Originally posted by ewgf
My family has decided that it's time to upgrade my car so they gave me $15000 
and I am thankful for that. But I can't decide on what to get. 
I like the WRX a lot but it just seems way out of my range. Oh yeah, and they want me to get a 4 door, which limits my options but I'm not complaining.
Please give some advice.
Thanks.
That's pretty cool. The only thing that really sucks is having to get a 4-door. The cheapest cool 4-door is the $20,000 Mazdaspeed Protege. The 2004 WRX is $31,500.
A couple things to keep in mind, though: If you've got bad credit and not a lot of cash, you also can't afford to get something that isn't extremely reliable. In the US, that means your best bet is getting a certified pre-owned Toyota/Lexus or Honda/Acura, because they're the used cars you can trust more than anything else, and you get a warranty.
When you're spending $15,000 on a used car, you can get something that's only a couple years old and has all the options. The used cars I would look at would be:
2001 Subaru Impreza RS AWD Secan
2.5L 5-speed, AWD, 165 HP, 2825 lbs.
$14,700
1999 Accord EX V6 4-door
3.0L auto, FF, 200 HP, 3020 lbs.
$14,200
2000 Toyota Camry XLE V6
3.0L 5-speed, FF, 200 HP, 3252 lbs.
$15,000
1997 Lexus ES 300
3.0L V6 auto, FF, 200 HP, 3296 lbs.
$14,000
1998 Acura TL 2.5
2.5L auto, FF, 176 HP, 3282 lbs.
$14,100
1998 Acura TL 3.2
3.2L auto, FF, 200 HP, 3513 lbs.
$14,600
The 165 HP Impreza RS might not be a WRX, but it looks really nice, and for the sake of reliability and just for the practicality of everyday driving, you're honestly better off without a turbo. The 2001 RS is basically the same thing as the 2002 WRX without a turbo. The RS has come down a lot in price just because the WRX was released the next year.
The Accord V6 EX has nice wheels and a ton of good stuff on it. The Acura TL 2.5 is a better looking car with nicer wheels than the TL 3.2.
Of course, there are actually plenty new cars you can get, too. 4-doors you could get for $15,000 that don't suck are:
2003 Honda Civic LX 4-door
1.7L 5-speed, FF, 115 HP, 2513 lbs.
$14,200
2004 Toyota Corolla CE
1.8L 5-speed, FF, 130 HP, 2502 lbs.
$13,800
2003 Mazda Protege DX
2.0L 5-speed, FF, 130 HP, 2634 lbs.
$14,900
2004 Chevy Cavalier 4-door
2.2L 5-speed, FF, 140 HP, 2676 lbs.
$14,900 -$3,000 customer cash thingy this month
2003 VW Golf GL 4-door Hatchback
2.0L 5-speed, FF, 115 HP, 3759 lbs.
$15,000
2003 Mitsubishi Lancer ES
2.0L, 5-speed, FF, 120 HP, 3638 lbs.
$14,300
The Civic LX comes with good standard equipment like air, cruise, power windows, CD player, and a bunch of other stuff that will be tough to get on a new car with a bigger engine.
The Golf is a pretty nice car, but it's made in Mexico (then again, Jettas are, too). The Protege handles really well for a sedan, and even the cheaper DX model has decent power and comes with a CD player standard. You could also get a Sentra, but that's a pretty crappy car unless you get the $17,500 one. Same goes for the Neon. You could get a Focus, but those have lower reliability than most new cars.
