Poll: FD Owner Current Age (2023)
 

This Poll follows a similar Poll in 2017.Please indicate which age bracket you fall in. Add a comment about your FD ownership experience!

Age Brackets:
17-23
23-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70+

This poll follows up one started by CR-REX in 2017. (see link below) How has FD ownership changed since then? Are we getting older or younger?




https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-gen-gene...r-age-1109336/

I bought my '99 Version 5 Type RB in April 2015, two weeks after retirement.

For me it has not only been the joy of owning this unique and beautiful car, but the lifestyle associated with our local vibrant rotary community and the global contact with fellow owners afforded by this site and others..

Never a dull moment!

I'm in.

Here's a hint: I was around when Prometheus started the whole "fire" fad back in the day/

I'm likely one of the youngest here at 22. I stumbled across this forum back in the fall of 2017 and quite frankly was not that interested in cars. What really got me interested was seeing all the knowledge that was contained within this website and how passionate the people behind the forum posts were. The more I read, the more made sense, and at the time, the cars were fairly priced for the most part and I told myself I'd buy one the second I graduated from college. Fast forward to the summer of 2020, I crossed paths with forum member Aarkaah who graciously took me under his wing and was able to give me first-hand experience working on these cars and the knowledge gained from his 30 some years of RX-7 ownership. Bought my car after realizing that the market was going up and that it would likely be my last chance to get one for anything remotely reasonable amount of money in May of '21.

I haven't been in the game for very long, but what I do know is that there are some extremely knowledgeable and passionate folks who are also pretty decent to be around.

The 30-39 group appear to be pulling ahead.

But last survey had 40+ as a single group. Add up the 40s plus, so far, and it is nearly 50%.

Still a small sample size though..

Last survey's drop in younger ages may have been, in part, due to people migrating to other sites.

I have not thought about my age in the past few years until calculating it now for this thread.

How did I get so old. :(

I am happy that, so far, there is a least 6 guys I can hang out with.

I can tell you there are alot more people in the 40-49 bracket than the current number implies. Much of the original crew that started this forum I'm still in contact with. The vast majority of them though hardly visit the forum anymore. Other chat programs have taken over. This being said, I still prefer to come to the forum and check out what's new or if something has changed.

I've been fortunate enough to grow with my FD and the forum since 98. It is the first vehicle I've ever bought for myself. I was very fortunate to have space to keep her in my life. Both physically and metaphorically. :) Till this day she;s been the longest standing relationship I've had in my life. I've met some of my lonest standing friends on this forum. Attended weddings, anniversaries, divorces, etc. As it stands, about half of us still own our vehicles, while the other half have had to obtain other vehicles due to their lifestyles. :)

The FD has always been my dream car and it is one that'll never leave my side. Other vehicles will come and go, but the FD is for life. :cool:

Our local rotary Whatsapp chat has been going since late 2014. We have about 170 members. I would say at least 80% are below age 39. The chat has archived over 37,000 rotary related pics. Going back through those recently, I was surprised how many cars only appear once and have not been seen again. Meanwhile, unfamiliar cars keep popping up. Based on "sightings" and currently active members, I would estimate we have about 300 FD in our area. The ICBC data base shows 250 "RX7". It is uncertain how many are FD, or whether that data is only for currently active cars.

There has been a steady conversion of original Canadian LHD to high end builds (i.e. +$100,000 spent), with mixed success. Some of these simply disappeared after being converted. Others are kicking about, likely worth much less than if they had been left stock.

I have a very similar story The FD has always been my dream car since I was a little kid playing Need for Speed Underground in 2004. When I graduated college in 2019 and started making a living wage I bought one that fall. A year later I met @DaleClark who has been a huge help.

Here is a screenshot from the survey done in the early 2000s (I believe). (Started Dec. 18, 2001 by "Dragon")

https://www.rx7club.com/attachments/...e-img_0117.jpg

Survey was in 2001. 1462 respondents.

That is a pretty good representation of the total FD ownership population.

The 2007 survey had about 263 respondents.

In 2001, the LHD fleet was 7-9 years old. Maybe many cars were just on their second owners.

The ownership pool was predominantly young (or maybe the OG were not on the internet yet?)

The FD was still in production in Japan.

The 475 people who where then in the 20-25 group have now moved to the 40-45 group :D We are getting old!

some more than others. :)

Bought my first FD in 2004 after owning FC's since '96. I felt I was late to the game then but I just simply couldn't afford one, after getting married and having a good job I was able to finance mine.

So I was 32 when I bought mine and I'm 50 now :) Time flies!

Dale

Since the question asked what's your CURRENT age bracket, I'm among the ancient 60-69'ers group. But I've been playing with rotaries for a loooooong time! My 1st rotary was an '85 GSL-SE, that I bought new at about 25 years old, next was a new '93 FD in my early 30s (had it less than a year - sold due to growing family & no back seat), then my S5T2 FC that I picked up in '99 in my late 30s which I still have, and my current FD that I picked up in 2019 in my late 50s.

