RX7 n00b here. Help.
 

Allright, I plan on buying an RX7 later this year, and I have some questions. First off, I'm only 17, and as rediculous as this all sounds I'm really REALLY serious on getting a 3rd gen. Now, I talked to this guy and he told me that the insurance on a 3rd is considerably low given the type of vehicle it is. Now..I had a 2000 Celica and I was paying $240 a month after 2 "accidents". He promised me the insurance would be lower on a 3rd gen and his friends WITH 3rd gens had even longer records than mine. My general questions are: Insurance? High or Low? What about IF I get one, what should I first thing I do, be? I have connections with friends who work at car shops, one of my friends happens to professionally race a 1st gen RX7 in SCCA, and he's only 16. He himself just bought a 2nd gen for $600 and had about $2,500 work done for half that. He says it should push around 250hp still N/A. heh, anyways, help me out here, I'm a friggin RX7 n00b >_<
Feel free to IM me or e-mail me, cuz I'm not sure how consistent I'll be with checking this thread.

I'll say it before everyone else does. Unless you are willing to devote an ass ton of your time and money to the car and you have massive amounts of control for a 17 year old it probably isn't the right car for you. They are amazing and rewarding cars...but have a tendancy to be...money pits...for lack of a better discription. I don't see how your insurance will be 'low' after two accidents driving a two door/two seat 160 mph sports car, that is the top insurance bracket. But I may be wrong.

Re: RX7 n00b here. Help.
 

You do? How nice of you to drop by! Have you tried using the search function yet?

Well, I can certainly understand how you feel. After all, I'm really REALLY serious on getting a Ferrari 360 Modena. Its only going to put me into debt for the next 10 years of my life, so why wait until I'm older, wiser and have more disposable income? :rolleyes:

Insurance really depends on your personal factors. It may be cheap for some but not for others. Personal factors involve:
- age (17? Oh me, oh my)
- driving record (2 accidents? Not looking good here)
- gender (male, I take it?)
- car type (sports car!)
- miles driven per year (will this be your daily driver, or a weekend car?)

Why don't you call your insurance agent/company and ask? You'd get a more direct quote from then than you ever could from "Teh Intarnet".

FYI, you can use the search function for this sort of question in the future. Try it, it works.

Your friend apparently has the right mindset here. 1st and 2nd gen RX-7s are more common, parts for them are cheaper and more easily available. Repair and insurance costs for them are correspondingly lower as well. And of course, you can race a 1st gen in the Spec/Pro-7 series - a very good way to learn about car control, and a whole host of other skills and responsibilities.

Besides, are you really ready for a RWD car that puts out 255hp, with your copious amounts of driving experience? Would it not be better to get a car that is safer and that you could out-learn eventually and move up rather than a car that, right out of the box, could bite you back?

If you're not going to bother checking replies to a thread you started, I'm not going to bother emailing you either. The information I present here is for the benefit of others in a similar position as you.

I'm not trying to be snobby or stuck-up. Do a search - you'll find that there have been more posts of teenaged "n00bs" asking about whether or not they can afford a 3rd-gen RX-7 than there are days in a year.

Please - if you have to ask seriously about whether or not you can afford one, then chances are you can't. There are a lot of other better ways to spend what little disposable income you have as a 17-year-old than to get a temperamental, discontinued, high-performance, impractical, foreign sports car that has questionable reliability.

</soapbox>

edit: quote formatting

Everyone take a deep breath before responding to this thread.



The 3rd gen RX-7 is not just a sportscar, it's a hobby. Think of the price of the car as the INITIAL COST. These cars are difficult and expensive to maintain, especially on top of their astronomical insurance and fuel consumption needs. No one in here can be your parents, and you'll likely shrug off our dogmatic warnings. If you don't listen to anything else anyone here says, then please hear me out: just step away from buying this car right away and HANG AROUND THIS FORUM for a while. You'll at least get a better idea of what you're jumping into. Seriously, this car is a BIG move.

no joke. There's no reason to be an ass to the guy - at least his question was well put with half way decent spelling and grammar. ;)

insurance: very high, will deffinitely be more than your celica
maintenance: probably the most expensive japanese car there is (as far as up keep goes)
first things to do: read the stickies at the top of this forum - there's lots of must do's... in the neighborhood of $800-1000 right off the bat for a completly untouched car.

