[elav]

First, hats off to you for working hard and being able to save that much money - amazing achievement at any age! I would encourage you to do autocross - no matter what car you end up getting.

I bought a Boxster to wrench on with my kids. Honestly, it isn't the easiest to work on - Civic or Miata, as you and others suggested, would be better cars to wrench on as plugs, etc. are more easily accessible, which will encourage you to do more. We like the Boxster but my kids often borrow other cars as they want a backseat so they can hang with friends, etc. Also, with any car, have it checked out before buying it.