I just turned sixteen and need a car. i've been into cars since i was 13 so i couldnt wait for this moment to come. i have been through many stages of what i wanted and have landed on the rx7. now i know everyone says its to much to handle for new drivers but i think i can. I have been reading through the forums and here about how they break down a lot and if you dont know how to do it yourself then dont get one. Now i can learn because i love cars but all the shops that do good rotary work are not near me so if i do need a shop then im screwed. I have found a 7 sortav close by so i need someone to push me over the edge or point me in a different direction. Thanks

 

You are 16, and have no idea what you can or cannot handle. Go in a different direction. This is not the car for you, or any 16 year old.

 

i was in the same place as you. i got mine when i was 16. i say go for it! just dont drive around stupid and try and show off and all that stuff.

 

start with an n/a FC and build it up yourself. prove to yourself that you deserve an FD. that's my $.02 anyway.

 

i agree or a awd impreza rs

 

Word!!!

I got mine as a graduation present at the beginning of my Senior year but i also took a drivers school course to get my SCCA lisence so i learned how to handle a car before hand.

Get a nice civic si or gsr. Something a little cheaper and easier to maintain. I've owned mine for over a year now and only driven it for 4 weeks total. Like many 7 owners say, they're money pits and i doubt your pockets are deep enough.

 

If you treat them right, you shouldn't have to many problems at all. As for getting one at 16, i agree with FD3RotorTurbo, go for it! Just please becareful and don't do anything stupid...at least till you really know how to handle the car and it's power.

Have fun.

 

I say, go get a miata and if you want to get into some modification put a turbo in it. You will have fun and learn alot of things.

 

Your first car should understeer significantly and be seriously underpowered.

An FD is about the worst possible first car (though a 911 might be worse).

 

16 yrs old + FD3S + peer pressure + testosterone - experience = Cemetary !

 

dont get an fd.

 

Seriously, it's not about what you can afford or your willingness to learn to work on and repair the car. It's simply about an FD being too much car to learn on. I'm 29, have been racing cars competitively for 6 years, got my first FD several months ago and have found that without proper discipline this car can and will send you to an early grave.

A high performance car is never a good choice for a first car, even if you can afford it. Just like in the racing world, you have to start off small and work your way up. In ProRally they won't let you start your career in a turbo/awd car. You have to start in a N/A FWD first.

You've got all the time in the world to own high performance cars, but first you need to take a lesser car and be able to push it to it's limits before you get into something more dangerous and over your head and end up in trouble.

 

get a civic

 

get a 240sx and drop an sr20 in, same potential as FDs i think, minus the headaches. well most of them.

 

Get something that will be more reliable for one as the repairs on these cars (not to mention mods) are very expensive not to mention the fact that you don't have a shope near you.

Get something you can learn in. It would be foolish to take a car such as an FD "learn" to drive in it. You'll likely cause most of your own problems and the car will sit in a garage more than it's on the road.

Take your pic of all the other cars out there, maybe a integra, still fun but easier to maintain.

Work your way up to the FD if you still want one by then.

In my opinion you'll never fully appreciate the FD unless you had something else first.

My first car was a subaru GL, not a WRX or anything cool, but I learned alot from that car, I drove the crap out of it. Learned what it would and would not do etc.

Then when I was 18 I bought a brand new 93 Ford Probe SE, much cooler, much more fun and was a nice upgrade at the time, again I drove the hell out of it learning what it would and would not do.

At 22 I did something I still regret, I bought a 97 Dodge Ram 4X4, don't get me wrong, It was nice but I'm not a truck person. I almost killed myself one day thinking it was a sports car.

At 23 I bought a 1995 300ZX non-turbo. I wanted an FD but could not find one in good shape, strange being that it had just ended US production but none the less I couldn't find one) It was beautiful, nice car ran great, I experimented with some mods and had a blast driving it until I lost it in a flood in New Orleans.

At 24 I bought a 1995 BMW E36 M3, wow! I was in love with german engineering, this car seated 5 but in every way possible out performed the 300ZX. The brakes were phenominal. I learned alot in this car but was also spoiled a bit having great performance with some luxury too.

At 27 I fell in love with the e46 bodystyle and sold the M3 and bought a 2001 330i with sport package, modded the hell out of it, loved this car more than any before it and autocrossed as well. For all around happiness, this car was it, nice performance, torquey Straight 6, great brakes and the traction control to occasionally be an idiot and have it correct me.

At 31 I kept feeling the urge to get a little race car and I had always wish I had an FD. Now with autotrader it was easier to find and after sifting through the scams on the internet, I found mine in Charlotte NC. IT HAS BEEN QUITE A LEARNING CURVE!!!! More complicated and finiky than anything I've owned. I have more time under the hood on this car than all the others combined. To get the reliability mods out of the way and a few immediate needs I had spent $5,000 before I knew it. I am currently at over $16,000 in repairs, mods, upgrades (on top of what I paid for the car) and still not quite where it needs to be. ( I would like to upgrade fuel system, eventually go non-seq and one day upgrade sound system) .

Some people just give you their opinion, I am sharing my car history with you to give you an idea of where I am coming from and why I think you should pick something else as a starter car.

Best of luck in whatever you choose.

 

I think the topic of an FD being too much car for you has been covered already.

You need to have some real cash to maintain your car and keep it running. Just because it's a Japanese car, doesn't mean it's reliable like a Honda or Toyota. This car will break you financially. Ask yourself, after you buy the car, will you be ready for a $5000 rebuild?

Because, one over heat or one bad tank of gas, as well as a whole host of things, can cause the motor to require a rebuild.

Many of us have spent tens of thousands on modding & maintaining these cars. Oh yeah, a daily driver or a beater car is most definitly needed. We don't want you to be taking the shitty school bus when your car is down for repairs. There WILL be many repairs.

 

Get an n/a FC. This topic is a weekly event. Thread closed.