Just Learn as much as you can about FD's and when you feel u know enough to maintain one without going to the mechanic for any dumb thing get it!...

 

Yeah, i know but i dont know anyone with a FD, not 1! that lives around this area at least (Bay Area, CA) if anyone does and needs an extra hand Just give me a hollar and i'll help out!

 

I honestly don't think you'll be able to afford it with that wage. I could barely afford it when I was working for $12.25/hr 40+ hours/week.

 

damn you couldn't afford it... were you paying rent or anything? I'm still living at home, and will go to college localy, so i wont ahvbe to pay for any living expensies, just gas, car, insurance, and gf...

 

insurance will kill you. My insurance would be $3200 a year if I didn't have my good student discount, but evne with that its still $2400 a year.

 

yeah i know, and yes i do have a good student discount, and right now my parnets are paying 70 a month , and when i get this car i was thinking about paying the whole thing, but they offered to make me only pay the difference, and i figured it'd be about 200 a month... I really want a TT, just not sure if the RX7 Is right for me with the reilability problems..

 

Working 30 hours a week and getting $9.50 an hour you could easily afford an FD. You don't have much else to pay for, so I just can't imagine that the car could cost you more than the $250(after tax) or so that you are making each week. I can't imagine spending that much money on a car just for repairs. If I was going to spend that much money on a car I would have gone out and got a ZO6 Corvette and not an FD. Some people spend hardly any money on repairs and if you get an FD with a new engine/turbos the likelyhood that a mulit-thousand dollar repair is going to happen is really small. Everytime someone has a major repair you hear about it on the forum but when someones FD has been working flawlessly for a few weeks/months/years they don't write in. But I know there are a lot of guys out there who spend very little on repairs, you just don't hear about it. Just my .02

 

Oh yeah, RyanC. I forgot he's in high school, and doesn't need to pay for rent, and gets cheap if not free food.

You might be able to afford it. But even if you COULD, I would still suggest against it. You may just end up killing yourself.

 

martini: I agree!

Maturity is the major issue, not money.

 

I own a FD at 16 (yes paid for myself, parents cover insurance though, they're being nice ). Luckily, my car hasn't had any trouble yet, I've done all the reliability mods (every single one) w/ my dad, and I really baby the car (I couldn't afford it if the engine died). Make sure you can pay for the gas though, I run at ~$40 a week. That, and I get miscellaneous costs roughly every two weeks for about $20 (averaged out)... .and then you'd want to be able to save up to upgrade the thing =). I'm saving up for a downpipe and cat-back right now, only $100 left....

EDIT: and DONT street race like all your moron fixed-up civic/rustang friends will want you to

 

Nothing.

 

I bought a 95 FD with 17K miles on it....I learned one thing from
this car:

this is not a car for teenager!!!!

Come on buy a miata instead...

Serge

 

Why do people keep on saying that the car is not for teenagers? I knew a bunch of kids in high school who drove nitrous Mustangs and Camaros which to me are a hell of a lot more dangerous than an FD. I'd even say that youngsters have better coordination/sight/reaction time, than the majority of us old people who own FDs. I fully expect people to scream about lack of experience, and that it's "too" much car. When I was in school, I nearly drove the wheels off a Plymoth Turismo (Dodge Charger wannabe) trying to go fast in a car that really shouldn't. I ended my high school driving career with only one accident and it was minor and at slow speeds. I bought a sportbike a couple of years later while in college (I was 20 at the time)... But that's another story altogether!

 

As long as you have a daily driver I'd say go for it.

Use the daily driver to **** up and learn your mistakes from. Make sure IT is reliable not than FD's aren't I've had 2 already and they've never given me problems.

They both been highly modded.

 

To the high school kids: I say if your parents are willing to pay when **** breaks - which it will - then go for it. Sure, you'll probably wreck it too, but that's just one of life's lessons. If you go to a few autocrosses you should get a feel for where the limits of the car are so you don't kill yourself. If you are an idiot driver, you will probable mange to kill yourself no matter what you are driving.

If you have to pay for repairs yourself, or borrow from your parents to fix your FD, and you are making 9.50 working full time at the Steak & Shake - forget it. Enjoy your teenage years getting drunk or whatever (maybe even study). I can say this from experience... I worked part time all through HS and college to pay for my cars (I had a modded Mustang and a Probe GT at the time) I should have been hooking up with sorority girls instead. I learned my lesson. Now I have a job that allows me to have a couple grand a month extra after I pay all my bills, but I do NOT spend it all on my FD. I thought about getting a Viper/Z06/Boxster S/etc. but its just not worth it to spend all your money on your car. Live life: travel, eat out, go to clubs, go skiing, whatever. That's my advice based on my experience. Take it or leave it.

Scott

 

I got my FD in high school. It was sweet for a while until the engine went out. Spent $7K on mods and upgrades from there. The months driving a plymouth voyager and waiting for the car wasn't worth it. I would say find another car. If i hadn't blown so much money and fallen in love with my FD, I would've gotten rid of it for a new WRX. So those of you guys who wish you had an FD in high school. It wasn't a big deal, so you didn't miss much.

Today, the FD is doing well and I don't think i can let go of it. And i've had the car for almost 3 years. An FD is something you really have to build a relationship with. Kinda like a gf.

