1RevvinFC3S

I'VE HAD IT!!! I'm sick of wondering "what should I do to my FC". Should I do a TII swap? Or an REW? Should I go widebody? Should I stay N/A w/ a badass port? SCREW IT!!! I realized that dumping money into my FC is pointless when I could just as easily put said money toward an FD. So... here are a few questions for the FD guys.

1. What are you looking at for insurance? I got a quote from GEICO for $117/month, but with a ticket on my record, it'll probably jump up another $40/month, which is fine considering thats only $35 more/per month than my FC.
2. I'm starting a job making $8.30/h 40+h/week. Will that be enough to maintain an FD?
3. Does anyone know of a place in Texas that would finance one?

I know, I know, these are NEWB questions to the core, but I'd rather not get one and have it sitting in my garage because I can't afford it. And I'd SURE AS HELL rather not be one of the guys that sells the car of their dreams because they can't afford it. So, your help would be very appreciated, because I can't wait until I can go "Hey, here's a pic of MY FD. Tell me what you guys think" in the 'Post Pics of your FD<-----Pics of your car go here' thread. Once again, thank you.

-Lucas

P.S.- I still love FC's, but not as much as I love FD's, even though I've never been closer than 5 yards from an FD.

RX7 RAGE

iTrader: (22)

dude, stick with the fc, no offense.

spandy

iTrader: (1)

You would just be setting yourself up for alot of heartaches and financial disaster trying to maintain an FD on that budget, unless you have no other bills other than insurance and live at home for free or something of the like and can turn your own wrenches, but even then how long will that last if that is your situation?

If you have to finance it to get one, then it's not the best time. Realistically, you will want to be able to pay cash for the car, and have a couple grand set aside specifically for repairs/maintance, and also be able to replenish that 3-4k quickly in the event something goes wrong so you are stable if something else goes wrong. I'm sure alot of fd owners get away with paying month to month to buy it and not having but a few hundred bucks for oil changes and fuel, but what happens if their motor decides to chuck a seal? usually, you see them parting it out just to cover their ***, or it sits in their garage for many many years waiting for parts to be funded all the while they are still making monthly payments on a car they can't afford to fix.

I'd just hate for you to get it, and then lose your *** because of it.

FD3S2005

iTrader: (11)

yea i recommend getting a better playing job because you better have extra for anything that goes wrong, which is alot if you play hard with this beast.

1RevvinFC3S

Yeah, I see the point you guys are making. So I'd probably be better off sticking with the FC?

SLOASFK

iTrader: (5)

Yeah, on that budget, you'd be best off with the FC. probably best leaving it N/A.

Eggie

NO!

DarkLikePoe

As others have stated, that's a tight budget. I TAKE HOME (after taxes) ~$30K a year and with rent, insurance, bills, groceries, etc etc, the FD is still a BIG gift to myself... like every month.

I sometimes wish I still had an FC to beat on when I got the rotary itch. Sounds dirty.

spiritrmazda

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, FD's are quite a handful. Lot of guys buy FD's that run great until something happens whether they blow an apex seal or something else. I had a coolant seal go out on me and now I scrapped the whole idea of just rebuilding and using reliabilitymods and went full all out custom which I'm still working on and costing me a little more than $20,000 on top of my car .

TitaniumTT

Simple answer is if you have to ask if you can afford it the answer is NO. At least you have the brains to realize as alot of kids buy things without looking past thier nose and end up loosing it in the end. Actually adults make the same mistakes quite often - Subprime lending anyone?

1RevvinFC3S

Yeah, I just wanted to see what it would take because the last thing I want is disappointment. I'd hate to get one and have to turn around and sell it, and I'd really hate to not be able to afford what it needs and end up screwing it up.

Eggie

Right on! Nice FC > ratty FD

hus

I would stay with the FC until your new job brings you promotions and/or raises. Plus it's a new job and who says you're going to like it well enough to stick with it.

Insurance: I pay $40/month for my FD but I'm 28, married and have stuck with Progressive for over 10 years and currently get an additional discount for having several vehicles insured with them. Normally if you're under 25, single and have some tickets will usually result in expensive insurance.

When you get ready to finance one I would recommend Capital One Auto Finance. You have to borrow at least $7500 but you can stretch the payments up to 72 months to lower your payment <---I'm highly against this by the way as I hate debt and the things that surround debt, but it is an available option. If you can't get financed by Capital One then I would think it would be hard to get financed by a bank. I will add that I have a good relationship with my banker and I believe it's important to have a good bank and banker on your side but Capital One is out there for a quick and painless way of purchasing vehicles if a bank doesn't suit you.

