Hello everyone,I hope you are doing great today.
I'm just here to ask some questions since I'm currently saving up to hopefully get my 3rd Gen Rx-7.
I'm seriously saving up,not saving up from birthday gifts and given money.
I work,take 500 dollars from each pay check and put it aside.
I calculated and it will take 2 years to get it done.
I plan to be a mechanic since I find cars quite interesting,so I hope I won't have any difficulties repairing "my car".
So here are my questions,
Do you think a 18 year old can manage to take care of this car?
What is your experience with the car and would you recommend it?
What is the average price tag for this car [Cad$]?
Thank you for reading and if you will reply.I thank you very much,just for taking the time to respond to me.
I am sorry if I made some grammatical errors, I am french and still learning English!

 

At 18 years old you need to have a cheap reliable car that will make you money, not cost money.
A used four cylinder Chevy Malibu with heated seats would be perfect and cost around $1000. (2 paycheck of savings!)
Take the 500 every paycheck after buying a grocery getter and invest it into yourself (education/career), not a 25 year old car.

 

I see,but,At 18 I will already be in school to be a mechanic and we already have a 4 cylinder suv that costs peanuts as gas.
I kinda saw it as a project since I don't have any other dreams if that makes any sense?
It is my only goal at the moment.
And man,thank you for the reply,I appreciate it more than you think!
I will consider your advice and save some money for school and career first.

 

Hey bud, I was in the same boat (kinda) you were when I was 18. I really wanted an FD. In the end I didnt buy one until this past November. I'm 32 now. This ended up being the best thing that could have happened to me with this car. Everyone's situation is different, but for me personally, the love never went away and now when stuff breaks (and it does) I'm not in a spot where I have to make a tough decision. While its tough to agree with anything said by a guy named Nakd and Fearless, that is good advice. (From an Army vet no less!!) These cars will still be around for years to come. Invest in yourself for now. The FD will be there for you later. Also go Navy beat Army.

 

I picked up my fd the day after I turned 18 so I completely understand where you're coming from. I would say it is defiantly achievable to maintain an rx7 at 18 but it will be require a lot of time and money. You will need to be familiar with rotaries and know how to maintain them. You will also want to have a decent bit of cash reserved for replacing old parts. Things like fuel filters may not be on the top of your priority list but they definitely need to be considered. You should also be prepared for a rebuild unless you have verified compression yourself, people om kijiji/craigslist are not always truthful. Everything considered I am very happy with my rx7 and I plan to keep it for years to come but they aren't for everyone. If you have any specific questions feel free to send a PM

 

I bought my FD when I was 18 in '01. If it's meaningful for you to have, then I say do it. That said, I would never pay current FD prices. Back then I was able to shop for months to compare and find the 'best' vehicle; which ended up being a white '94 base, 80k on odo with r1 lip/wing in Florida for $18k usd plus what I paid for shipping. GL with your search.

 

A friend of mine just paid over $30k US for an FD. Yes it's unbelievably clean but damn, $30k isn't exactly working student material.

They're getting expensive fast. If you really want one, I'd buy it sooner than later.

 

When I was 18, i purchased my first car which is my 2004 RX-8. The FD was pretty dirt cheap back then due to the reputation of being unreliable and i passed up on my chance to pick up a couple of clean FD's. When i look back at it now with all the knowledge i've gained up learning about rotaries and all the money i spent buying parts.... i'm happy i didn't pull the trigger on picking up an FD. The cars are old, parts are hard to find, even good condition OEM parts are hard to find. If you're going to school to be a mechanic, that doesn't stop the cost of parts and the cost of inflation on these cars. The only kicker for this is if you already own or have a reliable daily driver. If you're purchasing the FD as a 2nd car, then i would say it may be worth it but definitely prepare a small savings account for your FD cause it can/will become a money pit, invest in yourself before investing in a car like others have said. Also, being in Canada, you have more options to purchase Series 7 and 8 RX7's, worry about securing your future and get a Spirit R for yourself later on in life.

 

You can definitely manage an RX-7. And if you find out you can't, well it's just a car. You can always sell it and buy something else. I actually bought mine from an 18-year-old. Him and his dad worked on it.

These cars are appreciating, so it's probably better to buy one sooner rather than later.

Just keep in mind that its somewhat rare and more than 25 years old. If it breaks down, your local Mazda dealership isn't going to be very familiar with it and sourcing parts can take time.

 

Thank you everyone for all the replies,It's very meaningful.
I will consider all your recommendations , I truly appreciate it !

 

Save the money first, a lot can change in 2 years. If the situation make sense by the time comes then go thru with it, if not you have some decent saving for other opportunities.

 

1. No, don't buy one if you're young. In the last two years I have seen three people, just like you, buy an FD and junk it when they couldn't afford the maintenance. Two of them lost $20k on their cars (in less than a year) and the third one parked his FD in a field. Buy a Civic Si, Fiesta ST, Focus ST, or MazdaSpeed 3. Those cars are much newer, are cheap to maintain, and are a ton of fun. You won't get "scene points" but you'll have a nice & fund daily with 4 doors for your friends.

2. Not recommended for a first car. Especially for a kid. This is the kind of car that you buy when you want a fun evening/ weekend toy, have a reliable daily, and have enough money or earn enough money that you can fix it when something goes wrong without sweating it.

3. Check Kijiji. $20k-$30k for a **** box. $40k-$50k for a good one.

https://www.kijiji.ca/b-cars-trucks/...05/k0c174l0a68

 

don't get one that's too nice, you'll end up redoing/changing/regretting a lot of the stuff you do it. It's part of having a first project car.

 

You're gonna rip your dick off, OP.

 

As a long time FD owner: Don't get one at 18. Like others have said, go to school and establish yourself in a career before you make the purchase. Trust me on that. Ever heard the term "it will nickle and dime you to death" well the FD will $500 dollar you to death and that's if you buy a nice onel. No joke.

I first saw my FD at 20 years old... I didn't get one until I was done with school and had a well established position (turned out to be 6 years later). And I'm glad I did because there is no way that i would have been able to maintain this car.

M-

 

My 1st rotary was an S4 FC on phone dial wheels. It was definitely no FD power or even looks-wise, but as reliable as any RX-7 will ever be, and there are tons of fun upgrades available that wont break the bank like FD parts do. Check out what a set of projector headlights cost for an FD. Some Spirit R seats? How about a 500+ dollar HKS intake? Did you want that plastic sun cover for your 500 dollar glass sunroof? That'll be another 500.


The FC will kick off the obsession, teach you a lot about the rotary engine, and if you're tight on dough, a 2nd gen is much more attainable and fun to own than a FD that never runs right.

 

Don't buy anything nice until you have a garage. You must have a garage to keep it nice. I waited until I could afford a nice FD and I had a garage. My FD is still like new and has like new compression. Buy a $300 compression tester also.

 

You want to be a mechanic- what type of mechanic do you want to be? One that busts *** all day long doing the dirty work or cars or the one in management/business owner who collects a more consistent check and is paid better? If your answer is the latter invest in yourself now and buy an FD later, cars are primarily "losing" investments if they are driven.

If your automotive skills are good and you want to breeze through school or take a "shortcut" focus on verbal and written communication, I've found that to being well articulated is the biggest contributor to success in most people. It's also not a bad idea to take a personality inventory such as Myer's Briggs and work to fill in the voids.

 

this is good advice, just look at how this year has gone...