Would a second gen RX7 be an ok first car in terms of overall useage and drivability? I'm up in Canada so the winters are fairly cold... I'm still a student right now so the car would be a daily driver. I'm thinking 89' to 91' RX7 possibly TurboII looking at what my budget is at the end of the summer. But just picking up a reasonably well shape second gen, should I expect it to run strong for 2 or 3 years without any major problems? Or should I be looking a more economical car.

 

no, it will not be suitable for your situation. you will have to fix so many minor and major things. you just won't be able to handle it and your mind will go into overload and you won't be able to taste your beer and you won't have a girlfriend anymore and you'll be working on it ALL THE TIME!

in short, it wouldn't be a good daily driver, no.

welcome to the forums.

 

I daily drive my 2nd gen, and I beat the crap out of it

 

LOL, thx... looks like I'll have to aim for something a little more economical like a 240...

 

I don't know your budget or your mechanical knowledge and skills. First unless you can find a car that has just had a engine rebuild and some other maintenance done then you'll have that expense to deal with, probably within the first couple of years. A car with a newly rebuilt engine (less that 10K miles), by a reputable builder, should not cost more than $3K - $4K depending on year and model and what modifications have been done. You should not pay more than $1K for an FC with a blown or problem engine.

For a first car and someone with very little mechanical experience then the FC is not a good choice. A Turbo II is going to require more maintenance and attention than and naturally aspirated engine and remember the FC is a 14+ year old car so thing break and wearout and must be replaced.

To get the kind of RX7 you are wanting you should ideally buy a car and have the funds in reserve to rebuild the engine, the clutch, add a good cat and exhaust system and be prepared to fix the other minor stuff that will wearout or break, that price of the car, less than $2k and reserve funds of $4K to $5K. It will be out of service for the engine rebuild a couple of months and down occassionally for a few days with minor repairs and finding parts. I'd recommend an NA to begin with and graduate to a Turbo II after you are sucessful at tuning and keeping the NA running without tuning issues.

 

Where are you going to work on it? What are you going to do for transportation while you're trying to find time to work on it?

Same goes for any 15-20 year old car. More so for a turbo..

But you could get lucky.. I went all through college with almost no problems on my old 280ZX.. but I had a very good mechanic that would even help me out over the phone... !

 

im a pizza delvery driver.car is an 87 gxl 180,000. i put 50-60 miles a day on it no prob,just a thought. its also not cold in cali.