there is plenty of time to get the fancy car that will get the looks but remember your going to college youll be traveling home on weekends and you will want to carry tyour friends at least the ones that dont have wheels, shoot for a civic,camry,sentra, altima is good try not to get that huge engine remember big engine big tuneup costs unless your going to college to be a mechanic a standard 4cyl tuneup will run about 300-400.00 and for a car that is not sporty the tires will be about the same but sporty cars will be about a 100-150 more so its your decision if the car has a v-6 or larger it will have to have a certian size tire on it with a certian speed rating hence the sporty prices, plus the sporty cars do not hold there value especially the saabs if you wreck it most likely it will be totaled you could do some checking on a consumer ratings website about what it will cost to repair it if an accident occurs this will be the most likely senario and your insurance company alot of times will want to total the car even in the smallest accident so you will want a car that holds its value longer they will be the ones that get approval for repair the quickest by your insurance co. cause if they total it then you are out wheels for a while if they fix it then you get a rental and the car gets fixed .you keep wheels the whole time.good luck!!!