I live in IL. were we can get some decent to bad snows every so often and I want to get a nice sports car that I can tune up. I figure i probably have around 5 grand saved up and maybe another 4 if i sell my jeep. I am thinking either a WRX or STi which i would buy in the summer. Only prob I have is i dont want to make payments over 400 a month. Is there any issues I should know about before buying a new WRX or STi? and what would you recomend?

You might want to wait and see what specs the new models will have before buying, I think the base WRX is gonna have a 2.5l engine now, I'd expect the STi to be powered up too. Even if you get a current model, the prices are gonna drop when the new ones are announced

I don't think that your payment would be more than $400 if you put 9K down. Of course the details depend on the rates and your credit scores, etc.

I bought a WRX with $4k down and I pay less than $400/mo.

I'm not sure if I should get a new one or if I a used one thats a 2002 or newer. Because I'm thinking of tunig it and i cant tune up a new one until i wear out the waranty.

Sure you can. Just go to a mod-friendly dealership. Also, the burden of proof is on the dealership as to whether a modification caused damage or not. So don't get modifications that may cause damage. Your average entry-level street mods should have no effect on your warranty whatsoever. If you start messing with the intake, the turbos, the cats, etc, then you might get into a little trouble, but I'd doubt it unless something broke because of the modification.