'90 RX7, good first car?
 

Hello all, I'm new to the forum and about a year or two into the whole automotive scene. I'm currently 15 and looking around at what cars I want for my first. I plan to get a year or so of driving experience with my parent’s cars before I buy my first, this also gives me time to build up some funds. While looking around I saw that according to www.edmunds.com , a turbo 1990 Mazda RX-7 is not out of my possible price range. I plan to have ~$4500 saved up. I do like a quick car, but street racing most likely won’t be tried, I plan to do it the safe way - on a track. I have some questions about this vehicle that I hope you all can answer.

1. Would a 1990 Mazda RX-7 (turbo, if I can find one) be a good first car?
2. I want to drive a stick after I get about a year or so of driving experience, is this a good decision?
3. Do you think it would be feasible for find a 1990 RX-7 in my price range? ($3k - $5k)
4. What is the insurance rate on this car? I'm looking at Integra’s but insurance is through the roof!

The cars I am also looking at currently are:
'94 Integra GS-R
'93 3000GT SL
'95 Mustang GT
’91 Supra Twin-turbo

I know that since I'm on a RX-7 forum that the answer to this next question is going to be incredibly biased, but which of the 5 do you think would be the best car for me?

Thank you for any and all help!

First thing you need to know is that an RX7 is an attention whore...and its gonna cost a lot of money.

Plan on spending whatever you pay for the car on parts and repairs to get it in perfect working condition. So take what you spend on the car and double it and thats what you need pretty much...they are fun cars to drive, and can be reliable if well-maintained.

Check the FAQ at the top of the 2nd Gen section for lots of important info, and use the search function because almost anything you can think of has been covered before.


-Matt

1. If you dont mind getting your hands dirty and working on your car, then yes
2. Definately, I started out driving a manual.
3. easily, maybe even a Turbo II
4. Depends, I pay only about 70 a month for liability, but then my friend pays 130 a month

GS*R's are good FWD cars, but not as fun as RX7's
3000GT SL's are turds...dont even bother unless its a VR4
Mustangs are good bang for the buck, but then again...its a damn mustang
If you think the insurance is expensive for an RX7, just wait to see the bill for anything with two turbochargers, especially a Supra (was '91 MKIII or am i stupid? Did they even make MKIII TT's?"

Start off with a stick. I thought that I'd ease into driving a stick after about a year of driving an auto, but I know now it'd be best to just start off with a manual.

How much do you enjoy working on cars? How much money do you make in the average month? The TII will get pretty bad gas mileage in comparison to the other cars on your list, and will require more strict maintenance.

For a first car, I'd get a reliable FWD car until you learn the "rules of the road". Just my opinion, and the route I took. From your list, I think the Integra would be the best bet as a first car.

Again, it all depends on how much you enjoy working on cars. If you really enjoy that wrench time, get the turboII. They aren't as horribly unreliable as some people make them sound, provided you are keen on the maintenance part. You NEED to be religious on the oil consumption/changes on these cars, as they DO burn oil by design.

For a first car I'd recommend a Civic or a Corolla. Not powerful so you won't get yourself in trouble or killed. Good gas mileage, cheap to get, and generally rather reliable (at least the Corolla). But if you get a Civic your demograph will think you're cool.

dont get a rx7 for a first car if you really wanted something roll witha 240 with some mods or a fwd car untill you know how to work on them (assuming you dont know a whole ton on these cars) a 240 will be pretty quick handle well and its pretty reliable it would be a good first car just not a tii well thats my 2 cents

Get a real POS for a first car. That way you can learn the rules of the road, get a few fender benders under your belt, realize that driving is a privelege and all that. And if you crash it, who cares, it'll probably be something like a 90 corolla anyway. That's what I had for a first car. About a year and a half later I sold it and bought a nice 85 RX-7, then sold that and now I'm into my FC. I'm 19, by the way.

Basically, in my opinion, only a handful of sixteen year old kids can drive. That's why I say get something crappy. It might not look too cool driving into school with, but at least you'll get some experience under your belt, get rid of it then move on to something cool. By senior year you might have a semi-modded TII that WILL move, cause RX-7's are no joke...neither are supras, or VR-4's.

Please stay away from a mustang though, everyone and their mother and their girlfriend has one. My girlfriend has one, V-6 too...meh.

