bigjohn151

Hey everybody Im new to the forums and thought Ide introduce myself and ask a few questions. I'll be turning 16 in march and plan on buying my car in april and Im very interested in a 3rd Gen. Now I know about the reliability issues with rotaries but ive also read about the reliability mods and so on... so my question is, do you think it would be a good idea for me to get an rx7 as my 1st car? Im pretty sure I know the response ill get from most of you guys but when it comes to things I care about im very responsible and I wouldnt rag on it like my friends do with their civics popping vtech up and down every street. Some other cars i had on my list were an 04 wrx or an sr or rb powered 240 but they just dont have the "wow" factor that 7's do. So yeah any help would be great and sorry if this is in the wrong forum...

VegasFD

Search the forums, as this question comes weekly. You'll get our opinions on the subject quicker that way.

surfmon

iTrader: (6)

whoa, you are in p-cola.

In my opinion, you do not want this as you first car. To many factors could leave you without a car for long periods of time.

Now if you had another car to get you around while the 7 was down(It will be), that is a different story.

But for a 16 year old, I don't think an FD is a wise choice for your first car. I'd probably go with the Suby until you get a little grease under your fingernails.

just my thoughts

...........if you decide to get a 7 anyway, there are plenty of knowledgeable people right here in p-town that could give you some pointers



good luck
Travis

LUPE

Don't throw your back out.

Mr Marbles

I would say get the WRX for the first car or if you want to start learning about rotary try an FC. Dont get an FD right off because yes it will break down. Secondly its a lot of car to handle for someone who has been driving for a while, let alone your first car. That isn't meant as an offense towards you but it can be very easy to lose control in a high power rear wheel drive car. For safety and building up your driving skills get the wrx and start autocrossing and start enjoying the reliability until you can have get a FD. Good luck with whatever you decide.

bigjohn151

Yeah I just moved up here a few weeks ago from the ft lauderdale area, its not really my type of city but hey I got no choice. I figured the import scene wouldnt be as big up here there but ive seen a few evos and srt4's, even saw an FD at the movies a few nights back. I understand that the suby is probably the best car for me, reliable and safe, but I dunno, the rx7 is just too damn sexy to look over...

LUPE

Wait and see how sexy the RX7 will look sitting on jackstands.

OneRotor

iTrader: (3)

IBTL
If you're attracted to the FD from an asthetic perspective, it's the wrong car for you. It's a car that you have to love and hate it at the same time. Like it was stated before, this is NOT a good first car. Or a good second car. Or third. Get yourself something cheap as hell and rear wheel drive that you can learn on. I suggest the most expensive car you should look at is a 1g miata. It may be a chick car, but they're light and kinda fun. If you must have a rotary, get yourself a FB. They are very reliable, can be quick, and you get the crazy snap oversteer you get when you load up the rear suspension too much. It'll get you *kind* of ready for something with a little more power that will spin the tires on command.

tamers1

it's a great car go for it. i've daily driven mine for a long while..well before i found this forum. get a nice low mile car and enjoy. if you want to push it and tear on it everywhere you go..sure it will leave you stranded. learn as much as you can..study as if you had the hardest test of your life coming up. my 2 cents.

JHew84

iTrader: (9)

as others have said, get something different. An FD does not lend itself well to a novice driver/mechanic. while it is a very sexy car and would be a lot of fun to own, you will never fully appreciate it if you don't have the means to keep it nice, and you will start to dispise it when it doesn't run right, or doesn't run at all and you can't afford or figure out how to fix it. Get the WRX, have some fun, graduate from college, then get a car like an FD, its just the logical thing to do. Good luck with your searchs, hope you get something that suits you well.

binary89

Well If they don't have bad winters in pensacola then maybe, but It's certain that the 7 will probably be in a inoperable state from time to time. If your parents or friends can give you ride to school during those time then go for it. But make sure you can wrench as far as issues you could have would be turbo failure, air pump failure, motor failure, ignition system, transmission failure, Cd player not playing Cd's. Pretty much all those things could make the car undrivable, If you could work on the belt driven accessories, electrical gremlins, brakes, and change all your fluids you probably be alright. In my definition a "Daily Driver" would be a car that would be reliable and could drive in all weather conditions.

All of these contentions may seem possible but seriously get the WRX you ll get so sick of all the problems and not being able to drive your car.

Why not buy a real beater like a old corolla and pick up a 7 as well. Whats your budget?Maybe a second gen and a beater?

The 2nd week I had my FD my airpump gutted itself, Luckily a nice guy by the name of Mahjik helped me and gave me a used one for free. But beware It was a bitch to put in and it sapposed to a simple job,I kid you not I lost alot of sweat, some tears, and a little blood. Trying to bend a old rubber hose is like trying to bend a tube made from concrete.

preludesh2000

iTrader: (1)

i like this line....

aoc007

iTrader: (5)

get the wrx, then the seven when you're more experienced

whoaitzalex

Hey bigjohn151 im kinda like you too. Still in highschool, VERY intrested in FD's and planning to get it as my first car. Of course it's not a wise choice because of reliablity but it is a sexy car. Well since i have a rotary shop near my house "Lucky7Racing" so i could get most of my information them OR i could get some useful information here. I've been researching about theses FD's for a couple of months (which is mostly heat problem.). Well its your choice if you would like to get a FD but its also wise to pratice with some other car first. Even though i might get my FD in June i'll take my brother's 240sx sr20. As my pratice car first.

Good luck deciding.!

efranklin

Im 18 and ive owned my fd for about 4 months. All i can really say is, if your parents arent going to back you financially dont buy it. Ive already put 3k into repairs in 4 months (more problems on the way). Even though this car has put me into debt i absolutelly love it, and wouldnt take any other car.

As far as being young and it being your first car, i dont think that its such a big problem, this was my first rwd car (3rd car overall) and if you dont drive like an idiot you wont have problems like spinning out or losing controll.