All valid points! At this point I'm just looking at what I can afford in my price range. My tax return won't be here until the end of the month, so I still got some time. My aim in putting in HIDs is the fact that it'll remedy the issue (that seems to plague my car) of Proteges literally burning through headlights every few months. Idk if any of you saw my post (or if I even posted it lol) about how one of my low beams is now out after just two months. The HIDs will, from what I've read, last a lot longer than stock and still look great. Even light up better than stock (which I though was pretty good).
As for the Impreza (or any Subie, really), I'm a little more hesitant. Not only because of AWD parts wearing out and their sensitivity to engine changes (which I hadn't exactly thought through, I'll admit), but because their engine configurations are extremely foreign to me (no pun intended). I know almost nothing about the Boxer engines, and I'd feel really more comfortable working on a standard inline (probably not a V6). Additionally, the AWD will destroy my gas mileage, and if even though I don't plan on delivering much longer after this semester it's gonna suck paying for that.
Right now this is the car I have my eye set on.
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ank/cto/4267920676.html
It's at the top of my price range, but easy to work on, and it's a freakin Toyota so it'll last forever (hopefully). I'm not saying that my little Mazda won't, but judging by the rust on my fenders I don't exactly have a good feeling about it. The problem with the tC is that I have nowhere to put my light for delivering. The roof is glass, and the trunklid isn't big enough for it with the wing (which I'm not getting rid of). That and the fact that it's at least 3 hours away.
However, I did find this fun little Mazda:
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ram/cto/4312599859.html
Since it's from Nevada, it shouldn't have any rust, although I wonder how long the seller has been in MN. It's a stick shift too, so that's a huge bonus! However, it's not a hatch like I wanted (not that the tC is much better), so I'm gonna need a rack to get my bike in/on it. I really like that the windows have tint, but like the ad says it's MN illegal, so I'm wondering if I can get away with it being registered in SD.
Anyways, thoughts on either of those? I know you guys will probs be biased towards the Mazda (keepin me in the family?), but which do you guys think will be the better option? But I will start a forum thread, whatever car I end up going with. If nothing else, I'll link it in my sig and post a ton on here.