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Insurance wise I pay 130 a month for my 370Z and I am 23. If you have good driving history it shouldn't be too bad depending on location and if you shop around.
I was facing a similar dilemma recently. I was looking at the Scion FRS (twin to the Subaru, not AWD but RWD) and the Ford Focus and the Mazda 3 (previous generation). I wanted stick. I ended up with the Focus. But I am a family man with kids, even though this is not our main car, I still need to be able to haul them around. The Focus ST is a great car, but dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. No offense, but I would not give that to a 19 year old (or to myself when I was 19 for that matter).
The shifting and handling of the Focus felt better to me than the Mazda (and I am a Mazda fan). The Scion felt cheaper to me but it is still a fun car.
I also drive a lot and did not want the car to be a weekend car; did not see the point of it, I want to have fun everyday
My suggestion is to buy a used, older stick shift Focus and learn to drive stick, have some fun and then upgrade in a few years.
My suggestion is to buy a used, older stick shift Focus and learn to drive stick, have some fun and then upgrade in a few years.
The problem with that is how much older. The second generation (2007-2011) is atrocious and the first generation might be a bit long in the tooth. The OP needs to come back and tell us how fixed he is between the two choices presented here and then, if he's open to expanding his horizons, we'll be able to advise him better. There are myriad options in the used car market.
I was facing a similar dilemma recently. I was looking at the Scion FRS (twin to the Subaru, not AWD but RWD) and the Ford Focus and the Mazda 3 (previous generation).
I was going to bring up the the Scion FR-S also. (Well I am actually) It's another rwd sports car for a great price. I just checked cars.com & you can buy used 2013s for $20k flat and that's the price before negotiations begin. That's already $5,000 off the new price of $25k. I'm not sure why they dropped in price so quick. That may actually be a bad thing. The used 2013 BRZ are all right around $25k.
I was going to bring up the the Scion FR-S also. (Well I am actually) It's another rwd sports car for a great price. I just checked cars.com & you can buy used 2013s for $20k flat and that's the price before negotiations begin. That's already $5,000 off the new price of $25k. I'm not sure why they dropped in price so quick. That may actually be a bad thing. The used 2013 BRZ are all right around $25k.
The FR-S and the BRZ are the same car, minus minor option differences. FYI, Scion usually doesn't negotiate. I suspect one of the reasons they dropped the price is the number of issues the twins are having. Shame, because the premise of the cars is great - hopefully they get the execution right soon.
Insurance wise I pay 130 a month for my 370Z and I am 23. If you have good driving history it shouldn't be too bad depending on location and if you shop around.
This doesn't really help. Are you in the same area as the OP?
23 is not 19, car insurance at 19 is a lot worse than 23 if you're in a generally high cost area.
He doesn't have a car, so driving history is almost nothing
in worst case scenario he could have a $400 a month insurance bill or as little as $50, who knows without getting quotes for what you're looking for.
I personally wouldn't buy either at 19. are you buying it? or your parents?
forgetting my personal opinion of a parent just dropping $25K for a car for their kid, that is the better case scenario. If you're getting a car payment for $25K for a new car at 19 plus the insurance on it, you're nuts, unless you have some real large income stream.
if it were me, I'd save some money and buy something in the $5K-10K range, check insurance costs first. you may likely have an accident, have the accident in the $5K car, not the $25K brand new one.
If you're going for a hatch, might want to check out a used Mazda 3, Subaru Impreza, or GTI
The FR-S and the BRZ are the same car, minus minor option differences.
Oh yeah, that's right. I should have known that. Yesterday I just watched Jay Leno talking about his Scion FR-S and showing the engine where it had a Subaru and Scion logo on it.
Oh yeah, that's right. I should have known that. I just watched Jay Leno talking about his Scion FR-S and showing the engine where it had a Subaru and Scion logo on it.
There's also the Toyota FT86 which the U.S. does not get. It's all an attempt by Toyota and Subaru to recreate the AE86. A creditable attempt, to be sure, just a flawed one.
I got a quote for around 400 bucks for the Focus. I did play around with the "Pick you price" thing from Progressive, but I'm still sort of a noob at this. Can someone explain?
Really sit down and talk to a insurance agent.
I shopped around last year. When the same coverage was compared, my Allstate account was cheaper than progressive or gecko. Both contacted me later offering less if I reduced coverage but Allstate was still cheaper if I reduced them to the same coverage.
You are young, If you are buying your first car I suggest buying something used and cheap. You will get in a accident and wish you had not spent so much on your first car.
I would suggest first talking to YOUR FATHER: about life, money, the birds and the bees, etc. Those guys are useful sometimes...
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