Whether it's bargain-priced starter cars on eBay motors, cheaper premiums from online car insurance sites or web-based buyer's guides to save you getting ripped-off, the internet offers many invaluable resources for the young driver on a budget.
But in Northern Ireland, the net's also become a mecca for cruisers - modified car enthusiasts who spend thousands on performance upgrades, body kits and in-car entertainment.
Based on sites like www.jon44w.com and www.reallymeansounds.com, the online community organises a swathe of events ranging from classic cruising (sit an a car park with your mates eyeing up each other's alloys) to big 'family' events like Bangor Cruise Control - which last year raised £1,400 for charity.
And cruisers - who must get pretty depressed hunting for cheap online car insurance given the range of engine, suspension and other performance 'upgrades' installed in the average Honda Civic or Vauxhall Nova - find a little solace in the advice and encouragement offered on these sites' forum pages.
In the eyes of Northern Irish police, the websites have helped mark the distinction between well-behaved car enthusiasts and troublemaking boy racers.
Inspector Steve Haslett of the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) said "It's opened my mind up a lot and made me move away from the stereotypical ideas I had about boy racers.
"The majority of cruisers are intelligent young men who, after spending thousands of pounds on their car, have no desire to drive it into a wall or behave recklessly."
Mike Page, spokesperson for the young driver car insurance experts at Hoot, said "It's great to hear police acknowledging the distinction between cruisers and boy racers.
"Most cruisers get started when a cheap online car insurance quote leaves them with enough spare cash for an upgrade. But a lot of boy racers are still driving uninsured."