my friend is lookin for first cars and i have an 89 rx7 vert NA and he wants to one up me by gettin a tII...would it be a good idea to but one for under 5k? he doesnt know much bout them and i don tknow if he would have the money to keep fixing it...do the TIIs break down a lot?

 

I paid $4k CDN for my TII, and in the past year I have dumped about $2k into it......still not running exactly how it should, so I would say no(esp. if he doesn't know anything abotu them)

 

If it's your first rotary i would get a N/A first , they are cheaper and more reliable than the turbo's.

 

You may not believe me, I wouldn't have either when I was 16 or 17, but a very small turbo car is not the right car for someone with your friends driving experience (ie: none).
It's fine to get a car thats small and light and handles well, but the process of learning to drive high horsepower cars is less painfull when its progressive (ie: done over time).

 

A powerful rear wheel drive car like the T2 is probably not a good choice for a first car.

You would be much better off buying a FWD car or lower powered car for a first car until you develop long term driving skills and experience to match the capabilities of the vehicle.

And a T2 is very reliable when new, or well taken care of, but after 10-15 years or 100k miles any car will have problems that will need to be fixed. A Sports car like the RX-7 will be much more expensive and time consuming too fix as well as difficult for the average mechanic to work on.

 

Regardless of how often TIIs break down, it's a 15 year old car. He's going to be spending a lot of money replacing parts that have worn out from mileage and/or time. Not to mention the fact that with only $5k, he's not going to have much left over to buy those parts. Tell him to get a nice NA coupe and beef it up a little. He'll still be one-upping your vert.

Steve

*EDIT*
You're too fast on the draw for me Mark. Took the words right out of my mouth.

 

I agree with getting an NA first. A TII is a LOT to handle and even worse when the weather isn't so great. Believe me, when I bought my NA (2nd car), it was PLENTY fast.

 

I got an n/a first, but I wish I had a tII now, but if I'd have gotten a tII first I prolly wouldnt be here right now, LOL

 

Yeah I'm 17 and i got a n/a for my first car and i couldnt handle it in the rain and rear-ended someone so now i got another N/A. I would agree N/A would be a good choice to start off with.

 

A bone stock t2 with a low mileage or rebuilt motor is pretty reliable. I wouldn't buy one with a 100k miles on the motor and expect it to be a reliable daily driver.

 

I think almost everyone should start out with an n/a, I did. They make it much easier to learn the basics of the rotary without the added complication of the turbo setup. Get an n/a, drive it for a year or two, and get a TII or put a Jspec in your n/a.

 

I got one when I was 16, (a little over a year ago) has 165K on it, basically all original, I've changed out all the cooling system extremities for better ones and I'm awaiting a haltech and some more stuff, basically I'm rebuilding the whole car slowly. They rattle, and won't carry your friends, and they won't really impress the ladies (for the most part). For most of the time I've owned it I've had a boost leak somewhere or other, so I haven't done any retarded teenage things it, but I'm also an exceptionally responsible teenager (not to toot my own horn but it seems that way) and I spend a lot of time at autocrosses and such so that helps to get it out of my system. It is definitely important to practice nothing but good driving habbits for the first year. The things I would have done differently would be buy an S5, they look massively better, and I would have bought an N/A, as I've had a few nasty turbo related issues, but I have no problem fixing stuff in parking lots usually, so unless you're knowledgable about cars, you might run into trouble. Also, the milage sucks, tell him to buy something that's supposed to be a commuter and save up to buy something nice in a year or two. He won't be happy about it now, but he will be after he gathers a lot of knowledge and such.

 

a TII is NOT a good idea for a first car...

torque + rwd + being 16 = bad idea.

I'm only 19.. but I don't think i'd still be here now if I got this car when I was 16.. looking back, I'm a WAY better driver now than I was then... back then I was untouchable.. but I wasn't really, I just thought so.. I've matured alot (and learned alot autocrossing and at track days) in 3 years.. I'd say that a TII would make a GREAT second car, but they're too expensive (fuel costs $$$ and TII's are SHITTY on gas), too powerful, and too RWD for a first car. Get an early '90s protege 5sp or something, great on gas, cheap to fix, super reliable, TONS OF FUN, and for well under $1k for a good one..

 

my TII was my second car but my first RX7 and only car with power. as long as your not a dumb ricer and have respect for what your doing not like burning out in intersections racing anything that will race you, and you have to have patiants. i bought mine with 115k and my engine was kinda dead just blew a corner seal nothing bad but it still somthing.

 

not for a first car no. hell i started driving a 84 suburban. then a 89 burban. then a pick up with a 350. then my baby and after all that over the corse of 5 years i stil managed to snap the sub frame on my TII. **much respect you have must to drive TII you do**


ej

 

It's a common fact: MOST 16 year olds DESTROY their first car. Everyone I've met pretty much has. You just DONT QUITE KNOW what to expect, how to drive, and really truely have the knowledge to respect the time and money put into cars. I know this from experience. I DESTROYED my first car (89 stang 4 cyl). It was EXCELLENT when we bought it. Now it's a heap that runs like trash. Trash a junkier car, learn, then get a decent car. Dont trash the good cars. Also, like others have said, a turbocharged rotary car pushing 200hp stock, and EASILY more with small mods, that's rwd, that=death for a 16 year old, especially if ya have pretty drastic weather. Anyways, the kid sounds pretty dumb anyways, so whatever. Tell him to get a 5.0, learn how to drive THAT bitch in the rain/snow, then get a real car. That's it, Im out.

Logan

 

I agree. My first car was a '91 Ford Tempo, Auto. I wish I had learned to drive a stick earlier, but the auto made it much easier to learn to drive on the street first. I learned to drive in my father's Aerostar, but they don't have excessive power. After smashing that tempo (yep, first car, totaled) I bought two full sized vans (phase I went through) and they did fine for me, then a 626 (damn, I missed gas mileage!) and a few other vehicles. Now I have had an FB for two years. It looks like hell, but I love it. I'm working on a TII swap into a GXL I just fell into. And I actually kinda wish that I could drive this one N/A before I have it finish, as I would like to get the 'feel' of this car first before I have ~200 HP. I was gonna rebuild and port the motor first, but I decided that this one was working just fine with 87,000 miles before it was removed, so I'll get used to that first.

LMAO!!! For some reason, it seems like most of my best freinds love 'stangs. I would love for them to see a quote like that!

 

Slow87turbo, I love that avatar!

 

NOT for a first car. My first car was an NA RX7 (well, third car, but the first car that I actually drove legally )
And even then, i admit the car was too much for me at times. You feel invincible, and that's a very bad thing. You're not. Neither is the car. And never will be.