Reliable, fast-ish, car for teenage boy?

Before you say, "you should be driving a prius" save it. I've saved money my whole life for this purchase so my parents are allowing me to buy any car I can afford. I have a little over $10k USD saved. Are there any fast (preferrably 5-6 second 0-60?) Cars I will be able to afford that wont break every time I drive?
Answers

frederick

A 1962 Ford Falcon is fast enuff for you. Save your money

STEPHEN

"fast-ish, car for teenage boy" "preferrably 5-6 second 0-60" In your dreams. Check out the insurance for and "fastish" cars being driven by a teenage boy. When you ve recovered from the shock look at slow cars with tiny engines. Don t even think about insuring YOUR car under your parents name. That s fraud.

sara

Fiat 500 or something similar. Young boys look dumb as hell with ‘fast’ cars

YKhan

A 2009 or earlier Subaru Impreza WRX. The WRX is a slightly less powerful STI (270 HP vs. 300 HP), but usually it's much more reliable because the engine is not quite as overstressed like the STI's are. Research the insurance rates on your own, that's also important to knowing the cost of ownership.

nt

You moron. INSURANCE is going to eat you alive. Get a honda or toyota or Mazda or Hyundai, does not have to be a prius.

Anonymous

Try getting an insurance quote for a Mustang with a V8. Tell us if you want a "fast-ish" car again.

Scott

The faster the car, the higher your insurance will cost.

The Oracle of Omigod

You should be driving a Prius. There is no such thing as fast and reliable - those terms are mutually exclusive. In a way, your parents are smart. You are going to blow all ya got on a muscle car and then it will sit in the garage most of the time while you get the money together to fix it.

Anonymous

preferrably 5-6 second 0-60? Under 10K? So a newish car? A big fat NO! Maybe once you get 50K, you might. Car insurance through the roof. You are looking at a late 60's early 70's MUSCLE CAR...Stang, Camaro, Cuda. with BIG MF V8 engine and a Carb or multiple carbs and gallons of fuel per mile consumption when gas prices are bound to double or triple in prices or "just not be available", so you got an expensive paperweight that you can not resell because no one wants a PIG on fuel. Just like the "Funny"cars you see at drag races. Not road legal. They are about 300K and have 5 engines using 1 per drag and then swap engines. Those drivers OWN a machine shop. . The V8 cars are dying out. Now it is 4 cylinder Ricers. They too will die out...as driver's mature and buy homes instead.

Mike Dickerson

I'd keep saving my money if I were you. When you grow up you will understand the concept of trying to turn money into assets. My favorite cars are the early 70s Chrysler C-bodies. I also like newers Mustang GTs, 80-96 Ford trucks and Broncos. I have also considered buying a 2015 or newer Subaru Outback.

grindcorehead?

1992 Geo Metro. These things will smoke the Dodge Demon

Babushka

Definitely get a vauxhall corsa, the best money you will ever spend

vic

Toyota impreza

Grandpa Jack

I'd suggest checking out a Mazda 3 with the larger non-turbo engine (the 2.3L in the older ones, 2.5L in the newer ones). You'll probably find it peppy enough to at least not be boring, it would be fairly reliable, and unlike if you buy an actual "sports car" the insurance on a Mazda 3 shouldn't be too expensive. They handle really well for what they are so they're actually fairly fun to drive, especially the manual transmission versions if you can/like to drive a manual. While not super-fast, they went to 60mph in the low-to-mid 7's with the larger engines so they're definitely not "slow" (especially for a newer driver) but they got decent fuel economy and they aren't especially expensive to buy in good condition with fairly low miles. Good luck with whatever you find.

john

Wrx or miata. Miatas aren’t very fast but they are a lot of fun to drive and reliable. Ive driven all sorts of 500+ hp cars and honestly the miata is one of the most fun cars I’ve driven. If you decide to go with a wrx, try to get one as close to stock as possible, heavily modded ones are unreliable and have usually been beat on. A C5 Corvette could be another option if you can find any decent ones in your price range, they are great cars.

FlagMichael

I will defer to the other answers for choice of car because I want to tell you what you *really* need to know: do not commit to buying any car without having an actual quote for insurance on that car. On the road, you will not ever have any legitimate use for acceleration below 8 seconds 0-60. Any decent driver can do literally anything he wants to with 10 second 0-60. Extreme acceleration is something even the worst drivers use less than 1% of the time... I never understood the attraction. Otherwise, you seem to have your head on straight. Reliability and fuel costs (both come down to money, really) are the things that will make you happy or unhappy with your car. Those are both reasons I have fallen in love with the Prius - by far the most reliable cars my wife and I have had in our 45 years together - but if you don't want a Prius, so be it. When I research a used car I check the model and year in the first two sources: the first shows me if the model year has really bad problems (like the 2003 Accord); the second has reviews from random owners saying what their experiences have been and whether they would buy that brand again. Finally, before committing to buy any car have your own mechanic do a "pre-purchase inspection" of it. It will cost you about $100 but often saves hundreds or thousands of dollars. See the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3z2rlU_dSs

Anonymous

You can find a 2010 range used Cadillac CTS 3.0L RWD in your $10K+ price range. I'd rather drive in a nice ride as opposed to a fast rusty bucket of bolts any day IMHO. You could also get a Camaro if you want but the insurance will kill you until you're 25. You may get lucky and and find a CTS-VLS with a LS3 but you'll need $20K+ for that car. The ins companies don't usually know a CTS-V may have an LS3, ins rates may be less. Insurance companies are weird like this, a Cadilac is considered an older drivers type car. A LS3 Camaro 2SS is a fast car but the insurance is still far lower then a overused Corvette.

KayleenR

a Miata

thebax2006

I'd recommend a 2000 to 2003 Gm vehicle with a 3.8 liter supercharged motor in it. Pontiac Bonneville SSEi vehicles are great!

AlCapone

A fast-ish car will cost you more expensive-ish insurance. I suggest looking at a Honda Civic coupe -- more expensive for insurance than a 4-door Civic but a lot less expensive than other fast-ish coupes.

Blessed

no

Ardeshir

A second-hand 2005 Subaru STi. (Maybe cost you a bit more than $10k if in perfect condition.) I have one and it's AWESOME! +++++

3rdEYE

"Any decent driver can do literally anything he wants to with 10 second 0-60." I'm going to have to strongly disagree with that statement. I would say that 9 second 0-60 times are slow, but acceptable. Cars that have double digit 0-60 times are near dangerously slow. These are the kinds of cars that have a very hard time getting into traffic. In today's traffic, it will piss other drivers off. These cars will also be very hard to get up to highway speeds as well as try to pass other cars. I would say a car with a 0-60 time between 6 and 8 should be fine for anyone who is not a totally incompetent driver. As for recommendations... Third and fourth generation f-body fourth generation corvette sn-95 generation mustang