i have a maxima, its my 2nd car, i love it. yeah my parents helped me pay for it, im 18, but still, for the money, reliability, fun to drive, etc its awesome, plus its real roomy for friends or whatever. mods are definitely not gonna be as cheap as hondas n stuff but whatever.
my first car was my dads 1990 piece o crap bmw, yea i said piece o crap bmw, 273k miles, seats ripping and falling apart, etc, still ran good, i expected it to keep running for a long time til i unexpectedly rear ended a blazer goin like 40 and totalled it. itll happen, even if u dont think it will, cuz i was the same way.
probably go with somethin cheap and reliable tho like civic or 240, and ull still have money leftover for mods. good luck
Kevin