Stick with the FC but don't give up on your dream of owning a FD. Work hard at your new job, earn a few raises, buy your FD and then you can dream about driving it to work everyday as it sits in your garage needing a rebuild...j/k

1RevvinFC3S

Update:

Well, I'm going to hold on to the FC indefinately, but in 3 months, I am eligable for a transfer of departments, a few of which will net over $10/h (I believe one is $10.25/h). Not only that, but this place hands out overtime like candy if you want it. As is, I'll be bringing home over $1,200/month after taxes (thats if I only work 40hours/week), which is more than enough to cover my FC's insurance and my phone bill- only two things I have to pay really. Oh, and gas. I figure, as long as I'm here, I could probably wing paying off an FD and parking the FC to, making said amount per month. How does that sound? Not only that, but if I were to transfer and make $10.25/h, 40h/week, I should bring home about $1,600/month after taxes. I mean, this could probably work, and I already have a potential cosigner.

EDIT: I actually AM living at home, and will probably be moving in with my uncle for a while (who told me not to worry about paying for anything!!! God thats lucky).

1QWIK7

iTrader: (33)

I say keep the FC or go another route with a project car.

That money you stated is **** (no offense but it is). For the cost to buy the FD (assuming you're gonna use the money from the FC towards the purchase of the FD), it looks like you're gonna buy a half *** working FD which will then lead to more expensives to get it running properly. Not to mention the itch for mods which is even more money.

Then what happens with the car blows up? That should be your MAIN concern when owning an FD. You're gonna be in a hole thats gonna get deeper and deeper by the minute.

Most of us in this thread are trying to save you from a financial disaster (FD, get it? LOL) so dont think we just dont want you to own an FD or for you to be happy. When you make more money and have a better plan, then we will root for you but until then, your plan just doesnt make sense nor does seem smart at this stage in your life.

1RevvinFC3S

^Well, what I'm saying is that I'm going to keep the FC, as either A.) "Insurance" in case the FD craps out, or B.) my project. I won't want to mod the FD at ALL until I can afford the stuff I really want, and what I really want is really expensive. I'll probably do reliability mods, yeah, but nothing crazy. Also, as I said, I don't really have any expenses as I am living at home and will probably be moving in with my uncle, so rent, groceries, etc. won't really come into play. But, I do realize that if those do come into play, an FD will not be a good idea. I appreciate the feedback very much, and belive me, I am not ignoring it. I'm just seeking further opinions and you guys are helping alot.

spandy

iTrader: (1)

If you are just "speed hungry" get a motorcycle. 2-3k will get you a used but near undustructable machine (mechanically speaking) that will do 0-60 in under 4 seconds and have a top end of 160+mph. That's what I did when I couldn't afford the cars I wanted.

1RevvinFC3S

^Yeah, but I'm ****-scared of riding a bike, lol.

scotty305

iTrader: (2)

Wait a year, FD's will still be around. Drive the FC, try not to spend a lot of money modding it. I don't think you'll find a lender willing to finance a car that is over 12 years old, so you'll probably need to save up for the FD.


The rule of thumb is you should be spending only one week's salary on your biggest monthly expense, or you will be sacrificing in other areas. For example, if you make $500 / week (about $2k/month), you're going to have to save money elsewhere (no car payment, eat ramen, drink tap water) if you want to live somewhere that costs $1000/month in rent. Since we're car enthusiasts, we're probably willing to pay a week's salary for the car also. But don't forget about fuel, food, and other misc. expenses (college tuition, books, beer, going on dates,etc). Figure out what a $15,000-$16,000 loan would cost you per month, there are online calculators that will tell you that. It's probably over $350/month. Try saving that much every month, and see how it goes. See if you've got money left over for fuel (you'll need to put 91 octane in the FD), food, and other stuff. Put it in a separate bank account and try not to ever spend it.



Realize that if you're still living at home, you probably will want your own place in two or three years, unless you get along really well with your parents and have no plans of going to school in another city.



Good luck,
-s-

1QWIK7

iTrader: (33)

^^Very well put.

Sure it may seem "awesome" to live rent free but you are only becoming more and more dependant on others because you now know you dont have any other expenses besides unnecessary things like modding cars.