 

So If I did the reliability mods: Downpipe, radiator, AST, and boost guage, Would I be okay? Im not going to race/run hard at all. Does it need to have the hoses re-done with silicone? Do I need to get a turbo timer and warm up and cool down before driving it?

Thanks!

 

DONT DO IT

I got mine @ 16.. It was too fast and too fickle!
I didnt drive it for 6mnths out of fear.. Now I love it and Im used to the power But the INS and other **** considered I would be happier with an IS 300 or Audi A4 Dont get me wrong.. Its fast as *****! But not @ 17.. I have nothing to look forward to in life.. Maybe the Army has something cool for me to drive

 

I think maturity is the big issue, and most 16-year olds aren't very mature, but then I have friends who when they were 16 were more mature than the majority of adults, so go figure. Maturity means showing restraint, having patience, being thoughtful, about everything of course, but especially in the treatment of your car (duh since thats what we're talking about). I'll assume you have enough money to take care of it. Its really hard to say how much you'll need, but prepare to spend $2k a year to take care of it, assuming nothing is wrong to start with. More importantly, prepare to NOT BE ABLE TO DRIVE IT occasionally, sometimes for quite long periods of time. If your life is setup in such a way that you can ground your car at any time for any length of time, then that's a major part of RX-7 ownership. Case in point: I recently had my turbos rebuilt. It took 4 hours for the mechanic to r/r the turbos, 3-days for turbo city to rebuild them. How long was it in the shop? 3 weeks. Why? Because the good rotary shops have lines. Its not a Civic or RSX where as soon as something goes wrong, you drive to the dealership 5 minutes away and they have it back the same day or you get a rental car, etc etc. No. Your nearest quality rotary shop may be 2 hours away and you may have to make an appointment 4 weeks in advance. If you're mature, when there's a problem, you need to be able to say, "ok, shop can't take the car for 4 weeks, it still runs, but no, I'm bumming rides for a month and then some because I don't drive the car with problems". Obviously not all problems require not driving it, but some do, and you need to exercise the good judgement to do stuff like that.

 

I dont think your ready for this kind of car. Its a crazy machine and takes a lot of RESPONSIBILITY and maintnance to keep it running. but if you must go ahead, its a handful. but from experience I gotta tell you start with something that you can practice more driving skills so that you can build upon, and when your ready go for it! Remember speed is an addiction, and if you get into these cars, everytime you drive you want to go fast!!
Responsibility is the main key especially on RX7s. They are a handful and pretty much unreliable if not taken care of (like many other cars also) unlike any other cars the RX7 is a rotary engine and is very fragile. Not many mechanics know how to deal with them, and if you do get one, have a quality rotary mechanic take a look at it to see if there is any previous problems from the past owners. Most I have seen gone through rebuilt engines and turbos before 65k miles. So research more about them before getting one. That way you have a better knowledge about the car.


But what do I know I'm only 20!!


95 RX-7 black touring 29k miles
T-78 405 RWHP at 19 psi, stock motor and on 93 octane
RX7.com

97 limited edition Supra Twin Turbo
Stock, daily driver!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Your 20 and you have a single turbo FD AND a MK4 TT supra?!?

How did you manage that?

I'm 19 and I all I have is a slightly modded FD and a credit card bill.

 

I havent spent a penny for repairs on my RX7. Its NEVER broken down or has ANY motor problems, and I've had the car since 98. But then again it has 29k miles and I don't drive it much!!!

what the hell do I know, im only 20 yrs old and just make it go fast!!!!!!!!

95 RX7 black touring 29 k miles
T-78 single turbo, stock motor
Apex FMIC
Haltech E6K
RP Custom Competition Fuel Ruel
550 prim inj. 1600 sec injec
Jacobs Rotary Pro pak ignition
Bonez Racing Clutch w/ lightweight flywheel
Greddy BOV
HKS super dragger exhaust
Pettit midpipe
Greddy profec-B boast controller
Greddy turbo timer, boast and exhaust gauges
RE Amemiya Custom fiberglass hood
R1 spoiler

405 RWHP at 19psi stock motor, and on 93 octane
Race port pretty soon
RX7.com

97 Supra Limited edition Twin Turbo
Stock, daily driver!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fixing to be modded!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Actually the Supra is my dads, but i use it MOST of the time. The mods I put into the cars I pay for myself. I also work as a fitness trainer if that helps. The money is real good and its easy. Staying at home alos helps!!(thank god for NO car payments). But I do owe A LOT of credit card bills and I am hoping to have them all paid up by thanksgiving. Remember SPEED costs $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

paymonm99-An additional $.02 to what everyone else is saying, and what you will probably ignore anyway. If you are going from a Camry to an FD, I predict within one month you will crash it. This is a car that handles *extremely* well, but.....it is fast as **** and will get you in trouble real fast. The first time you come in to a 55 mph corner at 90+ mph and go off- road you will understand. If you want a chick magnet, spend the same money and get a early 90s corvette, before they put the LT-1 engine in it. The car looks hot, but is not super fast. Plus-you can take it to your local chevy dealer and they won't thoroughly fxxk up any repairs they do on it.

 

Most of us who have one got it because we fell in love with the pure beauty of the car. All of us that have one now realize that owning such a work of art comes with a big price tag. It's like having a supermodel for a girlfriend.
Simply put, if you get it, you'll have a thinner wallet until you get rid of it and two, you'll have a big smile on your face.