How about spending half of that on something sensible that you can learn to drive with. A new driver will almost certainly bang things up a little. Learn how to do regular maintenance, drive on the freeway well, and really get a good handle on situational awareness, watching mirrors, parallel parking, etc. After a year or so you are ready to step up to something without as much likelihood of damaging it.

 

^ +1 The G is a bit big (compared to more common first cars) as well so depending on what you're used to driving it may be a pain to drive/park.

 

My first car was a 1952 Pontiac torpedo coup. Three speed on the column. Black. I paid $100 for it. 16 in grade 11 and it was a great car.

 

Depending on the circumstances we cant tell if you will or will not crash it, but i think any driver with any car, young or old, fast or slow will gain some much needed knowledge from a race school or a skid school. Personally I just got my Gcoupe last may and my license last july and havnt had an accident or really close calls but i did do a skid school last summer and a race school a couple months ago and it was the best investment for my safety and other drivers around me. If your 21 and find yourself ready to handle a G then go for it!

 

^ I think that's a bit extreme. It's not a Ferrari. Overall responsibility, proper driving experience, and general knowledge of how a RWD reacts in comparison to a FWD should be enough. But that's definitely a great plus!

 

I like how a lot of people said start with something like a Civic... that's exactly what I did. Had a stock Civic as a first car. It was autotragic. First major mod was an automatic to manual conversion. Then a mini-me swap. Then a complete motor swap. Then boosted it I have the g AND the Civic now, and they're both really fun to drive.

Comparing the two, the Civic is a little easier to drive. Clutch is lighter, and it's easier matching revs when downshifting too, IMO. I think a G COULD be a good first car, if they've properly learned how to first.

 

I would have wanted something like a manual mid-low powered rwd car with traction control, an lsd, and a good wheelbase.

Something like maybe the old lexus IS300. or an older bmw 3 series of the lower displacements. My biggest beef with the g35 is it isn't very nimble and feels terrible when over-rotating and has too much torque for learning for a beginner driver. It just has some dangerous tendencies.

I'm not a fan of the golf's, way too small of a wheelbase and pretty heavy. An impreza 2.5rs or whatever the non-wrx one would be okay, but awd is more like fwd than rwd.

Of course every driver is different. I am sure there are kids that will spin out some corolla, and I am sure there are some jr. schumachers that will perfectly be able to drive some turbo mr2.

 

Look for a miata as a first car. They're way cheaper, way cheaper to mod, still rwd, and loads of fun to drive. As a first car, I think you will learn a lot more from a miata than you would a G. That, and you'll appreciate the car that you upgrade to a lot more.

 

I wouldn't get a Miata as a first car. Those things aren't that safe in the event of an accident, plus if you roll it (which is really hard to do in a Miata), it's game over. A Miata is just generally a not very functional primary car in general for most people... not that powerful, no storage room, 2-seater, not that good on gas compared to other cars that size/power, convertible (cold in winter, problematic with regard to leaks, etc), plus it's RWD and very light which makes it a bad all-year vehicle if you plan on driving it in a cold and snowy environment.

 

I havent made it thru most of the posts.....but definelty with no doubt buy the G, drive fast, buy extra oil. Dont get mad when your seatbelt stops retracting.

 

Actually, theyre fairly safe for what they are. Also, I was assuming that the car would be modded so a rollbar would be added. I live in socal so i forgot people actually have weather. lol my bad. So if you live in an area that does more than just rain, it would probably be a bad choice. I guess I was reading the posts and was getting into the enthusiast driver mindset. It has no power which is why it makes it a good first car, and does not have storage space but like i said i was thinking from an enthusiast's point of view. Although gas isn't great on it, its still better than a camry of that age and definately better than our gs lol.