God forbid something bad happens which forces you to live on your own or maybe down the road you decide to live on your own. You saved up no money because you used all of it on the car and now you will have to sell the car for whatever its worth just to get by.

Basically im saying just because your finances barely make it for the plans you want to do, doesnt mean you should do it. Unless you're making at least 3k+ a month, your plan will not work for the future. Maybe for now it looks like it. I forsee a thread from you in the future. (FS: FD with mods, need to sell ASAP).

MADDSLOW

iTrader: (11)

I was actually one of those guys that just went out and bought one without knowing anything about it. I didn't even know about rx7club.com until another member chased me and my g/f down when I happened to be passing through his town(I still make fun of him to this day hahaha). These forums were the greatest thing to happen to me...

Please don't take offense to this, but at sub-$10 an hour, I find it highly unlikely you'll be able to afford this car. I only drive mine a couple days of the week, and at roughly 10-13mpg, find myself spending far more on gas than food.

How old are you? I took a loan out for 2 reasons:

1)I had just received a large promotion at work, so I knew I was going to be making big money for awhile

2)I was 20 at the time, and figured a large loan over 5 years would help my credit a great deal. My loan came out to 5.45%/60 months, which I think is GREAT for a person my age with no significant credit history.

All in all, I think you'd probably be best off just saving. Put that money into the bank, and leave your FC in running condition w/o adding any more mods. If I could go back in time, I'd never have spent $10,000+ on that POS Eclipse... Someday when you have a decent amount of money and a STEADY job, take a loan out.

TitaniumTT

I'll be blunt here - You're not getting the point. You cannot afford it. Believe me when I say this, I deal with this kinda stuff for a living. You take home $15,000 a year, start subtracting expenses etc and you'll find that after all is said and done you have very little. A few rules of thumb are
1) Emergency fund should = 3 months salary. Do you have $3600+ in a savings account that you could pull out right now?
2) Your debt payments shouldn't => 30% salary. That means that the car (with insurance) should cost you less than $400/mo. I don't see that happening.
3) Keep luxury items somewhat liquid - HA!
4) I hope you have a second form of transportation becuase all that OT you are counting on would probably be lost if you have to car pool
5) Don't spend money you don't have. If you are plannin on OT to afford this car you are gonna get fucked when you don't get the OT that you need.

-Ok so some of those aren't rules of thumb but you get the idea. Don't buy the car. It's a ******* car. You're setting youself up for financial ruin over a ******* car.

1QWIK7

iTrader: (33)

Post of the year.

This post should be stickied at the top of the page so the whole forum could see.

Nat6c

iTrader: (1)

if you want my story which might help you decide.

i'm 22, bout it at 21, i live at home with my own personal bill. was making 10$ an hour 40h/w. i bought mine for 10,500 plus ttl. for 3 years being older then 10, pay 400 a month for loan, plus i'm at 850/6mo full coverage, and maintain it considering i'm a mechanic myself.was great till I fucked the motor up working on it... (long story) so i spen 1 yr and 14 days spending 15K (but b/c i did alot of personal spending to help the car in the long run) i'm still paying the note and insurance, plus the credit debt plus my personal loan, and maintain a fiance. it CAN be done, BUT the question is you devotion and ability to live for cheap =-) and having the right tools already, and good mechanical knowledge really really helps out. it's a great car, and if you treat it good and like a normal car. it'll last you a while depending upon previos owner.

i'm in houston, if you want mine i'm selling it for 21K. pm me and we can talk about the tiny bs need that my project hasn't finished which isn't hard... i'm just lazy b/c i work more now. but like i said. IT CAN be done.. but it's hard to maintain like any other project.... this one costs more thats all. and if your wonderign why i'm selling, i'm not really "selling" it, but if someone offers i'll take it, and get an NSX next


Los

1RevvinFC3S

Very good points. But yeah, my expenses are minimal (about $65/month phone, $104/month insurance on the FC, and the phone bill will be going down because I'm going to drop a line). Like I said, I really have nothing to worry about as far as expenses are concerned. Hell, I don't even really have a social life worth mentioning. I mean, I get ya'lls points, I really do, but I don't think you guys understand that I really have no expenses besides those formentioned. And I'm not trying to sound like a dick, know what I mean? Seriously, I'm not trying to be dense, I just want to look at this from all angles.