Hey my paretns dont think that I should get the 91 RX-7 that I have my heart set on cause they think thats its not safe. Does anyone know of any good web sites that have safty ratings so I can prove my parents wrong??

-Thanks

 

Parents are usually pretty smart people, especially when it comes to the welfare of their children. Who is going to pay for the car, the gas, the maintenance that this car is going to need, the tires, the auto insurance, the repair bills when it gets wrecked and any medical bills if you get hurt, and who is going to feel guilty aboutr letting you get the car of your dreams if it spoils all of their dreams for you?

As a parent, I know what they are thinking about, your welfare and safety. I have had to buy each of my three kids a car and these thoughts go thru your mind when you are trying to make the best decision you can for your children. Be happy with whatever they decide and in 4-5 years when you'll need another car and have spent a good deal of time behind the wheel and have demonstrated the responsibility and maturity they are hoping you will gain in the first few years you drive then they will feel much more comfortable with helping you get that 91 FC, don't worry there will be plenty around.

 

The good safety rating was one of the reasons why I bought my RX-7 back in 1988, and I know of two people at my high school who received a new RX-7 as a graduation present because their parents liked the safety ratings. There were some cars that were more safe, but it was absolutely not a death trap. If you are just looking at used cars in this age range, then I think it would be a good choice. However, it does not compare with the safety standards of more modern cars.

Normally, the NHTSA site is a good resource, but unfortunately they do not have statistics on RX-7's.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/ncap/

This site shows the 1988 RX-7 with good 4-star (out of 5) crash test results.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/ncap/

Hopefully one of our forum members may be able to post an old Consumer Reports RX-7 article for you.

 

I hate to say it but from experience I can say parents usually are right...it may not seem like it though. Now in this case, I'd say RX7s are more safe then a lot of cars, such as CRXs or other economy cars. Is this gonna be your first car? Do you have a steady income? If you answered yes to the first one, then don't buy an RX7 for your first car. I used to own an 87 GXL (my second car) and it is ALOT of car for somebody inexperienced. You should learn how to drive well and how to drive a stick before buying an RX7, they are powerful cars. Now if you answered no to the steady income question then don't buy one. These cars are old and have their share of problems. Fast cars have more problems then slower cars, especially turbo FCs. There WILL be things that need fixing and stuff will break, its a normal thing of driving an older car - trust me I know my newest car was my 87 GXL lol right now I have an 86 benz. All my cars have had their fair share of problems. You will need money to fix it lol. So good luck with whatever you choose, and I'm not saying you should not get one, but im just giving you **** to consider . And remember parents aren't stupid lol they usually are right.

Not to bore you but for example I wanted to buy a BMX bike off some kid and fix it up (I was like 12), this bike was really fucked up and the kid only wanted $5. My dad didnt let me, and he said something like "Im telling you josh that bike isn't worth it, its gonna fall apart at the worst time like in front of a car" so i snuck out and bought it anyway. I'm riding it home and its making all these noises, and i see a car coming as I start to cross the street. So i speed up and the pedal goes flying off sending me in the air and right into the street. Luckily the lady was going slow so she could stop in time and i was ok. But my dad was pissed, and I learned my lesson: My dad is ALWAYS right. And trust me there is a lot more times he was right and I didnt believe him but I look back now and I should have. It's some crazy **** man they just know what the best decisions for their kids are...lol i swear they can see into the future sometimes. So I would wait a few years till you have more experience and then buy an FC...trust me man if your parent's say so its for a reason...and the most frustrating thing to hear is your parents saying "I told you so" ! I've heard it a lot...!

OK that was a long post im off to bed now, but just remember parents know their ****!

 

best bet is to do what i did.. say "screw you.. i'm 18, Ill buy whatever f**king car i want" then go buy one.. only problem with that approach was.. now i have to open my own insurance policy

 

its pretty obvious to have own policy when u have own car, isn`t it?

 

unless your gunna pay for the car and your insurance theres not much you can really do. I know parents werent that happy with me buying a rx7 as my first car. but they didnt have much of a say as im paying for it and the insurance. lemme just say that i think you should think twice before doing what im doing, these cars are great and i love mine but theres much better first cars out there and if dont know much about rotary's or cars in general you'll be in over your head. so go buy a civic or some other beater and drive that for a year before you get a 7 the wait will be worth it.

