Sinister

Ok well thanks to everyone for their input, even the smartasses. I dont make 6 dollars an hour at McDonalds as some of you might think. I make 9.25 an hour working as an apprentice with Tri-City electrical. If I wasnt making that kind of money that I wouldnt even dare to think of purchasing an FD. But then again I guess you guys know better then me, since Im a kid *rolls-eyes*

POS7

I'm guessing that 6 dollar an hour thing is a response to my post. 9.25 isn't really that much (but decent for someone out of HS). Perhaps you should wait until you advance as an electrician. I'm sure you're able to take some pretty good pay raises over the next few years.

If you took offense to my post, it proves that you really are a kid.... My post contained nothing but *no bullshit* factual information.

Julian

iTrader: (14)

My FD consumes about $9.25/hr 24/7 or so it seems. And she still makes me smile 10 years after buying her.

POS7

Wow, you an original owner?

scotty305

iTrader: (2)

Since we're talking finances here, there is a rule of thumb that recommends buying a car that costs less than half your annual income. If you are making $30k / year, then you should be able to afford a $15k car, whether you're making payments or saving up and paying cash.


However, if you plan on driving your shiny FD, you've got to put gas in it and maintain it. Remember that the RX-7 has above-average maintenance costs, and most mechanics can't troubleshoot the turbo control system or rebuild your engine. Assuming the worst, you could need to spend $5k in one year on this car, to rebuild the motor. I would estimate that you need to earn at least $40k per year to comfortably own this car, unless someone else is paying your bills (don't forget food, rent, insurance, etc...).


Let's not forget the price of fuel: the FD needs premium octane, and you can expect to get anywhere between 15-18 miles per gallon.
The average car sees 15,000 miles per year, so that would be 1250 miles/month.

At 18 mpg, that's 69 gallons of fuel per month. If you're paying $2.50 / gallon , that's $173/month in fuel. That's $2076 of gasoline per year.
At 15 mpg, that's 83 gallons of fuel per month. If you're paying $2.50 / gallon , that's $207/month in fuel. That's $2484 per year.

A car that gets 25mpg would cost you $125 / month in fuel, even if you're still paying $2.50 per gallon.

A car that gets 50mpg would cost half that: $62.5 /month.


And if that wasn't enough math for you, you would need to work 90 hours per week to earn $40k annualy (before taxes) if you're getting paid 9.25/hour.

-s-

YELLOWGSLSE

iTrader: (7)

CYM='93 R1 only. Just FYI

TMadlem84

Yeah... wasn't sure about that. Good thing someone is here to set me straight!

RX 4 Speed

That is so true... that would mean he would have to work an hour to drive for an hour ahhhh good times. Just funny how kids nowadays think they can afford to own/maintain an FD... let alone, have the discipline to drive it. tsk tsk...

FD_dave

as far as rarity and collectibility goes, this might help:
http://alecto.bittwiddlers.com/vehic...-numbers.shtml

cym is collectively the rarest (and most special ) model, although technically an automatic silver or white '95 base car is the rarest, and the absolute rarest is one pearl white car (not chaste white) that mazda allegedly owns, so it's not obtainable. it's these trivial facts that might stir up collectibility of specific FD's in the future. don't think they're stupid. case in point: the shelby g.t.350 and g.t.500 of '67. at beginning of production they had twin driving lights mounted in the center of the grille and red running lights on the b-pillar. chp immediately protested the running lights 'cuz only police cruisers can have those, so shelby had to get rid of 'em shortly after '67 production began. also cooling issue mandated moving the driving lights out further to the periphery of the grille. now, while all shelby's are ridiculously valuable, those '67s with the running lights are especially special and you bet can fetch more money

i'm confident that FDs will become classics. they're so rare and have a cult status now, and people do worship them. when our generation grows up and old they'll look back and remember FDs and supras and such and want'em. the only impetus is that we'll run out of petroleum in probably 30 or so years

TMadlem84

That site is great! Exact production numbers... I was always curious.

TMadlem84

Seeing the actual numbers for the FD... does anybody know where I can find production numbers for other more common cars? I know the FD is rare... just curious how rare it is compared to cars you see everyday.

FD_dave

well dunno of any specific websites but i'm sure they're easy to find on the web. just for reference:
-1967 corvette sting ray, last year of the c2 (also my favorite): 8504 coupes + 14236 roadsters
-the 100,000th rx-8 was made september last year, mere 18 months after launch
-the 700,000th miata was made march last year
(these last two refer to total production globally)
-sn95 mustang, 1994 (launch year): 123,000+, 1995: 165,000+
-1995, last year of the corvette zr-1, 448 rolled out of bowling green

something more comparable to the FD:
-z32 300zx, ~85,000 were sold in the 'states from 90 to 96
-33,000 sw20 mr2's were sold here from 90 to 95

something more common:
-up 'till last month mazda sold 46,000+ mazda6's here this year
-ford reportedly sold ~400,000 explorers a year

Onyxjl

You can't afford an FD. Seriously, you can't. And don't argue. Not even if someone gave you one could you likely afford it. You are me 7 years ago.

You make 9.25 as a senior in high school. I made 14.50. I still couldn't afford an FD then. Your insurance will kill you. Expect to pay over 2,000 a year, with a perfect driving record.

Forget the advice to invest the money, despite the fact it is good advice, you aren't going to do that. You want a car.

Buy yourself a 94' miata and put a stainless roll bar on it for looks. Cheap insurance, fun as hell to drive, good looking, and a reasonably large mod community. It will also probably never break. Then when you get a much better paying job, you can upgrade your miata into an FD or whatever else you like at the time.

When you ignore this advice and buy an FD anyway, you are going to wind up with thousands of dollars of needed maintenance that you cannot afford to perform. Your FD won't be running right, will be sucking your wallet dry, and you will have to sell it for cheap just to get out of the burden.

Spend the money on girls and beer in college.

RenoCYM

An FD is NOT the car for a high school kid. I"m a geezer who owns his own business and my completely stock '93 CYM R1 with 55k miles is an expensive handfull to maintain and repair, can't imagine trying to own one on a high school income level. And the FD is a car you have to stay on top of with maintenance, if you start letting little things go they becomve very annoying and expensive big things before long. And you will need to become an accomplished turbo/rotary mechanic yourself, as the pool of wrenches who are knowledgable about the 93-95 RX 7s is very small, don't count on anyone at the Mazda dealer to know squat about your car. And, since I know what my insurance rates are, I can't imagine you getting off with anything less than a small fortune, as the FD is still an expensive car to insure. maybe more now than when it was new. Put your money into somethng fun that you can afford, and fix, easily.