maybe when i get out of college...

im going on a beater hunt this weekend... wish me luck.

 

I am very shocked by how many responses iv gotten in such a short period of time, I think when i find the FD that i want with under 50k miles i will just purchase it and keep it stored in the garage for a while and drive a DD untill i get out of college. I know some might think its stupid to buy a car that i wont drive for a while, but i love the feeling of waking up in the morning to know that i own a nice car.
Thanks to all of you for your input and advice.

-Kelvin C Diep

 

I've asked myself the very same question........6 times. See sig..

 

I first starting looking at FDs in hopes of finding a clean roller to drop an ls1 in.. Then as I researched more about the car I got pretty interested in the rotary. I bought my car last April, and recently thought about selling it because of the potential reliability issues down the road, and thought to look for something more practical like a sedan. After thinking about it more and getting some somewhat decent offers I turned down, I realized i didn't really want to part with it quite yet. I've spent quite a bit on my car and I believe I have a pretty good setup.. 300whp 270tq light weight rwd dd is awesome! I know the inevitable will happen, but thats when the fun will start!!

 

To be honest with you ive owned several rx's throughout the years my first was an 85 gsl-se so yes i would buy another one (cause i have) but honestly speaking from my own experience if it is to be a well maintained daily driver it is highly unpractical. thats not to say it cant be done. for instance, if it snows where you live it really is a dangerous car to drive in if you dont have a backup vehicle. however when i bought my first 3rd gen about 4 years ago it immediately needed some maintenence and i managed to get to drive it only for about 3 months in almost 2 years!!! now ive bought another 3rd gen and from my experience they are far from reliable (meaning it has to be continualled maintained by someone) in order to keep it driving. problems that you may have with other cars that you may not be able to fix yourself may require a rotary mechanic (of which, there are very few, compared to a regular shop) and you usually will end up having to pay heavily for their services. again not everyones experience will be the same but i would not recommend an rx for anyone without a.) a backup vehicle, b.) thats strapped for cash, or c.) does not live anywhere near a knowledgeable shop.

Ive found for all three of my that they seem to spend on average a lot more time in the garage or shop than on the road. and for me i dont tend to modify them either like some guys so they remained pretty much in maintained stock condition. usually modified ones tend to be less reliable. of course if you still want one no ones gonna stop you from buying one but speaking from my own experience it sure hasnt been a good idea looking at these from an investment perspective.

 

Hell no.

 

Ill share. I bought mine in college. had to work forty hours a week plus do college jus tto pay for the thing. and i really didnt have any other bills. college would have been much easier without worrying about the car. any how it broke i fixed it a couple times ( fairly inexpensive stuff) and put it on credit cards. then it broke bad and i couldnt drive it for a year and a half. No money. then i changed jobs and got some extra money and i am just now at a point where i have disposable income. Now it is more fun to have it than ever before. now it has new everything, wheels, exhaust, stage three motor, fuel system front mount ect...... so now I finally dont have to worry about it anymore because it is reliable or at least something close to it. but it took a fair amount of money to get it there.

so basically, in college it was fun while it was good but...when it broke it sucked bad and i never could afford to do it right and ended up making payments on a car i couldnt drive for almost 2 yrs. but now its paid off and fixed and fast and FUN. and I will probably buy another one if i can talk my g/f into it. that is going to be an uphill battle seeing as how i just spent on the car this time around what i paid for it 5 years ago.

 

ill take one of thos.

 

seriously without my parents, the car wouldnt be running right now...

i consider myself lucky.

 

^^ Thank goodness. Finally someone who APPRECIATES WHAT THEIR PARENTS DO FOR THEM But yeah, I could use one of those too

 

It's way cooler having your own money. I walked/rode the bus to school. The FD is probably an after college purchase, after you have other things like a decent job, food, electricity et cetera. OP, do it on your own. You'll appreciate the hell outta it way more. I'm going back to college........but that's what Mrs. Archie is for.

...and hell yeah I'd buy another. I'd buy them in a 12 pack, just like beer. Once you have one, you might as well have another.

 

When I first bought my FD I would say yes. Now? I dont think I would, defiantly not in my current position. I am considering a WRX STI after my FD is complete. The parts for them are not badly priced and seems like a nice vehicle with plenty of power. The FD to me is a awesome car, but just makes me want to push it off a cliff at times.

 

o +1 without my parents i wouldn't have my car.. they bought it, i payed for everything done to the car, repairs, maintenance, mods

 

This got me thinking, so I pulled out all my maintenance/repair/smog test records.