 

Jesus I feel poor! My parents never bought me a car and even when they bought a car. And when I bought a car I had to pay for all that stuff myself. Its only now that I'm 23 that I have a car that I really wanted and its 16 years old.

Damn I sound whiney!...okay just stick to your guns and go for the RX.

-Max (Soooooooo not bitter)

 

Ya know, if you were my son and did that, you'd receive a swift *** kicking...

Seriously, the RX-7 is a safe car. It's the driver who is the unsafe one. Being involved in way too many accidents in my RX-7, I have found that the car holds up well and does a pretty decent job at protecting it's occupents.

Sure, it will never be as safe as a new car with a zillion airbags, multiple crumple zones and the like, but for it's day it does pretty well.

 

yeah.. but he could at least not be a dick and let me sign the car over to him, so he could put it on his insurance. He insures my celica, but i pay for it, but he wont insure my fc. He never told me that he didnt want me to have an FC, he just said that he thinks its a dumb idea because "i dont know anything about rotary engines" kinda the same way how he knows nothing about piston engines.. oh well

 

haha.. i know what you mean. My mom told me to get the car.. because my dad is just ignorant to the fact that, just because he doesnt know anyhting about a rotary, that doesnt mean that I dont. His justification was.. "well if there so simple.. why dont most mechanics know what they are doing" maybe because they are different.. and when you are 99.9% of the time going to repair piston engines, you really dont need to become a doctor on rotarys. So my mom just said do what you gotta do, and dont even listen to him.
he runs a few internet based biusnesses, so he has basically NO time to actually talk to me about stuff like that.. and he probly wouldnt care either


he got pissed off at me for wanting to put moeny into the death trap of a celica they gave me. the drivers door doesnt open from teh outside, the trunk doesnt open, the only works when it wants to, fenders are rotted all the way thru, and are gonna fall off.. the front air dam is missing, it rattles everywhere, tires are cracked, rims are rusted really badly. brakes make grinding noises.. and it idles like ****. all i wanted to do was get new fenders, and get some different wheels, and maybe paint it. and he said that because its my frist car, i am required to drive a total piece of **** they are obsessed with it because its only got 110,000 miles on it.. but what good is that when it is falling apart.

so its not like im just a little punk or whatever.. the fact is.. sometimes, parents are ignorant. and they dont know what the hell they are talking about. so their opinions just have to be phazed out.

 

fc3, you are the worst son ever

 

My first car was this 89GXL in my Sig. I learned to drive in it with no help, burnt the new clutch up pretty good, killed the brakes allitle faster than a normal driver, lost a G/F over it from working on it day in day out and came up with the mods listed after 2 years of rx7 forums , racing and many tickets not including ones that I got away with. Was it worth it??? I really dont know. I tell myself I should of not procrasinated on things I needed to take care of more like school and paying billz otherwise I wouldnt be in the position I am now. But I cant wait till I get another. Its just my mods and stuff will come after my responsibilities now...Live and learn.

 

Hey Thanks all for your advice,
But its not that my paretns dont want me to get the car its that they are not sure its safe enough. They are also consered that rotarys are unreliable. I know that they are not as reliable as piston but my pretty mechanicly inclined. I understand how rotarys work, but have never worked on them. Though this will be my first car i do kow gow to drive stick.

Any more Information off reliable sorces that I can show my parents???

Thanks agian for all your help

 

If you maintain the 7 with a little more TLC than others, the rotary can last a long time. I mean n/a's can last up to 200k without a rebuild if you treat it right. LOL, you can download and show the vid of someguy redlining his car for 9-10 min or so and that was on one rotor if I remember correctly, so a rotary can last. The only time I really think you need extensive knowledge to work on a rotary is when your rebuilding and even then there are videos for that. I think being somewhat mechanically inclined, which you stated you were, you'll be fine working on it.

 

I explained to my parents that I liked cars and wanted my first to be special (don't we all ) and so my hunt began! I found mine and have never looked back...

They seemed perplexed that it had no cylinders in it.