A good condition '7 will probably be around your price range, too. Turbo FC's are more expensive than NA's (non turbo), so if you still want a sports car as a first car, I'd stick with an NA.

Good luck on your search!

James

Thank you all so far for you help. Some of you said to get a FWD car or someting not powerful at all. I agree that this would be a good idea, which is why I play on driving my parents car's for the first year. My dad drives an 05 Altima (I4, not V6) and I'll probably drive that because he'll most likely have a new car soon. I didn't know that RX-7s needed as much wrench time as you said. I think that insurance on an RX-7 wouldn't be the problem, the maintence would, ecpecially seeing that the year I have chosen is 16 years old!

I do enjoy wrench time. I helped my brother change his rodbearings and re-attach exhaust on his super rusted '94 Taurus SHO. Alright, keep the advice comming guys, this stuff is great. Thanks!

Actually, the above suggestion on getting an N/A '7 isn't that bad. It isn't balls-out fast, but definately is peppy enough for a 1st or 2nd car. Also, they are typically more reliable than the turbo models. My 1990 N/A '7 has been more reliable than my 1990 VW Jetta was, and the '7 has 3x the miles! Jetta had 57k, '7 has 188k.

first off
91 Supra Twin-turbo, is not a real car,(the US still got the 7M-GTE engine JDM had the 1JZ twin turbo) i have a friend with a 89 supra Turbo the plumbing and wiring is a mess, not a car i like to work on.
3000GT SL is shit plain and simple.
Integra GS-R, would be a good first car not to much power and easy to repair.
95 Mustang GT, decent car build qality isn't the best and im not shure if that year still had the 5.0 engine.
with 4500 you can get a turbo 7 no problem and id do it all over again, i picked my car up for 4k with all the mods in my signature.

I'd start with a non-turbo until you get experience driving a sports car. To me the non-turbo makes a better city, mountain, & daily driver as the throttle response is much more predictable, smooth, and infiniently adjustable (the turbo throttle is more like on or off, either slow or hang on for dear life). Plus the turbo is waaay to rare in the US, and we've had 500 teens either blow the motor from overboosting or crash them as it is :(

Driving a sports car requires MUCH more skill than your "grocery getter" family sedan. By that I mean other drivers not you. You think everyone is "civilized" until you drive a REAL sports car, then you attract all the idiots (ricers, SUV no blinker cell phone drivers, etc...).

The non-turbo lets you "dial in" just the right amount of power, including "flooring it" without worrying about breaking the back wheels loose and smashing into a wall. It's also much cheaper and reliable to operate as a daily driver.

Like any used car, once you approach 100-150K miles expect the usual stuff like rebuilding the water pump, brake master cylinder, starter, and the like. The 89-91 years tend to be the most reliable, but all years have minor annoyances (wipers on medium only, clock backlight goes in & out, etc..). Severely neglected cars (you can easily spot them) tend to have issues with leaky injectors flooding the engine while turned off, idle under load, and hesitation/stumbling from grounding issues.

To give you an idea of how the rx-7 compares to the other cars you listed, the RX-7 is all about feel, FINESS, handling, and application of power. The "muscle cars" tend to be about all power with sloppy handling. In comparison:

'94 Integra GS-R - mid end sports sedan ride, but not quite a sports car
'93 3000GT SL - too heavy / big - high end sports sedan
'95 Mustang GT - all muscle, no handling
’91 Supra Twin-turbo - the supra & rx-7 go hand in hand, but the rx-7 may be lighter & cheaper to run. Plus the rotary engine hooks you.

I slightly disagree. Any high mileage car will be like this, especially a sports car that's been beat on and neglected. You can find a happy medium between "beater" and "cherry condition" that will be inexpensive to purchase but have been well maintained and documented. Look for a car that is well worn (paint is fading/chipping, seats cracking) but everything works and all the maintenance has been done.

yes they did.

the RX-7 is by far the funnest car I've ever had or rode in. They are expensive and require every waking moment. poke around some more on this forum taking note of the cars strenghts and weaknesses. My first car was a 91 Plymouth Acclaim. I picke up my 86 GXL near mint with 104k on it for $900. Look around there's tons of deals out there. you should be able to find a decent TII for $4500 with maybe a little left over for a tune up and mods.

good luck

:werd: Didn't realize that until I wiped out around a turn at 90 mph.

