Car decisions PLEASE HELP lol?

Question

ok here are the facts: I am 21 yrs old, still in college and will be for another year and a half for my masters. I have become very interested in cars and want to get a car with some potential that I can work with. Current car is automatic and I really want a stick. I'm gunna list facts because it might make this easier:

21 years old
in college for another 1.5 years
4.5k saved
steady job, however, when in college no job is really that stable lol
into tuner cars
lots of student loans
parents not financially stable enough to cover any risky waste of money (such as cosigning a loan)
can save around 200 per 2 weeks
current car is a piss off (riced civic that leaks through windshield, needs brakes, body kit is in shitty quality, slammed so ride quality pisses me off, automatic, no CEL cause i spent a **** load of money in repairs already)
btw all the wrongly done mods were done by previous owners. I was 19 when i bought and i just really liked how it looked

Question: Should I buy a old 2000 si, gsr, etc. Basically a cheap car that has potential but is not the same quality as a newer car. Or should I continue to save and try and get a srt-4, old wrx, is300, etc. This category is something that is already pretty quick with some room for mods and would probably be more comfortable and less maintenance expenses. Was really hoping to have the car by this summer because I am getting kind of old and building tuner cars won't be in my budget for long cause once i get out of school its time to pay back those loans lol

Biggest thing is my current car pisses me off with all the rattles from breaking body kit and horrible ride quality from wrongly done suspension by previous owners, as well as its a automatic.