[gprsh924]

Thanks for all the advice so far in this thread. Hopefully I can clarify a few things right now.

The cars in my sig were what I was driving up to recently. This year for school, my dad is letting me use his 525 to get back and forth. It has 120K miles on it and while it is probably fine for a while, a change probably needs to be made relatively soon. I do not have my own car, my parents allow me to use theirs that they have in the garage.

I am able to have that money in the bank for a number of reasons. My parents are paying for my tuition as long as I continue to maintain a 3.2 or better (that is the gpa required for my $7K academic scholarship). All the money that is in my savings account is money that I have saved by working hard and trying not spend my money too foolishly over the past 7 years. My parents have never put a cent into that account. They still pay pay for stuff, but I at least pay my expenses at school as well as for any and all entertainment.

Nothing is official yet but my parents are thinking that I will probably get a new car soon. They haven't yet decided what percentage I would come up with and what they would cover, but I would likely be paying 25%-50%. They and I really want something that I will be able to drive for the next 3 years or so and not spend money on. He has basically said that they are going to help me buy a car and then clean their hands of it. Everything will become my responsibility, although it will likely still be in their name so that I can stay under their insurance and save a ton of money ( I already pay $1400 a year, and that is with a clean driving record). My dad's 525 has been rock solid, but as the miles add up it is starting to cost a lot to keep on the road. I have a feeling a 3 series would be similar. I like the idea of something newer and Japanese for the reliability factor but it still really needs to be fun to drive. The one thing I really dislike about most of the cars that would be decent possibilities is that they are all fwd. I crave rwd, and the car will absolutely be a manual.

As to doing work myself, my friends and I have installed a lift kits on my friends' Xterra and Tacoma, as well as auxiliary lights. So I have some capability, but not much, especially when I am away at school.

My money has been in a couple of different CD's over the last few years, but I am looking hard right now at finding a more aggressive investment vehicle.

Thanks again.