NA POWAH! Hah.

DO what i did. Get a cheap s4 (86-88) N/A, learn to drive a manual and get the feel for drivign a sports car, then use the rest of that saved up money to either mod it to your liking or get a better model/condition rx7.

I mean my car is pretty beat looking but i got the chassis for free and the motor for $600. So....

I bought an 89 N/A as my first car 6 months ago. I've had no problems with it yet, starts up every morning just fine. I wouldn't recommend a TII for your first car though just because I hear they need more attention than an N/A does, plus a turbo might be too much power for your first car.

I agree with the 240 option.
They handle well and stop fast, also reliable. all you need for a first car.
Kids tend to love any car that they get at first.
I had a 80something subaru GL wagon and had a blast in it.
If your anything like i was you'll definately slide a mustang right off the road in no time at all so stay away from those, thats an old-timer ride anyway.

And get a stick, theyre more fun to drive, and they'll help keep your attention on driving.

Since you want a sports car you prolly want to drive agressive as well. Believe me not many first cars actually survive more than a years driving.

Once you wreck one and learn better judgement, and also learn to do routine maintainance yourself(oil changes\spark plugs etc..) get a rx7 and take care of it like your baby.

Race
 

I got both of my Rx-7s when I was 18. I like that your parents are making you pay for your car; it adds a whole other pride issue into driving. I drive an NA RX-7 s5.

Racing
You're interested in a quick car and track racing, you're off to a good start in being a responsible sports car driver. I'd suggest getting your mom and or dad to take you to some scca event and let you run in their cars. It doesn't tend to damage a car and will increase your whole family's driving control.
Beater
Some people have addressed that a first car often gets beats and breaks. I drove a truck from 16 to 18 and was involved in rear ending somebody and being rear ended, high school parking lots are bad for nice cars. Another mistake I made was hitting a door against a garage late at night. It got reasonable mileage, was useful for throwing things in the back, and didn't really need much maintenance (though I did work on the air conditioning). I also wired my first stereo in this truck. My car probably would have suffered majorly from my accidents and would have been falling apart.

Fixing
RX-7s do tend to require a lot of maintenance that a lot of shops can't do inexpensively. You'll have to learn a lot about your car. There were weeks when I would be doing work on my car and unable to drive it (a clutch change can take a while the first time). I'd have to drive my beater truck instead of my RX-7. A turbo has a whole lot more to fix and upgrade and the means to break things than an NA.

Insurance / Stick
My insurance for my RX-7 is about $100 more than what it was for my truck rates should be reasonable, you'll want to have a good student discount. I learned to drive stick by taking my car out every afternoon (after coming home in my truck) and driving around my neighborhood to hills and such. I think the biggest part of learning stick is to learn that it's sometimes okay to slip it. I also have friends who drive stick, but not well, with tons of slippage every shift, you should really only slip the clutch grossly on starts and going slowly (they drive an accord, porshe, and carbio - they don't tend to understand me saying easy on the clutch when they drive).

An RX-7, especially a normally aspirated (non turbo) can typically be had in great condition from 2-3k. My boss asked me today if my stock paint job 89 was new.
Pride will teach you to wash and wax nicely and often. Looked for medium miles or great paint/interior on a high mileage like mine(175k miles, 30k miles on engine, paint that has dents and scratches you can count on one hand).

Overall I suppose I recommend an NA RX-7 if you're opposed to having a altima, honda, truck; remember, you're in high school, typically more than 1 person wants to ride with you and it's your first experience with cars - reliability and usefulness are key. For a note, while I love driving my RX-7, there are times especially for trips that I wish I had a honda (mileage, reliability, and 5 person seating).

i started off with a 90 240sx, i personally think it is one of the better starter cars, if you like to get a feel of rwd, balanced handling, "live-able" power (sohc 140 hp 150 tq?), the car is great to drive around and predictable, the low end is what makes it such a great daily driver to me, if given a second chance i would have kept the 240 as the daily driver, but instead i sold it for an rx7... the 7 is not in best shape since it is quite rare for anything decent to pop up under $2000 in brooklyn area.. and i am not implying that the 7 is a bad car.


