Radical Ronin

I am looking to get my first car and I really want a fc because it's just such a pure sports car and I just love to sound of rotary and I hear rotaries are pretty reliable if you actually take care of them so as a first car would a fc be a good car? I'm up for a challenge and working on it

arghx

iTrader: (3)

What's the goal? Is the goal to have a car to learn how to work on, to get into project cars? Or is the goal to have a safe efficient and reliable daily driver? No 30 year old car is is going to do so well in those areas (maybe fuel efficiency for some tiny hatchback).

TomU

iTrader: (11)

+1 My first car was a '67 Triumph GT6 i bought in high school (17 yr old car at the time). That was absolutely the worst car for reliability, but was a great little sports car that i learned a lot from. As for RX7s (i've owned all three gens), the FB is a great little sports car that is fun to drive and you can learn from. FC is bigger and heavier with not a lot more power (unless you get the turbo). Fuel injection provides more reliability, but more complexity. Same goes for the turbo.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

the FC used to be a good first car, but at this point, they all need a really thorough going over before its really driven.

the FC is complicated, and its old. once you go through the car, it is quite reliable, all of the mechanical stuff is really tough.

if you're prepared to test a bunch of stuff and fix minor things before you really get to driving the car, the FC is ok. if you think you can buy one and it'll be fine, its not a good choice

JerryLH3

iTrader: (11)

The real answer is quite complicated, so I would err on the side of just saying "no".

The youngest FC is 28 years old. Safety and reliability have made leaps and bounds in those three decades. As a parent, I wouldn't let my children daily drive an FC. They are best suited as weekend cars now. If that's what you want your first car to be, then go for it. But if you need it to be reliable transportation to and from work/school, I wouldn't do it. And it's not necessarily because of the engine, it's everything around it that can go bad in any 30 year old car.

TomU

iTrader: (11)

Unless you are looking for a project, you will want to source a well sorted example. Projects may be cheaper intially, but will cost you (time and money) in the long run. Good examples of both FBs and FCs are stilll affordable (unlike the FD) and out there (but it may take some time to find one)

wongfei

From personal experience, unless you want to become a pro parts buyer and pro car mechanic forget this idea. It will eat all your money and time (OFC it can be counted as fun).

Mazdarian

iTrader: (1)

It is. But it'll take some commitment. Which in my book will instantly set you above your average 200sx / Civic owner. The FC (and any rotary for that matter) will have you invest in it, be it monetary or reading up and learning your way around cars. My first car was/is an FC, and looking past the broken knuckles and spent cash I couldn't have been happier. Also, instantly gaining a certain level of respect from the more serious car-guys and girls just because you own an RX7 just feels nice.

FC's are still very much a thing in modern day tuner culture, i'd go for it. FB's cater to a more niche kind of crowd, and FD's are out of many starters' league

Also; as mentioned above, this meme still holds true for most of us

clokker

iTrader: (2)

The question here should not be "Is the FC a good first car?"...the question is, "Is the FC a good second (or third) car?".

A lot of the basic structure- brakes, suspension, cooling- is bog standard Japanese tech for the era. Nothing really exotic or difficult there.
The FC is right on the cusp of Japanese infatuation with electronics and the switchgear is idiosyncratic and very unique...which means complicated and expensive.
The interior is fairly simple (and was high quality back in the day) but all the plastic is now 30 years old and fragile beyond belief. Think bad thoughts about the a-pillar trim and it will crack without being touched.

The thing about old cars- ANY old car- is that you must be proactively preventative. In other words, you fix the car before it can **** you.
As a first time car owner, you lack the experience to know where the pitfalls lurk and are always playing catchup.

After all this old man/sage advice is said, I must admit I spent all of my youth and much of middle age owning British sports cars and there is nothing as frustrating as that (except maybe Italian stuff)...so many grains of salt should be deployed here.

Mazdarian

iTrader: (1)

As much as I agree with Clokker - and as much as he makes me chuckle - I hasten to add that lack of experience shouldn't keep you from buying an FC (or any modern classic). You've already found this site, so just check here before you work on something and you've eliminated catch-up part

Radical Ronin

I want a rotary for the challenge a 30 year old car and all you made very vaild points but I wouldn't buying it for reliability or safety if I want those things I would get a newer car, I just really wanna learn and experience the ownership of a rx7, I've worked on many cars in my short experience of doing so and hearing most of you saying go for it really excites me because you have owned and lived with the cars and I just really want to have a fun car that most likely will be a money pit cause of it age

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

that is a trap with these, if you actually check stuff, and diagnose things, and shop well, these cars are remarkably cheap.

if you just replace stuff, and do not spend time shopping (fewer middlemen is better!), things can get expensive quick.

and it also helps to know what you can get away with and what you can't. loss of coolant, for instance, is an automatic dead engine.

too803

If you're confident enough in your basic mechanical abilities and have a little spare cash always around in case things go bad, go for it!! My FC was my first car and it has been more reliable than my Subaru, Audi, 2 Civics, and my Cummins! That came with lots of long nights and reading through forums and manuals however. Once you learn the chassis, you'll fall in love.

86ccord

My first car back in highschool was a 1986 honda accord. It was mostly reliable, however I did learn a LOT about trouble shooting and working on cars because of it. Also if I wasn't at school I was working somewhere trying to make all the money I could to fix it or make it better.