LAracer

If you had to save hard to get $3k then maybe the FD is not for you. Here's what I think:

18 + FD = broke but going fast.
18 + civic = going slow but with money (and time) to spend on chicks.

I guess it's your choice. If you really love the FD then do it.

pennywise

I agree all get one when I get out of coolege by then I'll have a good job. then I'll probably have time to fix it up and all that stuff, maybe a 3 rotor! I've been going out w/my GF for 2 years and she kicks ***. she listens to me about turbos and why rotary engines kick so much ***. Now she wants to fix a car up, she wants an integra, I said we could put all the bolt ons plus 11.4:1 cp thats good for some 13 sec passes. could you make an FC just as fast? I'm looking into buying a 90 talon awd, thats not much of a looker. i like the shape of the FCs though, my dad has a 944 turbo porshe and they look similar. will I enconter the same problems with an FC then I would with an fd? just need something RELIABLE that is fast!

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

You can make any car fast if you have the money.

What type of weather do you usually have in your area? If you generally have warm weather and no snow, pick up an older Vette or something. Those have some good power right out of the box.

As for FC's, we have a few 11sec FC's in my area (however, they go through engines like football players go through Gatorade). It just depends on how much money you are willing to spend on the car.

If you do get the occassional snow/ice storms during the winter months, you might want to keep your options to a FWD or AWD car until you can afford a RWD + FWD/AWD.

Jim Calandrella

I've only been in the snow once. I won't be doing it again anytime soon.
Rpm_pwr, that's hysterical! If I could drop fireballs on people, i'd do it all the time.
I agree with Mahjik. If you truly want reliable, don't get a turbo. There are two kinds of cars. Slow and reliable, and fast and unreliable. By fast, I mean at least low thirteens. Every car that you make fast ends up being not as reliable. There are plenty of Mustangs up here(Boston) that are running 12's and lower, via forced induction. They are in the garage just as often as my 7.
I'm looking at an 87 Monte Carlo SS tonight. I know, talk about culture shock. I'm a musician, I drive everywhere, and I carry some equipment. So I need a car with some room, and a trunk. I also wanted a V8 that every mechanic could work on. That's why I'm thinking of getting the Monte. It'll suck in the snow, but i'd rather leave the 7 at home in the crappy weather. I aways feel guilty subjecting it to harsh weather.
You have to decide what your priority is.
or

pennywise

man! I really wanted an fd! I tought if I had a properly tuned e6k, rebuilt motor with reliability mods, FMIC, upgraded rad, and non seq I thought I would be bullet proof Quess not. From what all you guys say no matter what I do something will go wrong! I just need to win the lottery

RotaryKnight

Yea I want to change my answer...the fact that you are in college w/o a good paying job the FD is not a smart choice.

I daily drove my FD but I did have the job to support any problems. And yes it was the first car I bought when i got out of college.

Chris

pennywise

damn a whole f***n 4 years!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thats like not having some loven for a month!

1FooknTiteFD

pennywise, as far as an FC goes they are a lot more reliable than FD's especially the NA ones that are 89 and up. Don't bother with the 86-87, as they have a lot of problems flooding, but the 89 and up ones are very nice and relatively reliable compared with an FD.

SoCalLove

Drive everyday. 25-30 miles on weekdays. 10-20 on weekends. Fill'er up maybe once a week if I don't joyride. And it helps having a bone stock car. She probably only sees past 4k maybe twice a week anyhow.

Kudos to those who do drive their FD daily. Btw, how many miles does everyone put on their FD a day?

johnchabin

iTrader: (2)

I used Ryan Waranty when I bought the car from a dealer in 98. It's expired now, but it was a 4 yr, 48000 mile warranty. I had 36000 miles when I bought the car. It was a daily driver for a while (70 miles/day), and I have 64000 miles now. I've have a beater (94 toyota 2WD pickup) since Dec 2000 and highly recommend this approach.

Over that 4 years, they replaced turbos, O2 sensor, tachometer, ummm... Well, those are the ones I remember. They refused the precat + cat claim and tryed to refuse the tach claim (but I convinced them otherwise).

They will turn down any and everything if you mod the car.

Sarge

In my opinion, how dependable your FD is depends on a couple of things.

(1) Did you purchase it new or used?

(2) If new, did you keep it stock, or immediately start making mods?