Once i switched to an rx7, i had to do the usual get use to vehicle dimensions and all, at that point i notice the car in handling felt crisp, but slightly out of place, its hard to descirbe but it is different. part of it might be the 300 extra lbs, its hard to cruise around since the low end is ... that low. on the highways i rarely hit pass 4th gear since i go wayyy pass speeding limit if im at 5k and 5th. in the city i notice more than half the time in either in first and 5k rpm or second and 4k, no more no less, and watch gas needle drop, im slightly pass a quarter tank by gauge and got about 35miles out of it.

starting off driving something like an 7 can be dangerous. i already slid once in the 7, thank god nothing happened as i learned some saftey and recovery techinques messing around in the 240... and applied it to the 7.

im a newb on this forums, but i just want to help out, if anything i said is wrong im sorry i am just telling what i feel between a 240 and a 7 hehe... i really think the 7 isnt for beginners to drive around, you will get into more trouble than should... and i have a NA...


and for a side note all my friends that isnt into cars and my girlfriend and my parents told me my 240 was better since it was quiter, more comfy ride and ... its got rear seats. and it dont stink as bad. (running presilencer no cat...)

was in the same exact situation, my first car ended up being a FC. The paint was faded with rusted dents on the sides, not to mention the interior was half missing. But the selling point was a newly rebult engine, tranny and RB headers. Point being, if you find a well maintained FC and plan to do consistant maintaince, you will have minimal expenses. Buy smart and do heavy research and you won't loose huge amounts of cash.

My car is a 90 GXL NA.

I agree the 7m is junk. Those damn headgasket problems. a 1j is cool. These mkIII's are heavy pigs though. Tipping the scale at 3800lbs.


I'd rather have a flaming pack of 'roids before working on another Supra.

Wow you guys rock, this is more information here than I have recieved at any other forums. Possibly the friendliest forum I've ever been a part of! I've taken what you've all said into consideration. I think I am going to follow the advice that an RX7 shouldn't be a first car. I'm not ruling it out for ever, I'm actually thinking of one as a second car :) . I think I'm going to drive my dad's Altima for a year, then possibly the Integra GS-R. Not overly powerful, FWD, easy to repair and maintain (comparably at least), and still fun to drive.

What do you all think of this decision?

Sar, I agree that when you buy you own car that you will most likely protect it and really treat it like it is yours, since, it is. My parents wouldn't be able to buy me a car anyways, just not a wealthy family.

Thank you all tremendously for your help!!!

My first car was (is) an RX7... but then again I haven't driven it yet :)

(well...first car with my name in the title)

My first car was a T2. It was a blast to drive until the apex seal broke and I didn't have the money to fix it at the time. So it was sold. 3 cars later, I got another T2 because I missed it so much.

I own a heavily modded N/A Rx-7 and a beater 89 Supra N/A. Both have rebuilt motors which have given me no real trouble.

I would recommend an N/A Supra over an N/A Rx-7. Why? These are much more forgiving cars. Every time I push the Supra and the back end steps out, I can very easily get it under control. The car is alot heavier than an FC and has a lots of torque and a comfortable interior, though it's actually the base model (5 speed). You are way less likely to kill yourself in one.

It's got a lot more power than a 240 (I've driven two) and is maybe slightly faster, but with worse gas mileage of course. Of course there are headgasket issues, but I've never had a problem with mine because obviously it's rebuilt. I don't think the N/A's are that bad with headgaskets, just like N/A Rx-7's blow up way less than turbo ones do.

For a brand new driver I think a Mk III Supra would beat out a 240 in the fun factor, stock-for-stock, but the 240 would be more practical. I do NOT recommend an Rx-7 of any kind for a brand new driver. They are too hardcore compared to the competition.

ok here goes..
i got lucky and got to start driving at around 12 up and down a nice curvy gravel road... i learned alot really quick driving moms lebaron balls to the wall and not wrecking it. (i was lucky)
by the time i got my learners my grandpa was all about taking me driving.. which means the first cars i drove on the street were nice 67 ss Camaros, a 66 big window c10 pickup, with full power steering (that is still the scariest thing ever) and he wouldnt let me drive below 70 i swear. if someone in front of me was going 54 in a 55 he made me stomp it and roll by them.. tis no lie. but more importantly he told me how to keep the car on the road at such speed...