Bought my first RX7 at about the same age, a new 81 ‘S’. You can do the age-math. But man…a GSL-SE? You were a baller. I was still paying off college on an entry level salary. Even the dead-pedal was an option on the ‘S’ model. :)

Not as baller as you'd think. I was also paying off a fat college loan too, but I managed to save substantially on the living expenses by sharing a big rented house with 4 other guys I worked with when i was starting out back then. So we spent most of our cash on cars, booze, women & student loans, not necessarily in that order :rofl: One of my roomies had a 2nd gen Supra, and another had an AE86, but the FB was the undisputed chic magnet. Fun times! :rofl:

Era correct "Canadian Tuxedo".

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...e7c67e8dee.jpg
Never did find that wallet.......

Spot on. I am exactly that individual you speak of. I would log into this site every couple years to poke around but really didn't start using it again until I was closer to buying again. A lot of us had kids and got caught up with life leaving the cars on the backburners until we can breath again.

I bought my first FD in 09 when I was 16.
I bought my second FD in 18 when I was 25.

Still have both. =D

28 when I bought it, 31 now.

bought mine at 24 and still have it at 36

Since we’re waxing nostalgic….how old do you have to be to know what this is?


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...91d4325ca.jpeg

I am 40 now, but I bought my RX7 when I was 22. Still have the same one and still love it. It's changed a lot over the years, but it has been a blast.

I picked mine up the day after I turned 18 and still have it at 21 :)

I am 63 years old. Bought my first RX7 in 1980, a used red 1980 FB GS (6 months old). Traded it in the fall /winter of 1985 for a new red 1986 FC GXL. Traded it in the winter of 1994 for new red 1994 FD Touring, which I still have. I have been driving RX7's now for 43 years and counting.
Mike

See below.

At that rate you will have six at sixty.

The was "pre-war", no?

That Mazda logo script is relatively recent.

So something in the last 30 years perhaps?

Looks like a tire tread depth gauge.

turning 28 fairly soon. Bought my first FD when I was 23. Been lurking on the forum since highschool since it was much more active than rx8club.

30-39s are pulling ahead.

What demographic is that?

The Fast & Furious gang?

When did "Initial D" kick in?

Will there be a "Wallmart T-Shirt" generation?


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...f092264638.jpg

These are selling out fast, locally. Better get down to Wallmart before closing time!

lol, It’s a key for the accessory louvers on the rear hatch circa 1981. Remember this was in the days before window tint and that greenhouse effect was serious in the summer. The louvers were hinged at the top to allow cleaning with a little lock/latch which took the key. I found it not long ago in the back of drawer in my old toolbox. Even took me a moment to recognize it.

I got into Rx7s in the early 2000s shortly after getting a drivers license and am 36 now. I had lusted over 3000GTs and bought a nonturbo one at 16. Drag racing was huge at the time and my Mitsubishi couldn’t hold a candle to a TII that was the fastest import at the street races and Friday nights at the strip. This was right before the first FnF movie came out.

Mischief, FnF, NFS, Gran Turismo, Sport Compact Car, Modified, Super Street, etc all made the FD seem amazing. I plain couldn’t afford one and had several FCs through college through early 30s. Friends and my wife (girlfriend at the time) all got FCs. Jamespond24 on this forum let me drive one of his FDs in 2007 or 2008 when rebuilding one of my cars and I knew I had to have one after that. I was already in the modded FC in my signature at the time. I kept that car 9 years before selling it in 2016 as part of a work relocation.

I finally purchased my FD at 35 in March of 2022. I had taken a 6 year hiatus from Rx-7s due to family, career, etc requiring having 2 cars or less.
It was Covid lockdown time and I was paying for but not driving an F80 M3 and disgusted with the payment. Modding the M3 made it way too fast for the street.

It was finally time to go back to my rotary roots. I sold the M3 and got a cheaper daily and began the search. After 8 months of looking a nice example was found less than 200 miles away that had been a long term project owned by an Rx7 enthusiast that hadn’t been all chopped up. The car was $48k.

I’ve been pouring hours and labor into the FD since then. It is all worth it as it is a forever car. They don’t build anything like this now. Get them while you still can.

Terrific story! Please plan to pop up to our Sevens Day (Westcoast Rotary) this year!

My first car was a 1957 TR3 which was bought used in 1965 when I was 20 and in Louisianan..
Second car was a 1954 WV bought in 1967 when in W. Germany.
Third car was a 1968 Alfa Romeo GT1300JR when I was in W. Germany.
Fourth was a 1967 Alfa Romeo GT1300Jr in Delaware after a radio distracted female totaled my 1968.
Fifth was a 1979 Mazda GLC in Houston. Alfa did not have A/C and the new American allowed Alfas were crap.
Sixth was a 1983 S 1.1 L model RX-7 in Houston. Ended up dynoing at 185 WHP.
Seventh is a 1992 R1 FD RX-7 bought in Houston now making over 400 WHP.
I am still here at 78 years. My wife/wifes may have had a family car but mine except for the GLC have always been sports cars.
Never give up your car dream!

