How did it pan out?
what did you do with it
Repairs?

 

It doesnt matter who had a rx7 as a first car even though i did. What is most important is the condition of everything to make sure its daily drivable.

I assume your looking for a rx7 for your first car. I dont suggest it but i dont think its a terrible idea. Ive daily drove mine and i have always been able to make it from point A to point B. If you can handle spending money time to time on parts that will fail, GAS, TICKETS and tools then look around. Ive had 6 rx7s and only one i ever put on the road.

Turns out on my 7 NOTHING was done right by the previous owners and requires work fairly often. But the more work i do the more i know that certains parts shouldnt fail on me soon. As for repairs just think about your normal repairs like brakes,clutch/system, sensors, fluids, yadda yadda yadda. Read the FAQ and search. : )

 

my 7 is my first car, just dont be suckered into, "motor doesn't work right" or "just needs new plugs." if you are looking for one. i've put alot of money into mine (as said above, parts, tools, etc.) buy a car that is stock if you can, that way you wont have to trace out anything that has been done to it. it is not really a hard to work on these cars, you just have to learn that this car is diffrent, and knowledge "friends" might have on cars will not apply to these sometimes.

 

I bought a 90 vert for my son for his first car. It had three things I wanted in his first car:

1. It was slow. An automatic rotary is a pig
2. It was cool looking. Nothing would humilate a kid more than driving a Prius to school!
3. It had only two seats

His car was very clean and looked all adult owned (only three owners per Carfax) with no modifications at all. There is nothing like buying a car worked on by a half-*** amateur. No offense to the half-*** amateur readers.

For item 1 it turned out to be too slow; dangerously slow IMHO. So we bought a JDM Tii and rebuilt it. Even at stock boost it goes nicely now.

For item 3 there are studies that show accident rates for young drivers skyrockets for every additional kid in the car. From about.com...

He's now 19 and a sophomore in college and the car is his "baby."



His brother is 15 and we have a 91 MR2 turbo for him; again two seats. That damn thing reinforces the half-*** amateur statement I made earlier. Have spent a lot of weekends correcting stupid, poorly done work.



If you want a fun car and are willing to work on it then IMHO a RX is not a bad choice if you can find one that hasn't been modified and passes all of Aaron Cake's buying tests. Otherwise, you might be better off with an early 2000's Hondah.

Good luck

 

My first 2 cars were RX7s. I did spend almost 2 years researching before I bought the first one though, so I knew what I was getting into. It is not a good idea for someone who knows nothing about the car to get one as a first car (or any time for that matter.) It's not a car that you just jump into without preparation.

 

i just got a 86 gxl na about two months ago as my first car. the rx7 is my favorite car of all time but if you are planning on getting one as your first car be prapared to spend a LOT more money than you originally planned on spending, spend a lot of time working on it and doing research and i mean a lot of research. sometimes well actually a lot of the time you will feel like you are in over your head but in the end it will all be worth it. it all just depends on how how much time, effort, and not to mention money you are willing to put into the car. im not trying to put you down i am just letting you know what you could be getting yourself into and hoping you will think about your decision and do research before you make a decision you could regret if not prepared.

 

i had read for about a year on how the car works, what it likes, what it dislikes, common problems, and just awesome and negative opinions about it.

about a year later i still love it.

the first car i've owned is my black 88 vert n/a and i think its just great.

im 22 right now but i was 20 when i got it and i had never really worked on a car myself, but my dad has been a mechanic for over 25 years, so he helped me with the basic things and i have had to teach him and myself about the rotary engine and how it works.

but yea if someone isnt prepared to work on their own car and not be scared to take it apart and put it back together then they should probably get a new car or a used one.

 

im not really put down about the engine reliability i have saved about 1800 since i started working this summer and plan to work till about this time next year and save somewhere around 6000. 2000 of that will be for an engine rebuild and the rest of the 4000 will be for buying and fixing up the car. My coach has an 87 na that hes gonna sell it to me for 1700 but i havent checked it out yet because i dont want to buy it now and later on down the year see something that i like better and kick myself for it. Im a junior in high school and 16 also in the International Baccalaureate program so i try to read up on what i like extensevely before i make a decision haha. Any suggestions with money i should set aside for the car or what i should do about my coaches car situation?

 

My first car was an '87 TII. Bought it in 1993. Sold it in 2000.

 

+1000

Every single part has been removed/replaced on my car. EVERYTHING besides chassis wire harness and the dash. Because of this i have so many problems. Deff shoot for a stock rx7!

 

My first car was an 86 RX7 and it is still being pampered by yours truly. I have found it it to be a reward to be able to own the car this long and keep it looking just like my first drive. I remember like it was just yesterday that I drove the car off the dealership lot and tried to open the sunroof completely by pushing the button just once and thought "oh damn I just broke it already" when it stopped moving after opening to the pop up position. Of course I kept this thought to myself and didn't dare share it with good ole dad!

