ChewieB0y

Hello, i'm planning to purchase a nice fd 3rd gen in the near future, but a guy from a local rotary repair shop had told me that i should be ready to invest 2-3k a year in repairs for the car. That kinda scares me, as a college student i really cant afford 2-3k a year for maintenance. Do you guys agree with what that guy said? or have u guys experienced otherwise. Share with me your thoughts Thank you

telum01

FD's are pretty expensive to maintain compared to most cars. plus, if this is your only car or your daily driver, it's a good idea to have a good deal of money set aside in case anything goes wrong. if you do your own work, keep a good several hundred bucks handy, and if you don't do your own work, keep a couple grand in the bank. so if you aren't ready or aren't able to shell out the expenses, i'd look for something else.

i'm sure you'll get a mix of opinions, but that's just my $.02

crazyrx7

You are a college student therefore your funds are limited. Sure you can score major ***** with the car but if something happens you will end up taking the loser cruiser (city transit) because you have no money to fix it. I would wait until you are out of college and then buy one.

R.K.

RX_Rick

I'm a noob here, so this is a serious question....and ChewieB0y, I'm not trying to hijack the thread....but rather it could/will shed some light on what one could be facing.

What exactly is the most frequent list of problems with these cars? Geez, I can't imagine them being any more expensive than the hot rods I used to drive.

parid

I wouldn't run one as my only car if I had to depend on it. A couple grand a year (esp if you don't do your own work) is a pretty good assessment.

bbade

iTrader: (5)

I would not use mine as a daily driver; however, I have never spent nearly a grand in maintenance over the course of a year (granted I bought mine with less than 1k miles on the rebuilt engine/turbos). Now modifications are a different story as they get expensive. Maintenance is oil every 2k miles, and misc other stuff over the course of a year (just like any other car). If your engine blows that is a different story, but if you are blowing an engine every year on the street then you are doing something very wrong. This is coming from a fellow college student.

Just my $0.02.

jbust

iTrader: (16)

Yes I would buy another FD again.. im selling mine here in NY due to relocating in Sin city. The next FD that i will own will be much sexier and faster than i previosly own once i get to Vegas, i have to look for a clean roller ( if ill find one) from my experience from rotary engines VS pistons, i will never go back to Pistons unless its the viper

parid

Right but if you take the cost of replacing engines/turbos/expensive replacement parts and you spread it over the lifespan of the car, a couple grand a year sounds about right.

SLOASFK

iTrader: (5)

I would buy many more RX-7s if I had the funds.

And yes, $2-3k is on the low side for anual maintnence. Personally, I'd say avoid buying an RX-7 until you have a stable career and disposible income. You can get lucky sometimes, but why roll the dice? The odds are stacked against you when buying any used car, especially one as tempermental as an RX-7.

Keep your beater for a few more years. Once you're out of college and have settled your life a bit, then if you still want one, get one...

"if"

What you fail to take into account here is whether or not the previous owners actually maintaned the car at all. My car's previous owners basically ignored anything that went wrong and didn't prevent the car from functioning. And I'd suggest that's probably not as rare as people would like to think it is. Personally, I had to do the manifold, turbos, engine build, wiring harness, radiator, and fuel system, just for starters.

4CN A1R

iTrader: (6)

i am 19 and my loan and car payment suck up most of my money. i am making it by so far but its tough. i had the car 5 months and put around $400 in it so far. vacuum hoses give me hell.

if you get one, id reccomend you get an fd with 50k miles or less...alot less maintance.

good luck with your purchase

RE-Amemiya

If you don't have the funds DO NOT get an FD.

I'd got rid of mine solely because i bought a house but spent WAY more on maintenance in 1 year than i should have in 3-4 years.

That being said, I'd buy another one in a heartbeat if i could find one with the right options etc.

mdpalmer

iTrader: (24)

Hell yes I would. I love the car. Just remember that so many FDs are getting chopped up as race cars, LS1/2/6/7 conversions, and wrapped around telephone poles that in another 10 years or so, there will be very few clean & unmolested examples. Good luck getting one of those for a good price because anyone who knows how special these cars are will command a premium for it because they know its worth.

