Chiming in.
I have a whiteout (satin white pearl) FRS. I got it clear bra'd within a week of buying the car. You want to get the bra right away so that you dont have chips showing through under the bra/ creating air pockets and bubbles. I have used the same guy for the past 6 years on my cars so he gave me a bit of a discount and did custom parts for me as well.
I had the following clear bra'd:
Front Bumper
Headlights
12 inches into the hood and down the fenders on the same line
Painted section of rear view mirrors
very aggressive splash guards
Here is the line we created for the splash guards:
I paid $350 total for my work to be done. I believe a dealer would have wanted around $1000 for similar work. I think my friend charges in the 4-600 range for a normal customer and it depends on what you have done. I bet what I had done on my car would have been around $5-550 or so.
I say that you should just get the car you want. I love the satin white pearl. My 07 sti was this color, and I always regretted selling it. Such a rare color for that car. Also remember that you can always repaint the bumper for a couple hundred bucks as well, but pearl colors are a lot harder to paint match, so it may be easy to tell that it was repainted depending on the skill of the body shop.
I hope that helps you make your choice.