Another FC or FD thread.
 

you guys are probably gonna hate me , but okay

im 17, i have a good paying job for my age(almost 9$ an hour xD) and im stuck between getting an FC, or an FD

this is the problem, my mom doesnt want me to have my own car yet, but if i can get an FD and build it over time then that works out. im not driving it but its there. i keep telling them the hardest part is finding a good car, and not parts.

should i just get an FC and be done with it? or get a blown FD and rebuild it? work wouldnt be a problem, and i have their cars to drive. i'd have plenty of time to get it running. my dad said he would pay for half of it, so its like...i find an FD for 7 grand and thats 3500$. then i just work til i have enough to rebuild and then im good. or do i spend 3500 and get an FC?

another reason i say this is because im gonna have the car for a LONG time *knock on wood* so which is the better decision for the long run.

well i know that this is not what you want to hear but the words "good paying job with almost 9$hr and RX7" should not be in the same sentance. Gas alone will put you on broke.... Now if you are looking for a car just to spend lots of money driving and fixing then by all means go get an FD. I was CLEARING 90g's a year before i decided i could afford one and i still have to limit my toys on the 7. If i was you at 17 i would 1. save long and get a new car or 2. buy this FD and plan on it sitting in the yard for a long time.

so if all that meant nothing to you buy an FD!!! ;-)

So what do you plan to do when it breaks, and needs an engine rebuild?

I'm honestly just a Lurker who doesn't even have a RX-7, so I'm sure some may be hostile to my response, but I've read a lot about them. So here's my opinion:

If you have rich parents who will buy you whatever you want, such as 2 different cars and pay for whatever expensive repairs...then fine, you won't be looked well upon by some but at least it can be afforded.

Or if you're some amazing teen that is independantly wealthy, then fine you can afford it do what you want.

You however are proposing that this be your only car at $9 an hour, and for a long time at that. It simply won't work.

I'd say find something relatively cheap that you can afford, is reliable, and is something that you can live with looks/performance wise. For me that was a '92 Lexus SC400, I hate the whole honda "scene" but at least they are reliable and get good gas mileage(my lexus isn't so hot on the mileage). After that keep working, saving money, and buy a sports car after college when you really can afford it.

I'm between patients so I'll give you my own worthless opinion. Of the two, I'd say get an FC.

- It is a LOT cheaper to buy and to maintain. I believe (and I could be wrong) that it is easier to find parts and they aren't as expensive.

- I'm assuming you are new to rotaries. For me, the learning curve is very steep. Maybe it isn't for you. The FD is a very complex beastie. If you are wanting to do a rebuild and/or all the maintenance yourself then an FC will be challenge enough.

- I'm assuming again, but my guess is that it will be easier to find an FC than it will an FD.

- You could have a LOT of fun driving a relatively inexpensive FC around without worrying all the time about it getting hurt or blowing an engine as opposed to an FD. Probably wise for a teenager.

I'm not saying that I think buying an FC as a project car is a GOOD idea for someone in your position, just much better than buying an FD.

drift sequence brings me to think that you will be spending a lot of money. I don't think this will be a very good car unless you plan on only living off that $9 an hour for life. Gas will kill you alone and it would probably take you years to save up for another rebuild. Not to mention turbo rebuilds, etc.

i started off just like you i bought my first 7 when i was 18 it was a 88 vert i soon needed more power so i bought a blown TII and fixed it up well im 22 now and ive put about 20k into the thing since i bought it and it has about 400+ whp and runs 11's in the 1/4. i love the car and its lots of fun but i now wish that i had bought a FD and put the money into that. i love the looks of a fc but i love fd's more. IMO they just have alot better look to them inside and out. but i must say i could never bring myself to sell my fc. i still like it alot. so its up to you, it depends on what your looking for. i certainly wouldn't buy a fd for my DD.

nope im not new to rotaries, ive been here for a long while.

im not saying im rich, but im making a steady amount of money now and getting ready to go in the market, and my parents are willing to help pay for it since i get good grades and do what they want. im not saying im gonna go buy the car tomorrow but if you had to get an fc or fd, which would you choose? i know FD's are a biznitch when it comes to parts and reliability, but if i come across a deal down the road, do i take it or pass it up?

also my name means nothing, i wont be drifting with it, i just drift in games etc.

more than likely i'll be paying for 1/2 of my crap.

i just wanted opinions on if you guys have had both FCs and FDs and if it was your first, would you have stuck with it in that situation.

i KNOW my first car is going to be an rx-7, i wont settle for anything less, even if i cant drive it for a while.

thats what im saying, if im putting my money into it should i make it an FC or FD. it would be a daily driver, but it wouldnt be more than 20 miles a day,
home to school, school to work, work to home and then weekends and stuff.

fc

like i said man an fd may cost you a little more but it depends what you want to do with it

When I was in college I had an NA FC and it was a blast. I tooled around so much in that car and though it wasn't "fast" I had lots of fun. I now have an FD and though it's a faster and more fun car, I don't think I could have handled it then. I'm not just talking about money or the 400whp, I'm talking about the maturity and stress involved with owning such a car.