so my first actual car after that was a POS 85 4-Runner 4 cylinder..
and i tore it up.. (mom said i could bust it... so i did..)
all the redneck kids here would hit the mud holes all slow to not tear stuff and id low 4 floor it and just go.. lol blew every engine seal cept the head gasket
but it was RWD and i could slide it a little.. i wasnt scared i had seatbelts, and a roll bar, (and a 16 year old brain....)

then i got my subaru, a 90 legacy
this car taught me more about driving than i ever thougt id learn in a FF automatic. Given at this point in time i had already driven the balls off of some nice family cars and a few others... i still think nothing was quite like that car.. if it had been the sport coupe version id have never wanted another car.. but that car taught me braking, and balance.. or atleast the concept. i had it for a while.. then as all EAT trannys of that time do.. blew up..
but i mean that little boxer put out some power.. i could put it in that gay manual shift mode and bark 2nd.. it was a shock.

after that my dad loaned me the grey goose.. 1991 olds nintey eight...
nuff said..

after some searching i found that id like 1 of 3 cars... an FC, MR2, or, Corrado..
i ended up with the corrado as i had the money and the car was there. i have always loved vws and think i always will ( i do have a rabbit coming to be the new DD) this car is awsome. the way it handles, the way it pulls, the way it sits, its amazing. but i just feel that i cant do a whole lot more with a FF car where im at.. im no pro, hell i dont even drive that well. but i use3 too many FR driving tricks while driving the FF corrado and it messes me up alot...

so now im fixing the corrado to sell so i can get an FC, and only cause im gonna have a beater and will be able to take care of it.. an FC is a hell of a car and 200 HP is alot more than it sounds if youve never driven a turbo car before. turbo spool comes on very strong and quick ( sometimes )

so depending on what you want out of your car heres what id suggest.
if you trying to learn to drive..
find a 5spd peice of crap, FF/FR dosent matter.. and drive it till you cant anymore..then upgrade

if your looking to look good and roast a mustang like its nothing..
get a 1st gen AWD DSM (talon tsi, eclipse gsx) the stock turbo will run at 14-16 LBS really well and will toast about anything arund the high school lot.. nd 16g turbo upgrade costs a howle 300 bucks and bolts up.. hellow flow...

this way you dont spend alot of money to wreck a nice car.. hell if you have 4500 to spend, go buy a complete peice of crap, and save to buy a nice TII that way atleast you can beat around something..

woa i kind of winded myself...

don't get a turbo DSM... you won't find one that hasn't been abused

plus its a POS car. Every single DSM i worked on, it leaks oil like no other. I wouldnt drive one even if it was free.

Buy a Honda or Toyota. You can really never go wrong with neither.

Well I've driven 3 240sx's and they are fun cars....I almost bought 2 of the 3, but my first car was a Mazda 323..it was a fun car to beat around. One thing you will have to learn is how to feel the car's weight and where it is going because that will make things easier if you buy an rx-7....that and the motor is a dream to listen too. But there is allot of work and research that is needed to run an rx-7 but I think it's worth it for each time you red line it.

I would personally hate getting a year of driving experience with my parents cars (well my dad's 69 firebird with a 455 wouldn't be so bad :fawk: ) I had to drive 50 hrs before I could even get my license and I did all of it in one month... 3hrs a day... great summer! Plus depending on how much you have saved up right now you could afford a n/a coupe.

You don't wanna get a turbo for your first car. On the track, you will have fun maxing out the car even n/a. If you are looking for the feel of turbo in a sports car, let me introduce you to the aux-ports. When your auxillary ports open at about 3.5k rpms, it feels like you are hitting boost. The turbo gets less mpg, is less reliable due to more power and the turbo itself, and is alot less forgiving than a n/a is on maitenance. The n/a also has enough power for you.

If you arn't afraid of working on the car... or getting hooked on rotaries for the rest of your life... I started with a 86 civic si. Good car, but I didn't care about working on it nor maintaining it. I didn't care much about cars. When I got my rx7, I ended up studying everything I could about the car. People ask me about cars and if I wanna be a mechanic, but I've studied cars for only like 4 months now. I went from knowing nothing about a car to being able to debate views on cars and tuning. I have picked up a bunch of knowledge on cars and working on them in general, but I mainly love the rotary engine and would rather be involved in rotary specific stuff.

