Can someone help us decide what car to buy?

Hi my name ins Jason and Im 18 years old and I've been driving for a few years now, not always legally but thats beside the point.  Now I'm getting to the point where I want, no I need to get my own car. Im tired of catching rides in the morning with my friends in their cool cars while they blast the music they like and drive how they like to drive and make all the sops they want to make.  I want to be in the driver seat.  Sometimes my dad lets me drive one of his old cars but not always.  My parents suggest that I finance a car.  I have a job and the small amount of credit history I have is pretty good.  I went to the bank and they told me that 10k is the realistic cap for me right now.  I want something at least semi reliable that will not murder me with insurance costs but is also sporty looking and "masculine".  I've never driven manual but I'm a really good driver so I don't think it would be a problem and I want to learn how anyways. Recommendations? I really really love older cars like Toyota supra Pontiac firebird and the corvettes but my dad told me the insurance would be way too much for something like that.  I would even buy a junk car near me in Atlanta from craigslist and fix it up.  I live in Atlanta close to midtown suggestions are would be really appreciated.

Hi I'm 17 years old and I'm hoping to become a first time car buyer soon.  I don't know really know much about cars.  I've been riding in them all my life of course but have never even changed a tire myself.  I don't want to lose my money so I need some help.  I don't want a new car.  Well I do want a new car I just cant afford one.  So I'm looking to get a used car off of Craigslist or Ebay or something.  I thought about going to a dealership and buying something cash but I don't want to pay dealer prices.  I don't know if this car is a good buy or not but I was looking at some Mazda Miata MX-5s and i'm really wanting one.  Most of them are between 2-4k which is affordable for me.  I know that saving up the money and buying it out right is the best and smartest thing to do but I need a car soon and it would take me way too long to save up 4k.  Should I be getting a Auto loan, a personal loan, some other kind of loan?  I would like to hear about others experiences with buying a car.