Okay, it is actually 3, maybe 4. Here is the deal. Over the years I've had 6 Rx7s (5 gen 1's and 1 gen 2). When the FD came out, I wanted it in the worst way. It was and remains my dream car. But I could never afford one. I still have an 84 SE but that is going to my son. He is 13 and we are going to restore it together. My daily driver is a Nissan 370Z. But for style and handling, the FD can't be beat. So, I'm thinking about buying another Mazda to restore for myself. The gen 1's are cheap but due to age, typically need a lot of work. The gen 2's are more plentiful but I don't like the styling as much as the gen 1 and FD. I looked at Toyota's MR2 and even the Nissan 300ZX which all come much cheaper than the FD. What I'm afraid of is, I'll buy one of the above for $3K to $10K and put money into it, and it turns out I could have bought an FD for that money instead. But my other concern is, I buy an FD for around $18K and it will need so much work it pushes the price up to $28+thousand. Any advice on how to settle this issue? Bottom line, the FD is the coolest car out there. I don't care if cars are faster, that is not what I'm after. It's the car...

 

For 18-20K you should be able to find an Fd that does not need anything. With that being said and 20+ year old sports car will always need something.

 

I can solve this issue for you. sell your 370z. buy a older reliable car like a honda or mazda for $3k. Use the rest of the money plus the $3k you have and buy a FD.

You can't have it all buddy lol. You need to sacrifice your daily for your dream car.

I take that back...if you are rich you can have it all (cars I mean), but most of use here are middle class working folks so having it all isn't possible.

 

No, I'm in the middle class and had to claw my way up to it in my 20s. I was born and grew up dirt poor. Plus I was forced into an early retirement because, as a teacher, I am too politically Incorrect. Long nasty story that most would not believe.

I traded my 09 Z on a Challenger RT. I missed the sports car way too much and driving a car that is as big as an RV is not my cup of T. Now that I have another Z, I'm not letting it go. I'm too chicken to take a second chance. I love its power too much

But, if I get this other job, and sell off some of my other "stuff," I might be able to swing it. Sure, any car that is old needs stuff. but are your serious that a decent FD can be had for $18 to $20K? For real? Stop telling me that because you are getting my thoughts rolling in that direction. Tempted? Way past that. How to explain this to wife? I must find places to hide the cars I have now.

 

I daily drove a 1995 MR2 Turbo (Japanese import Revision 3 with the MAP based engine) for 5 years and whilst it was a fast, reliable and relatively well equipped car that didn't miss a beat in 60,000 miles, it just didn't feel special like the FD does.

There are only thing the MR2 has over the FD IMO:-

1. Adjustment on the steering column
2. Felt more pointy on initial turn in.

Other than that the FD just beasts it.

 

When I read the title I thought you were coming out of the closet...

 

There's been some pretty decent deals on well running FD's for around that price range. I just picked mine up in late November for $18k. Just keep searching around on the forums, craigslist, autotrader, ebay, etc. and keep an eye out. Good l uck!

 

Yup, there are plenty of decent FDs for that price. I can even help you look for one if you are serious.