salamander

I think its worth pointing out that the FC and the FD are older cars that may have been driven hard. Either one is going to require investment to maintain. Most RX7 owners are enthusiasts where the car is almost more a recreation than just transportation.

The FD is certainly the more expensive animal, especially if you get into aftermarket parts. Doing work yourself helps keep the costs down but an FD can still bleed you dry if the car is not solid when you buy it. The FC is cheaper to repair it but it is older and so may require repair more often. Both cars must be maintained properly (eg regular oil changes etc). They will not tolerate neglect like some other cars. I am not trying to be negative, I simply am trying to warn you about costs you may not have considered.

remydrm

Buy a FB! best place to start and easy to contol out of turns....nice car to learn in and gain confidence..
good luck
by the way i can say this from experience, i have all a tII, gsl-se and an fd. had a gtus too(1990).

Terbowetoo

Alright... Im not going to post a typical noob response and get all defensive and insulting, but you just cant make generalized comments like "the next thing you know he's going to ask how to tune his blow off valve to be loud" and stuff like that... I'm not and have never planned to get an upgraded "sound-off" blow off valve, because whichever car I get, I want to make it as much of a sleeper as possible, since hardly anyone knows what Rx-7's are. The only reason I said that i was 17 in my original post was so that people trying to answer it would know as much about the situation as possible, not to try and "show off". I posted this question in the Fc forum and was much more well recieved. The peopl ethere gave me actual reasons as to why which car was better at this point, not things like "if you have to ask, its wrong for you" or "if you call it a rex, you shouldn't have an Fd" (by the way, for the intelligent guy who said that, The first place heard/saw that was a heavily modded Fd guy's sig...). So I guess that this forum isnt so much for people to get information or advice off of, but a place to be rediculed if you arent absurdly rich and over the age of thirty. Sorry for wasting your time.

ttb

i'm not rich and under 30...seriously, we're not all that bad.... i like the FD better for looks and power get the FD

skunks

ya gotta pay to play

personnaly, id get the FC

FCRyosuke07

iTrader: (1)

im in a similar situation, im 19 (not bragging, just stating it so you can better understand my situation) And i have a chance to get a FD with a salvage title (which needs some work) or a Turbo II. I wanted to get an idea of what you guys thought was so pros and cons of both cars. seems like more steryotyping going on in here rather than advising but ive come to expect that from this forum anyways. Do you 3rd gen guys think it is worth it to build up the FD for people our age or should we just stick to the TIIs we can get now. I know i personally would be doing most of the work on the car and i dont really mind if the car sits in the driveway while i get it running.

blown

If you can take off the insurance, then sure why not.
My original thinking was this:
a non-running FD costs about $6-8k
a salvaged/dented FD costs $8-9k
a salvaged FD costs $9-12.5k
an FD that "needs work" costs $12-14k
a good FD costs $14-16k
a "mint" FD costs $17+
@5500 in 6 months, that won't buy you much. I bought mine for $15.5k w/44k miles. Everything was near stock and working great. 1 yr later, i've already spent about an additional $14k on it for mods, and I still feel that I'm ALMOST done.
OK, i'm done whining

p.s.: this is SoCal pricing, btw

FCRyosuke07

iTrader: (1)

i managed to find a non running salvage FD (with engine) for 3G... by your standards, im getting a hell of a deal. perhaps i should go for it. This is east coast pricing

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

If you went to a Porsche dealer and said "Hey, I just got a new job at the Post Office, can I afford a Porsche?", what do you think they are going to say?

Bottom line is it doesn't matter if you can afford to "get" the car, can you afford to "keep" the car. There are more expenses than just "purchasing" a vehicle.

IMO, if you have to ask someone else if you can afford a car, then you probably can't.

wptrx7

i'm a fd owner trying to sell it for a fc. i just want to use it for track use and thats why i'm making the change. if anyone wants my car it is going for 12k with missing parts and a great motor.

luigi

Terbowetoo

Yeah... I wasnt asking if i could afford one, I was asking which would be more cost effective, given my situation... thanks though...

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

lol, that's the same thing.

If you can afford one, it's cost effective. If you are in a situation where you don't have free cash, then as everyone said, the car is probably not for you.

Granted, there are plenty of people on this forum that don't need to spend a dime on their cars other than normal maintenance (oil changes, etc). However, a majority of the people usually have to fix or repair something on their car (read spend money/time).

The price to get the car may not be a lot of money. Depending on the car you get though, you may end up putting a lot of money back into it to keep it on the road.

So, as my original statement, if you have to wonder about money, it's not a car for you.

FCRyosuke07

iTrader: (1)

so if this car was to be a project, not a primary daily driver, so i could just work at my own pace, and i can afford to buy one, i shouldnt have a problem?

meddle

I think thats the best advice you can possibly give some one. I drove my fd for 3 years with no problems, only maintnence. In the last few months I have had a lot of trouble with it. If I didn't have other cars or was stretching myself just to own and insure my rx7, I'd be up **** creek.

salamander

And.... you may put a lot of money into it if you want to modify in terms of parts and reduced reliability. Many people spend as much on mods as though do on the car, insurance and everything else combined...

midnight

How about this.....Save your money......go to college......get a great job.....and buy whatever the f@#* you want. You're 17. Wait to get the FD. The FC would make more sense for your situation. Either way good luck.

midnight

Also, if you get an FD. You better have enough money to buy a "junker" for when something goes wrong with the FD.

Killuminatic

people over at the fc forum must be smokin some **** to think they're fcs are better then fds.

meddle

Depending on how you like at it they can be. Definatly a better every day car, and more bang for the buck.

Killuminatic

no meddle. no.

ttb

play nice

Toadman

More bang for the buck? Sure.

meddle

There are people damn near giving away blown turbo IIs.

meddle

How long have you owned oyur FD for? 24 hours. Shut up.

tk5dan