A cheap beater that will never break on you goes a really long way. When everyone I knew started riding motorcycles they bought 600cc or 1000cc bikes and thought they were the shit. I picked up a little 250 and zipped around forever and guess who's the only one who still enjoys riding to this day? You never know if your interests will change or not, especially at 17, so you might as well get a little feel for the handling and fun nature of the FC without the headaches of the FD. There's plenty of time to get a much nicer car.

Remember, most people don't want admit it but the FD is not God's gift to man. It's a sweet car but there are equivalent and arguably better cars for your money. Think of getting an FD as getting married. Will you be strong enough to stand by it no matter what happens? I didn't get one until I knew that answer was a definite yes. You can't half-ass commit to the FD. I'm already in the hole and I haven't owned the car for 9 months yet, expected. The FC is not a bad substitute for fun and your hair won't turn gray before you turn 18. That's my 2 cents.

Get a Miata if you want a real no issue driver's car for cheap. Convertibles in the summer kick ass.

thanks guyz :P i guess i'll stick with an FC.

Couldnt have said it better myself. i've had my fc for a year and a half, im already starting to get sick of it but thats just me. gas sucks ass especially when there is no end in sight with the prices. you say your making a steady 9 buck an hour and if you get the fd it can be a steady loss of 9 bucks an hour too. the fc will already be enough to handle at your age. dont turn it into an up hill battle. get the fd later. thats what i want to do.

This is a good example of why NOT to get a FD. $20k will pay for 1-1/2 years of tuition, room, board, books, and fees at good state university. Cars are great and everything, but anything beyond basic transportation is just an expensive toy. I have some expensive toys, but I'm an old guy with a career and business. My education is paid for, my retirement is being funded, and my kids will be able to go to college. I can afford a few toys if I'm careful, but I certainly shouldn't have been spending money on them when I was young.

In most cases toys will depreciate. Education, IRAs, homes, and healthy family relationships will not.

I daily drove a nonturbo FC for 3 years in college... I bought it with a street port and it was dynoing in the 160's. It was a lot of car for a 19 year old when I got it, especially since I had been driving Corollas and shit like that.

You need to get a nonturbo FC or a 240sx or something. You don't have the money for an FD. There are grown men here with good jobs who don't have the money for an FD...

If you get an FD, once you get to college you will start running up credit cards or misappropriate student loans. That's the thing about guys around my age (I'm 23). We have plenty of time and energy to work on project cars (no major family commitments usually). But we don't have any loot, so we run up a lot of debt. Most of my friends with nice turbo imports are 5k+ in debt for the car alone. I've been lucky enough to have a job and some support from my family, so I'm not that bad in debt, but still I've got 20k+ spent between two FC's in the past 4 years.

Dhays is giving some excellent advice here. This is no Mustang, and I've owned several. When they break it is very expensive. It might backfire on you if you sell your parents on an FD and it turns out that the rebuild costs the same as what you paid for the car. Keep in mind that when the motor goes, it's not just $3k for the rebuilt motor. You'll find that all of the parts to do it right, even back to stock configuration will be very big (FD's are old).

^^ no pun intended on the backfiring part....right? lol

Get a blown NA FC, do a rebuild and streetport, rtek and RB exhaust, put the RB spring and swaybar package on with some AGXs. Then add some nice wheels and tires.

You will have a fairly reliable, quick, daily driver, and you will get to know alot about rotaries along the way. You can take care of it and then when school is done. You'll have around 50K on the engine, and it will be well maintained, if you're smart. You'll resell it and make decent money off of it knowing about it's history, and then put that as money towards and FD.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

To the OP, I'm only 24, but I waited until I finished college debt free (worked 40+hrs at a local hospital doing orderly work) AND secured a career before I even thought about buying an FD. When I bought the FD, I also bought a beater Camry to keep miles and repairs off the weekend driver.

THAT SAID, however, I fell in love with rotaries through a few trists, long term though they were, with FCs while I still had a 240sx to drive daily.

Good choice on the FC!

You can't go wrong with an FC for your first rx7, be it NA or turbo.

FD › FC... :rolleyes:

i'm 23, owned my very first car (Turbo II) when i was 19, and it is a money-pit!! i'd be one rich guy if i didn't love my FC :rlaugh: but i don't mind it one bit being a big part of my life. :bigthumb:

ADVICE: $AVE!! $AVE! $AVE!! and get a low mileage FD :cool:

don't rush when it comes to buying a car... especially your FIRST ONE!!

save for that FD, and you'll have yourself the best first car a teen can have. :beerchug: