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Re: car insurance
As everyone else said, check out the biggies. When I was 16, I got plunked onto my Dad's State Farm account, which he has had forever. Converted to my own when I graduated from college, and have been going ever since. I think right now I'm paying less than $1200/year for 3 cars. Since you aren't over 25, and have only been driving for a short amount of time, it's going to cost you.
As far as car goes, I've heard really mixed things about CarMax. Some people have enjoyed the experience, while others have been completely screwed. Instead of the 05 Mazda, look at a slightly older Honda or Toyota with less than 100k miles. You'll be able to put at least another 100k miles on it (6-8 years, unless you're me, and that's 4-5 years), and as long as you do all the scheduled maintenance, you'll be good to go. And, if you've got 12,000 to spend, I'd spend 8-10k and use the rest towards the car insurance.
I have a 2001 Honda Civic with 135,000 miles, runs great, and I get 34-36 MPG mixed.
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