I need some motivation. I finally got a job, working full-time at Walgreens. I will be pulling in about $850 or so a month. 3rd gen has always been my affordable dream car, and since I need a new car I am looking in to purchasing one. My insurance will be $241 a month, plus the car note. Total, that's whell over half of my monthly income. Is it really worth it though. I just keep having day dreams of being the only person in town to own one. Daydreams of driving around, and watching everything stare my badass car down. Should I go through with it? If I don't get this, I'm gonna get a Prelude. 3rd gen RX7 is my dream car though.

 

hold please till i get home... ill give u a picture that should convince u....

but dude... its all about what is important to u..... it wont be worth it if u buy it and have to sell it... make sure that it is feasable... but good luck man... i know those feelings

 

I would not do it with that low of an income, but that's me. I'm sure you'll get lots of people telling you to go for it.....

The maintenance costs on these cars (if they are maintained) will break you. Are you living at your parent's home or something?

 

it's feasible I believe. Pulling in $800 a month, minus about $500 (maybe a little more) for total car payment (insurance and loan note) I'll have a little under $300 for gas and other expenses. I'm only 18 so I still live at home.


I know most of the pampering that needs to be done, like letting the engine warm before taking off somewhere, and letting ot warm down when you stop. Don't flood it. And oil changing must become a religion. But what else goes into the maintenance on a normal basis?

 

I'm with rynberg here. As much as you want one, the car is going to break you!

Get a cheap, reliable car that you can drive into the ground...save a few hundred a month. Figure out what you are going to do in the future and get down that path first.

 

Well could you guys fill me in a bit, on just what kind of extra money goes into the maintenance of this car? Like, on a monthly basis what all has to be done? I'm not the little **** who's daddy is gonna buy him an RX7 cause he saw it in a magazine, then not even take care of it the way it needs to be taken care of.

I guess I'll just have to put my dream on hold, and get a Prelude.

 

I don't know about a Prelude, but something more affordable is definitely a better idea. With only $800 a month, there are MANY more things you can do with your money than spend it all on a car.

Also, when your parents get on your nerves, you'll be glad you have that extra money so you can move out! And it will eventually happen.

 

My experience has not been problems with simple
"maintenence" issues. It doesn't cost that much to change the oil and filter. What costs are the keep it running for more than a month at a time issues. These are things like new belts, hoses, radiator, AST, fuel filter, plugs, wires, coolant,... These seem like "one time" costs, and they are, but you pretty much end up paying them ALL at once (coupla G's to do it "right"). So now the thing will run. But now you need a new exhaust, DP, silicone hoses, boost gauge, tires,... These items aren't so much keep it running as make it run correctly. God forbid you need bushings, shocks, interior work, body work, and so on.

And then the coolant seals go. Hi VISA, want a part of my *******? I thought so, but wanted to ask first...

Anyway, the break you part of the equation has more to do with all the things that weren't really engineered correctly on this car in terms of longevity, and we are now getting into longevity days (10 years and counting). So lots of things fail, all at once, and cost a bunch to replace with correct parts. You spend more time and money getting it fixed than driving. And REALLY start to wish you'd thought this one through...

The dreams of driving down the street and having the dudes stare the car down and burn with envy and the chicas lying on the ground spread legged at the very glimpse of your car are just that. There aren't that many folks walking around, and usually they just roll their eyes and say *****-car.

Which it is. Lotsa PERSONAL fun, though. And satisfying if you can fix the problems on your own and have a nice running auto in th end. Just my opine.

 

Do let these guys discourage you. As long as you find a FD that has been takin care of, you can afford it. These guys all have huge single turbos and they break the car everyday.

I say go for it...just search for a nice one that is stock and some old man drove it.

 

It's all in the car you buy. I owned my FD for 3 years before I had to spend a dime in fixing anything. But when that time did come, ouch (motor).

 

Well, see Ihad the problem of having a sports car as my very first, and only car, so I'm somewhat spoiled. I can't even see myself in a 4 door sedan or something. I have 1 RX7 that I have found within a reasonable distance, that seems worth checking out. I'm gonna go see it this weekend, and take my printed RX7 Buyer's Guide with me. If it doesn't seem completely in good working order, then I'm gonna put the dream on hold and go for this Prelude that I test drove the other day. It's a 99' with 64k miles on it. I save about $70 on insurance with a Prelude as well.

 

I owned a 99 Prelude Type SH with a Jet ECU chip, FPR, header, midpipe, HKS exhaust, AFC, AEM intake, Ground Control coil-overs and other misc stuff. The cars are so far from different you really can't compare them.

 

Don't do it unless your parents are going to let you BORROW their credit card...A LOT.

Maintenance: After 45,000 miles on a dealer installed Reman. Motor & Turbos, I got a massive front cover leak and failing coolant seals.

To get the car back on the road with a Mazda Reman Motor installed it would've cost me $4,800, including the usual parts that get replaced along with a new motor. I also got a new clutch($500) put in since the motor was out. I opted for a street port, oil mods & upgraded coolant seals & Evans coolant from Pineapple Racing($1,400). Due to the street port, I then needed 1300 cc injectors($400). Well, Since my M2 ECU won't run 1300 cc injs. I needed to get a Power FC/Commander/Datalogit($1,300). Now, that I have a programmable ECU, I still need to get it tuned($500).

You do the math. I can't bear to.

Oh, yeah this after I just spent $1,700 on some rims.















My Credit Card banks have a "hit-man" after me.

 

Preludes are very fast with the H22. My buddy has a 4 door Accord with a H22 with a built top-end and his car is in the 13's, plus it's an automatic. And you can imagine how heavy his car is. With a Prelude, you put half the money into a motor that these guys are putting into their FD's and you can make it just as fast and reliable. Plus you will still get 25+ MPG as well!!!