Hot Danm, Son!

Bought my first fd in '15 after lusting after them since my teen years in the '90s. 950 miles round trip in one day to pick it up. Bought my next fd in '16, and still have it and love it.
The irony--my first car was a manual '93 mazda. Albeit a far cry from an fd.

Seems you bought at a good time.

My first car was an N/A FC and I always wanted an FD. After owning too many FC's, N/A and Turbo, in various stages of body condition and completion I bought my first FD that was a basket case from an old ad here out of Kentucky a month after my first child was born. I parted out my GTUs and sold my turbovert to put the cash I spent back on it back in the bank. Once home I looked the car over and then covered it up.

Two or three months before that a local Craigslist ad popped up for the first FD I ever drove, the owner wanted too much money for the condition and I passed on it. I sent her a rundown of all my recommendations for her if she kept the car and told her where I would be interested in buying it at (half her asking) not expecting a reply. I received a text in reply a little over a year later saying that she hadn't driven the car more than 300 miles in the last year because it was having trouble starting, was smoking more, and that she'd sell it to me for the number I gave her. That text came the day we were celebrating my daughter's first birthday, that week I took cash out, obtained a transport permit, grabbed my dad, and drove 45 minutes North without telling him what we were doing. When we arrived he was super pissed because he said I needed to stop messing with cars and focus on my family but after I explained I was going to sell the MB car her cooled off. I drove it home and parked it and started on the project I have stayed true to the longest.

I had neglected the MB/Tan car for most of the prior year, never getting it running or doing much work to it. I uncovered it after getting the SSM home and it was a mess inside. I cleaned it, and sold it for a profit even though it was not running.

Mid 30's here.

Is it a car, or a college education fund?

Seems there is a number of migration stories from FC to FD.

Are we now seeing a further migration to RX8 as FD become more collector items than recreational cars?

I wouldn’t say migration. I’d say adding another rotary to the stable as a natural progression. :)
I didn’t think I’d own an rx8 because the last thing I was looking to do was waste more money on a daily driver. Prices for vehicles have gotten out of hand. I thought spending over 40g’s back in 2008 when I picked up my new miata PRHT was a lot. It only lasted me 10yrs before I had to spend money again on replacing it. Don’t get me wrong, she did exceptionally well for the time I had her. Covered over 265k km’s and never gave me any headaches. She always fired right up and kept me moving. Alas, the winters up here are absolute murder on vehicles. Despite krowning the car every year, the paint in the rear quarter wheel wells was starting to peel off. It was either spend money doing a full resto on the body or attempt to find something else with less wear and tear.
People absolutely fear the rx8 which kept the prices very low. Thankfully managed to pick up an R3 in 2018 to replace my miata. Only had 50k km’s on the clock and was properly maintained. Despite having really high mileage on the Miata, I still managed to get 5g’s for her. The Miatas do hold their value. I picked up the R3 for a song. Best purchase I’ve done.
It’ll be 5yrs this May. Currently showing 102k km’s on the clock. I think she’ll be able to do another 5yrs easily. I honestly think I’ll be keeping her indefinitely. She’s an absolute joy to drive. No electronic Nannie’s whatsoever. Only the traction control. Much like I did with the Miata, it is the only button I push immediately after starting her. :)
It makes you appreciate the FD so much more. You just get in the FD and fire her up. That’s it. There’s nothing else you have to push. No electronic Nannie’s watching your every move. It’s becoming such a lost art now.
I hope to keep both rotaries going for the foreseeable future. :cool:

My thinking is when the grandson turns 15 he can have the RX8 and that will keep his hands off grandpa's rx7.

That's a good story. Mine has some parallels to yours, I too bought my FD right after my daughter was born, trying to sort of dive into a hobby that would keep me at home more (building the car). I'll never forget driving the 600 miles (each way) to Long Island with a 4 month old in an extended (not crew) cab truck. Us getting an hour or so of sleep at the hotel the night before picking up the car, drving my truck pulling a uhaul trailer through manhattan to where the car was garaged. And all the other experiences along the way. My wife and I still talk about it all the time. Wouldn't trade this experience for anything. Now, once I realized the condition of the car in the proceeding weeks, and the money spent on the restoration/build over the coming years, that is a topic for another day. Back on topic with the poll, lets just say I'm squeezing into the 30-39 category, at least for the rest of this year, lol.

So many 30-39s!

This looks like a solid core of long term owners to me!

Bump! Fishing for more stories!

Bought my Fd new in 1994 when I was 24 . First Mazda I ever owned. Worked at a Mazda specialist shop since 1989 and drove many rx7 . But when the Fd came out I fell in love with the looks that I had to buy one. Still own one to this day

Wow, long hauler!