(3) If you purchased this car new and drove it stock or with minimum mods (down pipe, air intake, etc) and maintained it well, you should have no problems with this vehicle, unless your beating on the dam thing like crazy, then expect it to work flawlessly. DONT PLANT TULUPS AND EXPECT TO GET ROSES.

(4) If used, how much miles was on it, what was the engine compression, was it the original block or a rebuild, and how did the owner treat the car?

(5) If you did not know the answer to all these questions when you purchased your FD, there is room for some headaches down the road.

Some of you may say, how the hell would I know how the owner treated the car? If you don't know the answer to this, then maybe you should talk to a used car salesman, or look at the "Blue Book" to see the value difference between a well-maintained vehicle and one that was maintained, well, every blue moon. Taking care of a car goes beyond just the engine. That's all I'll say about that for now. I'm sure most of you know the things I'm talking about.

They say in life you don't always get what you pay for, but you most certainly will pay for everything you get.

And finally, a wise man once said, "GOOD THING NO CHEAP, AND CHEAP THING NO GOOD.

I think the FD fits this bill.

Sarge

1FooknTiteFD

Stop and go traffic is bad for the car, but if you just drive it for long distances and just shut off it's good. The parts under the hood of the car really don't like to be heat cycled, so as long as you can prevent that and don't drive it too hard, it shouldn't be too bad. But then again, if you don't drive it hard, it's not a car worth getting In my opinion

SoCalLove

Good point 1fookintiteFD. And damn, lol I thought I put to much miles on my FD. But you guys are right, its worth it. The cool thing is no one messes w/ my car. Maybe it's because I've got so much bird **** on her.

LAracer

"damn a whole f***n 4 years!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thats like not having some loven for a month! "

I know how you feel. I spent about 10 years in college, just waiting for the day I could buy an FD. But it was well worth it.

pennywise

I guess I should hold out 4 years. That seems to be the best idea.

Kiflin

Ive had mine for 2 weeks and i use it as a dd, the owner before me used it as a weekender. I put roughly 15-25 miles a day and on weekends ill average 80-120 miles daily depending on my joyriding.

Fritz Flynn

iTrader: (263)

is a hummer a daily driver, is a motorcycle a daily driver, is a bike a daily driver? its a daily driver for anyone who likes a sports car for a daily driver. this question comes up all the time and its really up to the person daily driving. if you have to ask this question then i say drive something you don't have a question about.

adam c

iTrader: (2)

I have a 94 with 46k. I drive 3 miles to work. I love driving this car. That's why I bought it. I have other cars. Today, I'm going to the beach after work. I wouldn't think of taking the FD there, so I drove the Honda wagon. I am dissapointed that I don't have the FD today...................but tomorrow is another day. Where is that neighbor guy with the SVT Cobra?

TeamChin

iTrader: (1)

if you have that much money to spend on mods why not just get a beater for $800-$1,000??? and just put some of the mods off for a little while...sure it's poss. to have these cars as everyday drivers, but is it worth it??? is it the smart thing to do??? not if you can easily afford another cheap car...

...i've always wanted to pull up next to one of the ricers in my beater (89 prelude) try taken um...when i lost pull up next to them and say my car's not running right...tell them to meet me somewhere later...and show up with the rx...hehehe

Kaotic Dan

Alot of you guys are saying its not a good daily driver because things break so get a daily driver and only drive the FD when you can drive it hard.

If the only time your taking your FD out is on the weekends or whenever to drive the **** out of it... THATS WHY IT BREAKS ALL THE TIME! Don't you see the connection? If your commuting 50 miles a day to work and just enjoying the car, I don't see why its any less reasonable than another car. But if your going to modify it than beat it into the ground every time you drive it, your just asking for trouble with ANY car you get. You could buy a freakin tempo and if the only miles you put on it are hard miles its going to fall apart. Its just common sense guys.

I personally think the big question is... if your going to put alot of miles on the car, how much self control do you have not to launch from every stop light and go out racing all the time? Personally thats not something I would have been able to do at 18, so no an FD would not have been a good car for me when I first went to college. Also, I had ALOT more things to spend my little bit of money on than a car when I was in college, like parties, concerts, girls, food, etc.

Its very easy to ignore the reasons not to get something your really want right this second, but if you want to make a muture decision about it you need to HONESTLY ask yourself whether its really right for you at this time while ignoring how badly you want it. Remember, by the time you get out of college there will be alot more really cool cars in your price range. Good luck.

IMHO of course


By the way whats up guys! My first post! I hope I didn't burn any bridges already heh.