arghx

iTrader: (3)

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

GTR

iTrader: (6)

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.

swanton187

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.

Jakor

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 ) 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.

rx7legend

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

Syonyk

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=-

7romanstatesmen

iTrader: (1)

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).

InMyWhiteTII

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

playdeadva

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.

Valkyrie

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.

snowball

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

cesaros

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 and you ever try and spank a ricer in one of those and you get

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

rx302

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.

Brody8877

iTrader: (10)

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.

Healing

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.

Brody8877

iTrader: (10)

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