 

First car that I actually owned was an 88 GTU that I bought when I was 19 (back when I started on here), motor had recently been rebuilt. Most of the problems I had with the car were because I was stupid with it. The only things that broke which weren't my fault were the battery and alternator. The tires and suspension were worn out so I replaced those. But otherwise it was a good car. I beat the snot out of it though.

 

mine was a non turbo rx7 and i am agree with one of the guys dont fall for the just needs new spark plugs cause man that guy was full of **** ill tell you that much

 

I keep hearing extensively about how important reading up on the car but what is this essential information so far i've learned
Let her properly warm up
change oil ever 3k miles
upgrade to an aftermarket radiator
temp switch isn't linear so don't rely on it
if the car hasn't warmed up yet let it reach operating temp before shutting off or itll flood
KEEP IT COOL
Under tray is essential
Air bubbles can kill
i know there's more i just cant list them anymore of the top of my head
can yall share your wisdom on something that i've forgotten

 

As someone else on this forum has stated before: welcome to the RX-7 world where your car teaches you to become a mechanic...

Look for the most unmolested and as close to stock car as possible for the least amount of headache.

 

I lucked out on my RX-7 being my first car. One owner '91 in great condition, and 53k miles. Not bad for 12 years old (when I bought it in '03). It was BONE STOCK. I never had one running issue with it. Eventually the exhaust rotted through and I replaced it with the cheapest new aftermarket I could find (corksport). That was it. I didn't molest anything on that car, and it returned the favor by leaving my wallet alone.

 

Having an RX7 for your first car is like having the school **** for your first girlfriend. You just know that somehow, she will be different now because she is with you. She will 'love' you oh, yes! But she will also screw around with the guy at the parts store, most of the local cops, the traffic court judge, your insurance agent, your apex seals, EVERYONE from Mazdatrix, your bank account, your credit card (if you don't have one yet, you will) and most of the guys selling parts on the F.S. threads. You will never forget her, but when she is gone on to the next sucker, you will finally have a normal life.

Then, you start looking for your next '7...

 

when she is gone i will miss her every single day and every time i think about her a little tear wil roll down my cheak but just one. but thats not for a long time for now she is mine all mine and i love her to pieces. lol

 

Egads, you're going to give a 91 MR2 turbo to a 16 year old? That particular model is a snap-spin machine and very fast, it's not a good choice as a first car IMO.

 

it's only a span spin machine if you drive like an idiot, an the N/A model is slow...

 

I got my 1987 GXL in February 09. I was really looking for a 240sx, but all the ones here in that time were failed KA-T, SR swaps, or shells. Than AE86's, I almost got one, but some dude was literally 11 minutes ahead of me and got it. Than I saw a FC. I had to get it, so I did some quick research, found this site, and bought it for $1750. It had the "80s blue fade job". It has a 181,xxx miles on the N/A S4. I wanted to get rid the engine when my tranny almost gave out, but I ultimately failed on a TII swap(that bad). So now I'm saving up. If I calculate all I've spent on it, it doubles how much I bought it for Engine has good compression!

Oh, 240s don't stand a chance against rotary.

 

Bought my T2 as my first car in June for $3200 CAD. One owner (he's 40 now), garage kept over winter, bone stock (RB Exhaust, stock failed), one new paint job. Got a really good deal. I've spent $2460 on it already. $2000 was a mistake made on my Dad's part for taking it to the dealer to have a problem diagnosed so he sucked that one up, the $460 was me driving off a 4ft. drop into a gravel pit (new area in a hurricane with barely any light in the parking lot).

I love it, I drove the HELL out of it the first month and half until I blew I side seal. Been watching the Mazdatrix rebuild DVD, just got a load of tools for my birthday and I've read through "Street Rotary" 3 times or so. Never picked up a tool but I'm gonna do it myself and take my time doing this.

I say go for it, I don't have a job yet but I will soon. If you have a job and are prepared to do things right and not cut corners go for it.

 

Its true! But then again my stock rx7 (besides exhaust) has its little problems too, if you want a car with less problems then get a newer car.

 

RX-7 is my first and second car. Just a few problems, mostly wear items. most of which the P.O. left me with. Basic handling upgrades, not much power yet.

 

I bought my 85' RX-7 GS for $150 bucks on my 15th birthday, and have had 5 since then. My second car was an 88' RX-7 Turbo II that I got for $500 bucks in exceptional condition, I strongly regret selling it after I blew the motor! That's okay tho, that's why I finally got another turbo II. I'd suggest attending as many autocross/track events as possible, not only do they improve your driving skills by like 900% they make you love your car so much more. I personally tried to drive easy on the streets (account for all possibilities, cats, dogs, cars backing out the driveway, etc.), and save the romping for track time. This wasn't always the case, in fact I got a ticket for going 120mph and got my license suspended for a year, luckily it was in a different state and didn't affect my home state, however I learned quickly to tone it down and be very careful of where to speed. Be careful out there. btw, with 6 grand I'd just buy a really good condition low mileage rx-7 turbo II. GL