Help with buying a 3!

[D_Ape]

Hey all. I'm new here so I will make this brief. I really like the Mazda 3 sedan but because I'm only in high school it's kinda pricy and I need some help in getting one. How do you think I can convince my mom to help me out?

I was also looking at the '04 sentra and it's pretty nice. Which do you think is better?

[jersey_emt]

Honestly, for someone that's still in high school....I would look at nice, clean ~3 year old used cars. And use the money that you saved to get a bunch of cool stuff for it.

Stereo, performance, some nice wheels, etc., etc.

[Karl Marx]

Shesh.. how can people have new cars in high school... i had a scooter in high school. (headshake

[jersey_emt]

I had a 10 year old Dodge Aries in high school :)

[Karl Marx]

I had a 10 year old Dodge Aries in high school :)
would have been a close 1/4 mile vs my scooter :)

[vividmaz3]

I have had 10 cars since I was 16 years old, and that is with a 6 month license suspension. I am 20 years old.

[simdrew]

I had a 10 year old Dodge Aries in high school :)
I had a 10-year-old cream-colored Pontiac Sunbird.

[fkmp5]

i had nikes in high school. (uhm)

[D_Ape]

Does anyone have any useful advice for me?

[Karl Marx]

Well jersey_emt had some usefull advice i find. Plus chicks in high school dig car's with rims, big audio systems and cool stuff more than a 3 or Sentra.

And as for looks go.. the 3 is much nicer than the Sentra.. the sentra is one ugly car ( my opinion ) .. especially the new one with the ugy thing in the middle of the grill.

As far as your mom goes, i have no idea if you can convince her to get you a 3 :)

[simdrew]

Does anyone have any useful advice for me?Honestly, I had to own a new car because I never had one before, but if I were to do it again, I would have purchased a used car. Heck, you could pick up a Dodge Stealth RT/Mitsubishi 3000GT for under $10,000 and have a twin turbo AWD beast.

For under $1,000 you could have Maaco give it a brand new paint job.

[jersey_emt]

I would NEVER let Maaco touch my car!!

[PeteyBoy3K]

there is a zits comic for april 6th, 2004 that sums it up best....

King Features (http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/zits/about.htm)

you're best bets are something tankish... in terms of styling, safety, and speed... and a 5-10 year old cheap tank at that.

The logic being that it is really really /really/ really expensive to give a first-time-driver a new car. Mainly because first-time drivers do dumb things that cause or near accidents.

Things that are cheap, old, and tankey are much more visible, less likely to be hot-rodded, and much less of loss when they get totalled.

and who knows, you may even like you're hand-me-down just because it'll be your first car. I loved my '88 camry... and was sad to see it go... and if I knew how craptastic the VW golf I was replacing it with was gonna be three years down the line I would have held on to it for dear life.

[D_Ape]

there is a zits comic for april 6th, 2004 that sums it up best....

King Features (http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/zits/about.htm)

you're best bets are something tankish... in terms of styling, safety, and speed... and a 5-10 year old cheap tank at that.

The logic being that it is really really /really/ really expensive to give a first-time-driver a new car. Mainly because first-time drivers do dumb things that cause or near accidents.

Things that are cheap, old, and tankey are much more visible, less likely to be hot-rodded, and much less of loss when they get totalled.

and who knows, you may even like you're hand-me-down just because it'll be your first car. I loved my '88 camry... and was sad to see it go... and if I knew how craptastic the VW golf I was replacing it with was gonna be three years down the line I would have held on to it for dear life.

It won't be my first car...

[eting_pro5]

I agree with the others that a BRAND new car isn't a great idea. A 1 or 2 year old car is way better. Cars depreciate so much in their first years that you can get great deals on great cars.

I'm in high school and got a brand new 2003 Protege5 when I turned 17 after sharing the minivan with mom for a year. I love my car to death, but the number of dents and scratches from the fuckers in my high school parking lot, combined with the fact that it's an auto and i'm not allowed to do engine mods (because of mom and dad's payment help) make me very hesitant to spend money. I don't want to put money into a car that I have any reservations about...

I guess the situation may be a bit different for you, but that's my view of things. All of my money from work goes straight into the bank so one day i can have my Mazdaspeed/Acura Type-S without struggling for money.

[RyPhil]

Get very good grades. Be very respectful to ALL of your elders. Make your mom proud.

That will help.