Depends on the planet alignment, day of the week and the car's mood.. ;)

z-nigma, what will you be driving in the winter? Trying to drive an FD in the snow is NOT the same as driving an NA 300zx (I used to have one as well).

Ofcourse its possible but like other's say you would need restrictive use of money and know how to control your bugget really well. That's the key to it, if you got your mind set to it you can do it just like I have for the past year and a half. :)

i got a loan for 10k, and put 3k down on my car. payments are only 280 a month...and i make double that in 2 weeks. get a decent job and its no problem. Im getting ready to buy a beater now......now that i can pay off my credit card bills for FD mods :)

well for me so far so good. I'm a junior in college, have had the car for little over a year. Has 104.5k miles on it, with a very small oil leak. Hmm, hopefully its not in the turbos, I'll find that out in a couple of weeks. But yeah it is hard as hell to worry about your car and go to school. My car has run pretty solid so far, but it does have some quirks in the sensors and fuses every once in a while. I've gotten it checked out, doesnt seem to be much I can do abotu it. Anwyays, FDs are a kick-ass car, and even if you work like a dog to take care of it and go to school, you wouldn't want to to be doing anything else!
There is so much pride that comes with owning this car!

Probably a civic or something reliable and cheap like that... I'm planning on buying a beater soon for this very reason, heh. (The Z doesn't see snow either.. I'm a ride whore in the winter). If I can get low payments (I'm looking at putting 6-7k down... I can sell the Z for about that much), I'm pretty sure I could manage my budget enough for a 7, but due to all the responses I'm getting... it looks bleak. :(

Mahjik - I see you're in KC as well... think we can meet up sometime and I could ride in your 7 sometime? I've only ridden in a 7 once and it was a 5 min, boring, low speed ride.. :D I'd love to get into someone's 7 and see what they can really do! :)

Not trying to knock it or anything, and I'm sure I'll get flamed, but if you want to go anywhere PAST a community college, it will cost you money. Community college is a stepping stone. An RX7 is a dumb thing to sacrifice a real education for. My RX7 is my daily driver, I dont see a point in buying a car you cant drive all the time. I commute everyday to school and work (granted I work at school) and it's not easy. I've been pondering the selling of this car. I can always afford it when I'm done with college. Besides, I hate not being able to drive with more than one friend in the car.

Sure, shoot me a PM.

I'll be out of town next weekend. I have a track event on the 25th and 26th so I'll be prepping my car the week of the 20th. If you can hook up before then we'll take it out for a spin (or after).

The 7 would probably be my daily driver on days it wasn't cold, snowing, or raining... (or days I didn't have gas money to treat the 7 right :P)

I honestly don't mind only having one person in the car... makes it so I don't have to drive everywhere. People never ride in the back of the Z unless it's an emergency and I'm the only way they can get home or something like that... 2+2 or not, 90% of the time it's a 2 seater only. :)

my friend has a 93 N/a. Well it used to be N/a. He did a conversion too. It costed him around 3 grand. So i think it would be better for you to do the same, as it's cheaper than an fd.

Im at uni and have a FD, its a bit of a struggle living out of home and funding an rx7, but I get by and manage to live a semi-reasonable (albeit hungry) existance.

I think a daily beater is the key, there is absolutely no way I could drive my car everyday, mainly just because I worry about it too much! I keep the 7 for track work and weekend drives when I have a chance to enjoy it. I also do all the work on the car myself so probably save a pile of cash there.

The hardest thing I find is trying to balance study time and playing-with-car time. Too often the car gets priority and I get behind on my uni stuff.

I do it; however, I live at home and work at the same office as my dad (and school is 5 minutes away from there). I also work 30+ hours a week in addition to school. It costs me $60/week to drive my car because of gas!

To sum up...It can be done, but it really depends on your situation. I'm a senior in college and will be going to law school next fall. I just took the LSAT today and that will determine my future plans for the car.

