if you need to fix something beyond your abilities?

I understand your wanting to get a "cool" car (and the 928 is as cool as it gets IMHO).
Been there.

You seem pretty young. Do you have any idea how much you will be paying for insurance? And how much more a "cool" car will cost?
If you are under 18, ask an agent about insuring you in a 928.

Unless you have a fair amount of experience and skill turning wrenches (and a decent set of them) paying someone to work on any exotic car is going to kill your budget.
If you have a dad, uncle, friends, whatever who work on cars on a regular basis and are willing to help you and teach you, then it's possible. But still probably not a really good idea.

As much as I hate to burst your bubble, your best bet is going to be a "basic" 4 door compact or mid-sized sedan. Civic, Celica, Sentra, maybe an Accord or Camry. Or the equivalent from Ford, Chevy, Mazda or whoever you like.
Anything "fast" or "cool" (that includes any premiere marques or anything that has "Turbo" in the name) is going to be a nightmare to insure.

And I happen to believe that putting a newer driver (less than two or three years driving) in any sort of performance car is very dangerous. You simply don't have the experience or the judgement to be driving it. Others may have different opinions, that's their right.
But the death rates for beginning drivers support mine.

So get a "mom's" car. Drive it. Learn to work on it. Learn how to take proper care of it. You will more than likely crash it. Hopefully not seriously, but it's almost inevitable. You'd much rather have your first wreck in a Civic or a Camry than a 928 or an Alfa, right?

Good luck.

willleiper

Yeah my bubble was burst quite a while ago but I've still been looking for a more practical car (I kinda knew this wouldn't work was just hoping). I have been very interested in a mazda rx 8 which is a little out of my range (8000). Thank you for your suggestions though.
Btw I am 15, live in GA U.S.A, and have moderate experience with cars

Wisconsin Joe

Well, even an RX8 is going to be very difficult (read: expensive) to insure.
Seriously, get some quotes on insurance. If you haven't already, you will be rather amazed at how much it costs.

A long time ago, I was a 19 year old male, driving a 2 year old Chevy pickup truck with 3 tickets on my license (2 "less than 10 over" speeding and a failure to stop at a stop sign). My insurance payment was more than my loan payment.

Georgia isn't as bad as some places for insurance (east coast, west coast, some other places). I don't know the rules there, but one suggestion is to get a "less expensive" car that you can buy for cash. Without a loan, you don't need to have collision coverage (pays for damage to your car that is your fault). You may even want to go without comprehensive coverage (fire, theft, storm damage) to save some more.
It means that you are assuming the risk and it's costs, but for an older car, they aren't going to pay you that much anyway.
I dropped collision on all my vehicles after they got old enough that it stopped making financial sense.

Nicole

Consider something else... Now you are young and relatively independent. A car that constantly costs money pins you down; is a burden. It may keep you from doing many things outside of car ownership, such as going to events, or traveling and seeing the world.

One day you'll have a job, a mortgage, possibly a family, and limited vacation time. See the world while you are young; you never know when you can do it again...

A car? Great to have, to get you around. It's better when it's a nice one, but that's a luxury.

If I had to do it again, I would travel even more than I did when I was still young and wrinkle free...