Do yourself a favor and don't even think about owning one of these cars unless you're paying your own bills (or you have rich parents that spoil you silly and shower you with money) and have some mechanical ability and a place to work on & store the car.

apneablue

I definitely would buy another one. I have owned one since 2001 or 02...Can't remember....Got it stock and modded it up to single 412rwhp...I currently don't even live in the states so the car sits in storage about 11 months of the year with 2 x 2week periods where it gets driven when I'm here for work....Otherwise it sits on Jack stands in a large warehouse. I live in Jamaica and if I had somewhere to store one (working on it) I would purchase one there as well. I'm hooked 4ever...They are expensive to maintain tho...If you are technically minded and can do a lot of the work yourself you can save a bit of money. But even so, you still end up spending quite a bit. I wouldn't daily drive one tho.

crcleofdst

I guess that I will be the first to point you to the FAQ section. It has everything you ever wanted to know about FD's, but were afraid to ask.

But I guess I will chime in with my opinion as well......

As with any aging high performance vehicle, the FD is high maintenance. Just like a trophy wife/girlfriend that is great in bed, and gets looks all the time when your out, it will cost you to keep her made up.

If I were you, I would get myself through college with as few extra curricular headaches as possible, then get yourself an FD when you are done. You will be a much happier owner if you can afford to keep the car in good running condition. Anything less will have you badmouthing the car to anyone who will listen, further tarnishing the already bad rep this car has.

For the record, I would definitely buy another FD. I know that I would end up with a better car than I bought the first time, because I know much more now than I did when I first bought one. Then again, I don't see myself ever selling my FD. I might buy a second one if the deal was good enough, but my next purchase will be either a 300zxtt, or a supra tt (if funds permit, of course).

RX7LINK

iTrader: (3)

Yes, i would buy another FD. with or w/out my current one.

FD doesn't cost that much on maintnance. Each year, i spend under $500 (not including repairs and mods). And that's even w/ my Fd being a daily driver. At least one oil change everymonth, 1 new fuel filter, 1 set of plugs, 1 set of brake pads, a brake + tranny fluid change a year. Just do the labor yourself, always check oil/water level. check for leaks. and READ THE FAQ stickie

HKNY

iTrader: (2)

I would, i'd like to get another one as it is.

AWD-RWD racer

iTrader: (5)

would i buy one again?????yes and no....ive spent probably 6-7k in the past year just in repairs. so in that aspect i would say no. but the way the car drive and moves...hell yeah......ive learned that owning a fd is a love /hate relationship. i would have def waited till i was a little more liquid in my cash though before purchasing one. between getting a new engine, alternator, wheel studs, a/c, power steering, ect..**** gets expensive. but when you have a proper running fd, you would not trade it for anything/

sevensix

iTrader: (1)

i'd get another now if i had the money

dunno why it matters what we would do. i don't think its good for ppl in college. it takes too much time attention and money. and it doesn't really matter if u can afford the cash the time is a killer

13Foxtrot

I love my #1 FD so much, that I had to go out and buy a 2nd one so I could drive one every day and make the other a track car. The guys are absolutely right about how much it can cost to maintain these cars. I'm considering a 3rd FD, but I'll wait until I'm through with college and back from my upcoming deployment. If I could have done things over again, I wouldn't have gone for the first FD I saw; and I would def. researched the car on these forums BEFORE I went to buy one. I learned so much AFTER I bought my 1st. If you can't find what your looking for on this forum, there are tons of other very knowledgeable people you can ask on here as well. Good luck with your future FD purchase!

RX_Rick

OK, so no one wants to answer this, huh

SLOASFK

iTrader: (5)

been answered somewhere around 700,000 times in the past 10 years, but for you...

http://www.rx7.org/Robinette/
http://www.fd3s.net/
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/faq-3rd-gen-other-useful-links-68640/

crcleofdst

The answer to your question was in my previous post.



The veterans of this forum spent a lot of time compiling a FAQ section, and it covers everything that you need to know. Please use it!!!!


I think I am starting to understand why threads like this one frustrate people so much.......

wolf_9782

the 3rd gen FD is the car of my dreams, ive driven it in my subconcious and now i drive it in real life. everyday i wake up to go to work and i see it outside i can't help but smile that its sittin right in front of me. its not a cheap car, it requires lots of responsibility maintenance and driving wise (this monster is fast, easy to get wrapped into a pole or tree...) but its worth every minute. ive still yet to fathom that i own the damn thing, and yes you bet your *** i would own one again if i had the chance.

theorie

iTrader: (31)

after spending $17k to buy my (2nd) FD in april, i've driven it less than 2000 miles, and already spent $8k in repairs: turbos, clutch ****, motor rebuild

Herblenny

iTrader: (13)

Would I buy one again??... LOL! At this point.. Probably NOT!! Not because of the cost of maintenance but because I have too many projects. But I prefer not to daily the FD because its getting rare and for daily, there are much better cars out there... hence I bought an 8.