Big scholarship=3-rotor conversion (after this motor dies)

Its doable
 

I bought my FD right before my sophmore year of college and I just graduated this past May. Over those three days there were 0 days that my car didnt work. Maybe I got lucky I'm not sure but I put on snow tires in the winter, it was in Pittsburgh, and never had a problem getting anywhere. I used to pray that it would snow so I could go drive around. I think the key is to just bite the bullett and not let any of your friends talk you into modding the car at all. But you have to figure out what gas is going to cost you, I averaged like 6-8mpg on average, and my insurance was crazy expensive till I turned 21. Anyways I think its possible and I loved haveing my FD through college.
Avi

It can, and has been done. I attend college full time and have had an FD for over a year. Granted I had to make several changes in my lifestyle to make the payments, it has been well worth it. Everytime I drive the car I'm reminded why I spend so much each month for it. It has been the best investment I've ever made. I do however have a daily driver/beater - an 85 pontiac fiero that I spent 2 years fixing up before I purchased the FD. Just make sure you have about a grand set aside in case you run into problems and need parts.

http://www.cincystreetscene.com/imag.../rx7_fiero.jpg

-Charlie

True. I've been re-bitten by the modding bug. Never had my FD out for 6 months. Sounds like a drag.

But think of it as this way. You know how some couples get tired or exhausted with spending to much time w/ each other. Then they decide to maybe take a break. Then come back and the passion is back all over again. Thats how it is w/ my FD and I. Too much sweets can give you a toothache.

im 17 and im looking at buying a fd. im going to be buying one with a blown motor and buy a new motor to swap in. im getting funded by my grandparents cause they are going to drive it too lol. lol having a daily beater isnt so bad because i have 2 cars to choose from a altima and a camaro!

I drove mine to college for 3 years then the water seal went. Bought a daily beater after that and how the fd is my weekend car. :)

what a coincidence i used to drive a non turbo 300zx automatic and i just got a 93 fd. i also live 15-20 min from my community college. right now i am kinda regretting buying it cause im in debt for the next 5 years and for the whole month i owned the car i only drove it for i guess 4 days. the thing keeps breaking on me. but when it was working it was totally worth it cause for me i have no regrets when im behind the wheel driving its all the down time that gives you all this free time to think about what youve done and how in debt you are.

It all depends on your passion for the car. Cars are my life, I wouldnt trade my fd for the world. I am 19 and bought my fd when i was 18, i have unbeleivable credit for my age ( i was able to take a loan out with out a cosigner, and got a good interest rate) i have a daily beater that i couldnt live without. There is just so much you want to do to your car its not funny. i wouldnt never let my fd go through a winter, thats just mean. I also attend Syracuse University full time as a chemical engineer and i must say, i do a bit of puting off my school work for my car. I have been a lot better lately though. Not only is my beater my winter rat, but i also use it to deliver pizza 25 hours a week and thats how i afford to pay for my car. I have almost 30k invested in my car now and i dont regret a cent i payed. I get no help from my parents (not a dime) although they let me insure the car in there name to save on insurance. One thing i noticed is that if you really care about owning a car like this, u have to think about what you are willing to give up. I dont drink as much as i used to, and i dont smoke cigarettes or weed. I think if you really have a passion for it, you can do it. I just hope you got a good paying job, you will need it.

You should become a cuban refugee and take over miami as the greatest cokelord of all time, then you can afford 2.

ok scarface!

i just got mine. it only has a little more than 10k miles on the engine and its actually pretty a much perfect fd.

My FD has been very reliable. But with that said, as soon as I think something is not right, I get it fixed or stop driving it until I can. If you cannot afford to put 5k a year into it, you probably should not own a 7. I am not saying you will have to drop that 5k every year, but do not be surprissed if you do.

this is kinda off topic but is an FC more reliable than an FD??

Not necessarily. You can purchase a well treated FD which will be more reliable than a torn up FC (which is the same with any used car you might buy). It's really all in the care of the car.

So far my FD has never broken down. The only things I have spent $ on is gas, routine maintenance and mods. However, It spends most of its time in the garage.