Our car was bought new in September 1994. It is near stock, with the exception of a Bonez S/S DP and Viton vacuum hoses. The big ticket items were invariably dealer charges for major maintenance; on the other hand, I change oil, replace plugs, wires, flush radiator, replaced the FPD and injector O-rings, replaced the cat converter, all the vacuum hoses, etc., so labor is/was saved on those and similar items.

The total for all our RX-7 related costs (including accessories like mudguards and dash cover, etc.) over the last 13 years is $11,719.49, or about $901.50 per year. Note that the total does NOT include registration fees or insurance. We did have an extended service warranty, which covered costs for a lot of early problems with the EGR system, premature water pump failure, etc. We are on our third set of tires at 93 K miles, and had trouble with emissions (the car was a gross polluter at its original smog test in 1996). I replaced the cat converter once, in 2002, with an OEM type.

Just one data point...

Would I buy an RX-7 again? Nope, technology has bypassed the RX-7, as good as it is. Similar or better power-to-weight ratios are currently available for less money, and gas mileage is considerably better than on this car. (A Mazdaspeed 3 has 263 hp and goes for under $30K, for instance, and its mileage runs upward of 25 mpg.)

 

Very true, but who buys an FD for it's practicallity and MPG? Sure technology has passed the FD in a lot of ways, but it's the uniqueness and rarity that makes ownership of these cars worth buying still. Besides... who wants to be another sheep on the road like all the other cookie-cutter cars coming out of the factories these days? They have no heart and soul put into them like the FD... (just my $.02)

 

Forget it.

Most cars are 1993 which means they're now 15 years old. The car will be nothing but trouble for a college student.

 

i'm a college student and i daily drive my FD. you just have to pay close attention to stuff it will get shitty in a hurry, then before you know it, its time for a rebuild.

you have to REALLY be careful of what you're buying too... for instance. my first FD wasa 93 touring and it had cooling problems from day 1. i could never figure out the problem over the course of a few months and it ended up being a coolant seal failure. so i sold it, drove an FC for a while, and bought the FD i have now.

the thing to do is make sure you buy one from someone who is **** about maintenance (spark plugs, belts, oil changes, coolant flushes, etc.) and make sure the car has a newish (at least not the original) engine.

the only thing thats really killed me on this car is the suspension parts. i bought my current FD with a bent front ball joint, loose wheel bearing, bad pillow *****, pretty much needed all new suspension bushings, then i bought some koni yellow shocks to replace the old stock base model shocks.
since i bought it i've replaced the following suspension/steering stuff:
front LCA/spindle: 100
all 6 pillow *****: 360
front poly bushings: 311
outer tie rod ends: 60
all 4 shocks (replaced with konis): 450

that's a grand total of 1281 dollars just replacing worn out suspension stuff. and i havent replaced my rear suspension bushings yet, which will be another 250 bucks... i also think 2 of my newish pillowballs have already gone bad due to excessive play in the other rear bushings, so that will be another 120 bucks... SO, when i am done replacing the suspension parts i will have spent 1651 dollars. it's kinda scary when you add it all up, isnt it?
the suspension on these cars in stock form is very capable and very well designed, but when you have to replace stuff it's expensive. for instance, 500 bucks for front/rear polyurethane bushings? outrageous. the problem is, these cars are 15 years old now, and if you buy one, chances are, unless it's been putted around and babied its whole life, it's going to have worn out and clunking suspension parts and all of the above should be replaced.

 

I have owned my FD for 2.5 years. Their are no substitues. Right now my engine just got rebuilt with a single turbo and will soon be done. But I would definately buy another fresh FD without the problems my current FD had. I would buy one with some really fresh paint, good compression motor, and working sequential turbos. But the modifications get addicting. You have to set your limit on what you want to do. If you just want a really quick dd just slap on a dp, catback, silicone hoses, and k&n then it would be set. The trick is if you are on a college budget, is to find an FD with a good motor and the least amount of miles/problems. Do research before you buy it.

 

WTF are you doing to your rx7 if you're spending 2-3k on it yearly?No offense but damn.

 

Sounds about right to me. Don't get the car for a daily driver. If you have a good reliable DD go for it. That way if something does go wrong you don't have to have the money on hand.

 

rx7 is outdated to be so head over heels over it in college. most people dont buy it to use it every day as a dd they kind of collect it. anyway a camry can almost take this thing off the line now a days and it gets 27mpg. think bout it carefully before u buy one sonny. maitainence is not that bad if you do you own work, though sometimes it costs more because you mess up.

 

I love my FD I think it's easy to work on, everything just adds up and I can never leave it alone. I want it to be as close to perfection as possible. Good power delivery, smooth ride, reliability, with looks to kill