ok, ive been looking into purchasing an rx7 sometime in the near future. my question is how reliable are fd rx7's? are they good for daily driving because i would have to use it for everything. or are they just like garage queens? i put about 1100 miles a month on my accord so do u think the rx7 would be able to handle that.

thanks
Frankie

 

I'd stick with the Accord.

 

Yes, but they are 10 years old. Buy one close to stock that has had recent motor and turbo rebuilds. In general the more horsepower the more issues you will have with reliability.

Just read and use the search function. Good luck.

 

well i dont plan on making huge hp, maybe 280-300 hp. so that shouldnt be much of an issue. ive just always liked rx7's and now that i think i may be able to afford one i am considering it

 

1100 miles a month what do you do? Deliver pizzas?

 

1100/month is nothing. I put more than that on (but not on the RX) just for work.... totalling up miles/year across all my cars, I'm probably around 3000 miles/month...

my brother's even worse... about 900 miles/week... but he doesn't own an RX... he owns a 911...

 

1100 per month is only considered slightly above average by DOT.

If they are stock, and well taken care of, the can be pretty reliable. But the problem is, if anything goes wrong, parts are extremely hard to come by (as are mechanics). And when you do find parts, they are either expensive, or take a LONG time to get to you (or both). If you don't have the time, money, or ability to put the car up on blocks for a few days at a time, you are asking for trouble.

I personally wouldn't consider purchasing one as a daily driver. Keep your honda...

 

I currently drive mine as a DD (about 1000-1200 a month) and have for 3 months. As a result, I am staying home monday b/c of snow....

Ask 911GT2 - he'll tell you the best mod he ever made to his RX is buying a DD - since you already have one, I would just buy the RX on top of it all!

 

...but do you have what it takes to be a daily driver? Any turbocharged (or diesel) vehicle requires meticulous maintenance. FD's aren't low-powered Civics designed to run on 87 octane.

 

rx7's look niceee...it truly is a chic magnet, try looking at alternate cars instead if you need a daily driver, i use to own an integra, i just bought my rx7 (1 month ago) and its sittin in the garage due to oil leak, transmission leak and its leaking anti freeze...and to top that off, i just blew my tire, ive only taken my car out 4 days in the entire month ive had it for...im stuck driving the mini van now... be wise before purchasing a FD...its a rich mans hobby (unfortunatly im on a budget and i cant get it fixed till i get some money together)...

 

No sports car owner does anything seriously WITHOUT a backup bucket - fact of life.

I'm looking at the possibility of purchasing a used Honda Insight in the future - if you look at gas prices now and the car pool lane breaks you get, it could be a very economical choice.

 

I use mine as a DD...not 1000miles/month actually less than half of that and hasn'd done anyh problem yet. I f you search theree are lot's of ppl in here using their FD's as daily driven without any problems. As long as you maintain the car and do some reeliability mods you;ll be fine.

 

I have daily driven my RX7 for over a year now, but I only drive about 500 a month. So far its gone into the shop on several occasions the longest time for 3 weeks. During this time I had to walk or get rides from friends, not fun . When I go home this summer I'm definately getting a daily driver. If you might have enough just to buy an RX7 consider maintainance costs, and gas.

Driving an RX7 just isn't as fun when you do it every day even for the little things. If you're on a budget you're even reluctant to smash the gas making the car as about as fun as your accord, maybe less.

Not to discourage you but definately do research if you're on a budget.

Good Luck

 

man, that really sucks. i was really looking forward to buying one. oh well, maybe sometime in the future. i guess im going to start looking into mr2's or something a little quicker than my accord. but the rx7 has always been my dream.

 

Yeah, I hate to say it to anyone, but its probably best to save the 7 for a little later. I use mine as a DD and have for over a year now, including frequent trips to Atlanta from Nashville and going to school everyday. It will eat up a lot more of your time whether its in the shop or waiting on the turbos to warm up and cool down (if you dont have a BC). Anyways, I geuss all I'm saying is that I wouldn't trade The rx7 for anything else as a DD, but you MUST realize what you're getting in to. If you can handle the time and money that it requires, you'll love the car forever. All IMO of course.
-T

 

Also...if you do decide to get one it would be a good idea to have a garage to keep it in. Cuz i live in a condo close to school and unfortunately I'm always afraid to do too much to the exterior in fear that it will attract too much attention and envy and all that crap. It could just be that I'm a wuss, but I love my car way too much, so until I get a garage(aka house) I'm gonna try and keep the exterior stock and clean.

 

Bingo.

 

I put 47k miles on my FD in 42 months befor getting my Dakota - it spent 3 months during that time getting rebuilt. for Me the descion to stope daily driving my FD was COST not so much relaiability, the FD only averaged 15-16 mpg on premium gas and the Dakota gets 18+ on regular.

 

the past 2 years my 7 has been a daily driver.

 

3rd Gen RX7's are not daily drivers. While many are reliable cars some are not and they are all old. They have no hauling capacity and they consume premium fuel at an impressive pace. The Accord is a much better daily driver (I have both).

 

Go for a Daily Driver. Saves you some troubles.

I love that car but having it as a DD is as good as walking

cheers
Patrick

 

no matter how reliable the one you get is, ur gonna need a shitty backup car.