Depends, are you a 16 yr old ditsy girl who walks into poles in walmart? (Trust me I know one...) I know too many people who want to learn to drive stick shift and I've pretty much donated my civic to teaching people to drive stick. I started with a stick shift and wouldn't have it any other way. One thing I think is it keeps you more actively involved in your driving so you have less room to do other things which makes you concentrate on the idiot next to you. If you have an automatic you end up doing too much at once and will run into someone/something...


s5 2nd gen rx7 n/a 2k-2.5k maby a bit more but that's up to you.


My insurance is about 10 bucks a month different from an 1986 civic si hatchback.

I was looking at an Integra thinking that an rx7 was out of my price range till one showed up. It is fwd which is a bit safer (you can hit the brakes through a corner without worry about spining =p) But you also have to realize insurance on this is high for a reason... many of these are stolen/broken into. Plus you'll be just like everyone else... =p

I'd suggest against this one... it's an under powered fwd boat. I'd take the integra way before this.... if you want a 3kgt, vr4 is the only way. But vr4 isn't the best first car. I'll give them this, they look nice. (A friend of mine just threw a rod in his and his was in good shape. Sad thing was, about a week before I wanted to challenge him to a first gear pull across town with my rotary...)

I was in my stock, heavy vert running rough and raced a new special sport edition mustang and in an 1/8th mile he pulled about 2 carlenghts on me. I get revved on by new mustangs ALL the freakin time. Just realize that if you go with this 95 mustang gt, you got your rwd sport car, but if you spin it like I spun my 7, it's alot more expensive to fix everything with. Is this car really within your budget anyways?

Got a couple friends with these things. They have intake/exhaust and couple other things. Then a friend of mine (Scrap-Fc) with intake (ported) and highflow exhaust work done, lightened flywheel, suspension, can keep up with him. It'd be close. One of my friends has replaced just about everything under his hood by now. But just cause his needed all that work doesn't mean they are all like that. I'd love a twin turbo supra too. But I'm still against a turbo for a first car.


The 2nd gen is within your budget and within the year making the rest of that 4.5k you can have a nice coupe with no problem taking care of insurance payments/gas/maitenence. Where as another car you may be able to afford the car itself, but you will need a tuneup on it and insurance/gas/maintence and maby a bit to fix it up.

Hope that helps, it's my $.02.

my first car was a TII, i have had it for 2 years and still it hasnt broke anything, i got to say it's a blast and is very different from driving a honda believe me, here where i live you don't see a TII pretty often and thats what i like cause there rare here. but if i were you id go with the TII, pretty awesome car you just have to thread it well and keep good mainteneance on it. you have to learn to work on them by yourself cause it isnt that cheap when you have someone do it for you. i had it when i was 16 and i have done evrything to it myself, its a blast and tons of fun to work and drive this cars. im currently saving money to repair a TII engine i bought for 200$$ i doesn't have compression on one rotor i think it loss an apex seal or two. im going to do a big street port and exhaust ports and maybe a bridgeport. but as i said if you bought the TII its going to be pretty fun for you.

rotary rules

Most of what I was going to say has already been said, but I have a few thoughts:

Learn to drive stick. It forces you to pay a lot more attention to driving. It also gives you a lot more control over the car - every time I drive an automatic, I end up fighting with it. I know what I'm going to do in the next few seconds, the car doesn't.

Don't discount the old Subarus. They're cheap, reliable, and while they're usually slow & not very flashy, they *are* a lot of fun to drive. They're also VERY easy to work on. An RX-7 isn't a difficult car to work on, but compared to my '87 GL wagon (5 speed, dual range 4WD) it's difficult. Watch out, though. Old Subarus are almost as addictive as RX-7s, and a lot more practical. Plus, if you live in a snowy area, or an area with a lot of gravel/dirt, an old Subaru will probably be the most fun you can have on 4 wheels. And you can sleep in the back of a Subaru wagon easily.

RX-7s are a lot of fun, but they're a lot of work as well. They're (mostly) not as bad as some people make out, but they do tend to require a good chunk of maintenance early on. If you get a '7, I'd suggest allocating at LEAST $1000 to replace all the major "issue" items. New coolant lines & oil cooler lines, new brake lines (stainless steel), possibly a new master cylinder, and if it's an older one, suspension/bushings.