 

Hey thanks agian all, and wish me luck

 

1) There are only 3 moving parts in the engine, there is no timing belt to break, there are no valves so valve jobs are a thing of the past, there is no cam to wear down, and there are only 4 spark plugs to replace.
2) Mazda's first entry into endurance racing with their new (at the time) rotary engine resulted in a 4th place finish in the Marathon de la Route 84hr race in 1968. Improvements have been made since then to make the engine better.
3) In 1991, a rotary engine gained Mazda the title of the first Japanese car manufacturer to win the 24hr Le Mans endurance (in which it beat the Mercedes defending champion, hehehe).
4) Mazda holds an unprecedented record of 100 IMSA endurance racing wins in a decade.

Please note the multiple uses of the word "endurance" in the above statements.

Rotary engines are extremely reliable. It looks like your parents are placing most of their emphasis on the two strong points of the RX-7, which are safety and reliability. However, I should also point out some down sides to the RX-7 so that you and your parents understand the whole situation, and will be able to make a good decision on a car. Rotary engines are rather expensive to rebuild ($700-2,000), they get lousy gas mileage, and it is difficult to find a good mechanic to work on them. All in all, I don't think that you are going to find a better used car in the same price range.

 

And why is that? because i have an opinion, A mind of my own, and my own hobbies and interests? And i suppose that if i had no job, Sold crack for money to pay child support on the 3 kids i have from various women, paid no rent, bills and mooched off everyone, Then that would make me a better son?? You are a moron.. Think before you post.

 

One thing for shure if you buy one with more than 100k make shure the previous owner didn't use sinthetic or oil filter with sinthetic oil. Don't drive it like you stole it, specialy the first year of driving. As I made many stupid things my first year. Don't use any additives like o persay a bottle of injector cleaner in the gas thank cus that will just give you RX a heart attack litteraly, it's old.

My first car was my FC3S and it brocke (i think) because prebious owner used synthetic oil and I used injector cleaner which I think killed one of the side seals. Resulting in a slow death to my FC. OK three years later I am swaping that TII engine that my right foot always wanted and planing all these mods for it.

IT's a great car with a simple engine, yet hard to find anyone that know about them besides Mazda (they are freaking expensive).


I would say get a civic or a toyota beater and save your money up, so that later on you can get an FC and mood it all you want. WAit never mind your parent are buying it. Still a good plan.




KIS Gil

 

When I was seventeen I bought an 87 na for $2000.00. This was my first 'real car'. I had driven my parents cars previously, but this was the first one I would call my own. I didn't even know what it was when my friend brought me down to show it to me. At first I was kinda skeptical because it looked kinda 80's, but if I squinted just right, I could also see that this was a real sports-car. The guy selling it took me for a test drive. As soon as he started it up I knew something sounded different. He pulled slowly out of the parking lot, went over a speed bump, and while in first gear, gave it just a little bit of gas before shifting into second. I swear, even though I tried to play it cool, I couldn't help but smile, and I smiled all the more when I realized at that moment that I was sitting in my new car. The only problem after buying it was I really didn't know anything about cars, though I thought that I did. I treated it the way a cool teenage boy treats a cool car. Ya' know, got it painted black, got rims, tint etc. The only problem was; this is a special car, that takes a responsible owner, something that I, sadly was not. If you don't have responsibility and discipline you WILL wreck, or somehow destroy the car, or your driving record. All anyone can do is warn you. Be careful, don't show off, and don't "take your car to it's limits" Treat your car with respect and show your parents that they made a good decision. I got in two accidents, got 5 or 6 tickets and a near DUI in that car. Because I was young, and drove my rx7 recklessly (at the time I would've argued persuasively that I was not). I ended up getting kicked off my parents insurance, and paying $375.00 a month for mine (minimum coverage, through progressive). Some basic advice: Make sure you let the car warm up before driving it, change the oil very regularly, and DON'T speed. Accelerate quickly if you want kicks, but don't cruise at 40 in a 25... That car eventually died because of my folly. I was car-less (and license-less) for a year after killing it. But now, and ONLY by the grace of God, I have, oddly, just a few minor infractions on my 3 year record (I should have A LOT more than that), my insurance is $700.00 for 6 mos., and I am the happy owner of an '88 Turbo II. Don't do what I did though, It wasn't worth the pain, $$ and heartache it put me and my parents through. DRIVE RESPONSIBLY! lol, that's my two cents.

 

Take a look-Crash Test 4 stars:

http://www.safecarguide.com/exp/archive/archive.htm

 

Higgi should know about FC crash safety