Looking for a new car!

Having a home does not necessarily equal owning a home.

I thought we were dealing with a teenager . What 18 year old has a job that will let him spend 1500.00 a month on a car loan . And that does not even include the outrageous insurance.

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Go to a site like cars.com, put in your specs (manual, coupe or convertible, price range, age range) and see what pops up that might like.

Not the point of this post but yes. Why?

Uhm me? And the 1500 was a combined estimate of the loan and insurance.

If I were to get the 400z with a 10k trade in and 10% down payment the note would be well below 1k/month on a 36 month loan so I’d have plenty of room for the insurance. Obviously I’d prefer a 24 month loan but I’d be willing to make it a little longer if I fell in love with a car.

And my credit score is around 775 so getting pre-approved should be pretty easy.

Every comment has been like this… Really making me question getting a manual

Do you know anyone [friend or relative] with a manual who would be willing to teach you how to drive one then you can better make up your mind what way to go?

Have you considered something like an Audi S4? It might not have as high an insurance cost as a sports car. You could get one in excellent shape and low miles for under $50,000. It could even be as new as 2019. Higher mileage and earlier model year will drop the price of course. You might also look at a Kia Stinger.

Let me give you my admittedly biased opinion. I’m 71, have been driving since I’m 17, and over the course of those many years have driven many cars, both stick and automatic. It never mattered to me, although I’ve always preferred the ease of an automatic. Last year, a dealer buddy gave me a Challenger Hellcat to drive for the weekend. It had a 6 speed stick. By Sunday, I couldn’t wait to give the car back. My left knee was killing me from the stiff clutch. In addition, I developed a habit years ago that, when driving a stick, I wouldn’t use the clutch for any shifts once I had the car rolling. This transmission would not permit that. Make sure you can drive the car long enough that you don’t regret it soon after you buy it.

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As an Old Geezer who many years ago fell in love with an MG TD I fully understand.

The Honda 2000 was a great car, j but just be aware of it’s rear main seal problems.

Alternatives might be the lower performance Mazda Miata or in a cruiser, the Jaguar XK8 post Nikasil

Other alternatives might include the MB/Chrysler Crossfire 6 cylinder or the blown SRT Crossfire,.

Crossfire parts are very difficult to find now.

If you want a manual transmission do what makes you happy. Lessons of course would be good, but it is not rocket science.

The 400Z’s a good car to aim for but if you can get some experience driving a manual look at the MX5 or the Golf GTi, older brother’s spring/summer driver now is the 2009 GTi manual that he’s had since brand new and i’ll let you know when the smile gets wiped off his face because we’re still waiting. Suspect he’ll throw some winter tires on it and give the '06 Subaru Legacy to the kids and drive the GTi into the ground.

Because of the nature of the car that’s only semi-true.

The Crossfire was basically a “parts bin” car developed by MB as a quick replacement for the Mopar Prowler using widely available prior generation mechanical parts in a low production Karmann body and there’s tons of After Market manufacturers supplying the mechanical bits.

Body parts are a different story so if you crash the car, be prepared for the insurance company to quickly total the car and hopefully you have a Stated Value policy.
The positive side is that there’s a good supply of salvaged body and interior parts from vendors like Redline.

Drive a bunch and see what you like. I’m partial to manual transmissions but also happy driving a good AT. Our son’s Mustang V8 w/ MT, and handling package is a blast, hard to get it away from my wife when he leaves it with us. The S5000 is responsive and should hold up if not abused, Mazda’s are fun. Smaller BMW’s of all ages handle well, when maintained, but will cost in repairs.