I was/am in a similar situation. Thank you for bringing up this topic! It resonates with me and I am sure with quite a few people on this forum as well. BRZ/86 being an inexpensive, impractical sports car, the targeted audience inevitably faces similar financial situations. Not convinced? There is a video on YouTube showing wife reactions to guys buying an 86:
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I've been thinking about getting a BRZ in the last 3+ years now. Only recently I made myself create an account on this forum to start posting and asking people how much they paid for theirs. Why I have waited so long and so patiently? I make enough $ to afford a BRZ comfortably but I put other priorities first e.g. paying off my student loan, buying a house, paying my parents back for their down payment help, putting my son through pre school, saving for retirement, investing for future, and putting aside enough $ in a rainy fund. I am turning 30 this year and I am using that excuse to buy myself a BRZ with PP.
I am impressed by the quality advice offered by this community! Thought I was reading some serious personal finance forum for a minute. Almost every point I would have made has been pretty much covered. I am just going add 2 more points here:
1. PenFed offers 0.9% auto loan for 36 months. Email all the dealers in your area for the best price, let them fight for your business.
2. Please don't take this personally but you are underpaid for being in IT. Assuming you have a degree in computer science or equivalent, you should get paid much more, easily 6-figure. If you are interested in working for a Fortune 15 company, drop me a PM and I can refer you.
Good luck!