If you want anymore info about Honda's, just PM me. I have so much info about them but nobody respects them in here.

 

They are not that fast, as I used to own one and know what they are like. I have yet to find a Prelude in 3.5 years that I can't beat the **** out of. They are very reliable though, that's the one good thing they have going for them.

 

If you can't afford then car you can't afford the car.

Simple as that.

850 a month is less than 10,000 a year total income.

Many of us here make around 30-50k a year and still find it a little difficult.

You could scrape by, but who wants to do that? All about what's your priorities.

 

If he actually takes home 850 a month, thats more than 10k a year :p it's 10,200. Still that isn;t much.

You may get by affording a car but things WILL go wrong and do you really want to eat Ramen the rest of your life?

 

Best solution - find a good, solid 2nd gen for around $1000-1500. Parts are CHEAP and plentiful, and the cars are a blast to drive. Learn all you can about the car, working on it, the engine, etc. and you'll be ready for a 3rd gen later.

Seriously, you don't want to live to make a car payment. I'm sure you're gonna want other things - eating out, going to movies, etc. Not to mention gas to put in the car!

If this is going to be your first high-performance car, you'd be better off "learning the ropes" of driving one on an old 2nd gen that isn't a $15,000 loss when you go sideways into a ditch.

Take small steps. You can get a 2nd gen NOW, and enjoy it quite cheaply for a long time to come. Start working your way up to better jobs, get some skills under your belt, go to college - you will have a 3rd gen someday if you work towards it. Hell, I've been a *serious* RX-7 enthusiast for about 6 years, and I'm just getting to the point where I can afford a 3rd gen.

In the meantime, I've been having a helluva time with my 2nd gens .

Dale

 

Come to So Cal some time. I will show you some fast Preludes.

 

with that amount of money, I don't think you should get a fd, its just too much maintance and insurance is going to kill ya.

 

get a larger loan and buy a better seven with mods done to keep u happy. make sure it has a new rad etc etc... basically new drivetrain, otherwise it WILL kill you. ive spent almost 22k on this car and its not even single turbo! i spend on average 300 in gas, 50 in insurance, 600-1200 in mods/ repairs , and that doesnt include the cars value itself (payed outright in cash).. i dont honestly think walgreens will cut it right now for u.. unless u find the perfect seven with low miles etc, with mods done to keep it reliable.

 

not only will you spend all your income, you'll be borrowing money when ever any work needs to be done to the car that's unexpected.

A blown motor is $5k, a lower intake manifold gasket leak is $800, a 30k service is $400, turbos replacements are over $3k.

You should get a used sedan to cut down on insurance money. Also, put yourself on parents policy to lower insurance. Save the money for something else more important like education or buying a house when you're older.

If you spend it all and borrow when you need to, you'll be poor at 30 and guess what, your dream FD will be a pile of crap in 12 years, that's for sure.

 

BTW, I drove my parents Buick until I was 27 and bought my FD. I still drive the Buick as it's my daily driver. I don't need to look cool all the time. Most of the time, a simple transportation is all you need.

At 30, I now own my house and continue to invest in the right places. Not that I brag or anything but I hate to see young people being in debt for a car.

 

I'm 18, but my seven is paid for. Before opening up the gates of hell and flaming me to a burnt crisp, I did pay for a fair amount of my car, about $9,000 of it, and the remaining $5,500 was loaned to me by my parents. This summer, (just graduated high school) will be the third that I have worked full time all summer long. Before that, I worked part time for two summers. Plus, I worked on the weekends and on holidays during my senior year. Right now I work 40 hours a week in a factory and on saturday I average 9-10 hours in sales. Just keeping my seven running broke me during my senior year, as my tranny decided it needed a rebuild, along with my windshield cracking on the inside, new tires, and expensive gas. I have owned it for almost two years, and I am just now starting to modify the motor components. I have already spent over $1,500 dollars on parts, few of which have even arrived or been installed. I don't know about wisconsin, but gas out here is absurdly expensive, over $2.20 a gallon for crappy 91 octane. But despite all this, I love my car, every time I take it out for a spin on an open, twisty road, it brings a smile to my face. Was it a practical car for daily driving? No. Was it a practical car for a teenager? Not in the least bit. Should I have saved the money and invested it, like my sister has done with hers? Probably. The thousands of dollars she has put away in mutual funds will be worth a healthy sum in 40 or so years, when she can retire, (if that early). I don't know what you will do in the snow, but RX7s don't ride very well on chains, plus rear wheel drive and no traction control make for an exciting trip, every time. Should you go for it? Do you promise to love and cherish you seven, through good times and the bad, in sickness and in health, for ever and ever, amen? If so, go for it. Otherwise, get a prelude. Like my sister. Josh

 

Josh, nice post.

Prime Suspect, I believe you can do what ever the hell you want as long as you get an education, trade, or specialized skill. Want to work as much as possible outside of school while still getting your education just to pay for your car? That's fine. You'd most likely be spending that money on clothes, beer, food, and other **** that really doesn't matter either. I look at going to school an investment in itself, and it's okay to spend your pocket cash you make while in school on a car and mods. My girl always gives me **** about spending nearly all my money on my FD, while she buys new outfits every week. What the hell is the difference? None. It's how I choose to spend my chicken-**** paycheck now while in school, which will hopefully yield larger paychecks in the future . Bottom line, I personally would not be working full time at Walgreens so I could afford an FD at the expense of an education...which may not exactly be what you are doing, but it sure sounds like it. Make the right decision.