I'd suggest a S4 NA ('86-'88) as a first RX-7. They're cheap, fairly reliable, and still a blast to drive.

And, finally, to the original poster, you seem to have your head on straight. And you understand the importance of being able to use written English when communicating - you don't come across as 15.

-=Russ=-

don't know if it's been said...but i'd stay away from a 3000gt (i'm assuming vr4) just due to the fact that it's an awd and thus subject to lots of abuse if it's launched correctly. even if you don't do this, there's no telling how many times or at what rpm the previous owner did.

i've had great luck with my 87 n/a. just check it out real thoroughly (you can find several how-to-buy-an-rx7 checklists around).

you know what might be a good first car...is an AE86. Before you say anything, yes, i have owned one. They tend to understeer, which is good for a first car, and they dont have a lot of power, also good, and you dont feel that bad if you drift it into a wall. Besides, Keiichi Tsuchiya's first car was an AE86, and if its good enough for him well...

oh and maybe an early '80's 200SX

im 16 and my rx7 is my first
 

what i did when i bought my 7 was just read and learn as much i could about it. if your looking to get an rx7 it cant be just another car on the list. basically it was the only car on my list. as much as i wanted a t2 i decided to stick to an n/a. i bought a completely stock 90 gxl with 67k original miles and i plan on making it a strong running n/a before i go to a t2. besides i am only 16 and ive been addicted to rotaries since i was 13 when my dad had an 88 t2 in japan. if you just want a turbo on your car than get a civic or something. but in the end if you take good care of an rx7 than youll love it no matter what.

No it wasn't... he had a Hakosuka (Old Skyline) first...

(apparently...)

He didn't own an AE86 until at least 1983.

But I'm sure he had something else before he got into sports cars.

200sx's are cool, but the AE86 is WAY over priced buying one of those is like ass rape :ky: I've driven one and would jump at a NA RX-7 before i bought a 86.

Unless you plan on dropping atleast 1-3grand to get the car in good condition and arent affriad of blood sweat and tears...then this is the perfect car for you...the FC is in my opinion one of the most rewarding cars out there, for a price of $1500 you can get a working FC, put 2-4 grand into it replacing busted or damaged parts, and upgrading, and you got a beautifuly fierce road machine.

plus its very easy to pump loads of HP into these.

if you dont want to put in alot of time and a few extra grand...then id suggest a civic which i personaly think would a big :balls: and you ever try and spank a ricer in one of those and you get :ky:

in other words, get an FC..you wont regret it.

Here's another two options for you.
1. 88-91 CRX. This was by far the easiest car to drive fast, especially with coilovers.

2. Get an 84-85 RX-7. They are an absolute blast to drive and they are lighter than the second gen's. They have the classic sports car feel and will teach you how to drive a rear wheel drive car well.

Among other cars, I have owned three CRX's and three RX-7's. I love em both.

Yep another kid driving a 7 that is wut we all need...
ok, first off RX-7 are reliable car if you well maintain the car.
Rx-7 do eat gas, driving around city u get 15-18mpg, depends how you drive it.
If it is an N/A RX-7 and mileage is around 150-200k miles you might consider rebuilding the engine or the engine might blow because of its age if your lucky it might just last over 200k.
If its a TII RX-7 then your looking @ 100-150k miles life range
Insurance for an N/A RX-7 such as GXL, GTU should be a bit cheaper, but insurance for TII is higher.
-learn how to drive a stick b4 u get the 7 hopefully. Also hope your not one of those ricer kids.

All i can say RX-7 is fun car to drive, but requires alot work though. If you do get a RX-7 makes sure you do a compression test, and reliability mods.

o0o yea my first car was my moms corolla, it suxs but it get you places, then bout 8 months later i got my TII. btw im 17 about to be 18.

My advice is to get whatever you can at a good price, and thats in good shape. Ideally, maybe a EG/EK Civic or B13/B14 Sentra SE-R or something; something that you can have fun in, but still actually be able to drive around. Like, something that won't eat gas. Who cares what car you get as long as it's got a manual transmission? Besides, its an easier transition to learn to drive FWD first than RWD IMO.

That being said, I think an NA FC would be a good first car - reliable, cheap, fun as hell. Emphasis on the NA part.

I N/A FC are easier for newbie driver and modders, because of better reliability and better gas mileage, also not as fast.