I have to admit, there are some people in the 17 year old range with prior accidents that have pretty low insurance, it really is specific to where you life and who your agent is. Jumprdude got a bit carried away, but like jonski said it would benifit you the most to hang out on this forum for a few months. read posts, asks questions and get a feel for what you are in for. I'm a full time college student, work 25 hours a week, and spend every penny on this car...and I couldn't be happier. But not everyone could say that!

WHY the fuck do you people like like repeating your age as if it's supposed to impress us.

You're buying a sports car at 17.

Whop-te-fucking do.

Constantly reminding us that you are 17 will result in the anti-teenage sentiment that is already growing.

I know of plenty of friends who bought FD's at teenage years and I have no problems with them. WHY? Because they actually sound like they knew what they weren't doing, not posting bullshit threads waiting asking, do you think I can afford it, OVER and OVER and OVER.

BTW jumprdude nice post! Abso-fucking-lutely agree

So you are 17, and you have already had 2 accidents!!

Please don't buy an RX7. You will most likely destroy it, and injure or kill yourself or someone else.

Learn to drive first, without running into ANYTHING!!

If you can go for 3 years without ANY accidents, then think about an RX7, any rx7.

Have a celica GTS and and FD sitting in my garage. YOU WILL PAY MORE FOR THE FD. Who ever told you insurance cost less for an FD is a retard.

Second that brother.

I wanted an FD since '95...when I couldn't drive, yet. Wait, get it when you can afford it and after you know how to drive.

Jesus Christ you guys aren't very optimistic people are you..It's like I was just kicked in the balls or something. I am asking simple questions here, and being that it is my FIRST time on this site ever it's like you're expecting me to know all this shit already. Jebus Christmas. I've got time, and I've got patience. I turn 18 in Nov, and I probably won't have a car at all until around that time. First off, let me just say that it will all be under my mom's name. She has a clean record, never been in an accident her entire life. Now I'm only making a point in saying this, but she's paying $75 a month for a 23 year old, a 21 year old, and myself to drive a 1997 Corolla. I know it's not sports car, but I'm trying to make a point. I know the RX7 is a high end car, but shouldn't the fact that it's 10 years old play a part in the insurance rate? My insurance was considerably low on my Celica considering it was a 2000, 2,500lb sports car. I know I made a big friggin mistake in my driving and that's why I got in an accident, but I've learned enough from that accident that I believe I will drive much more responsibly. I'm comin' home from a friend's house on the same road I wrecked on in my mom's car, I see a cop parked on the side of the road. "Oh Shit...wait..I'm goin 34 in a 35." My point is, I'm not going to jump the gun and go buy the first one I see, I can't even if I wanted to. I DO plan on reading these forums up, down, left, and right before I make any decisions towards purchasing a 3rd gen. All I'm asking from you guys is some understanding for my situation. I'm just at the age where cars are becoming my life, ya know? I always liked cars, ever since I was little, like most of you. To me, a 3rd gen is a dream car, a project car, and even more than that. I don't plan on flyin by cops at 85 ina 45 or anything like that. I'm not some spoiled rich kid drivin a riced out Honda thinkin he's a baddass. I made a mistake, and I learned from it. I'm sure you've ALL made mistakes too but continued to go for what you wanted in life. Give me a break, and just help me to achieve a dream...n' stuff. Geez, I outta write a book or something. :P

Oops, I accidently put up the post twice. Just disregard this post. Sorry.

A 2000 Celica only weighs 2500lbs??? :confused:

I know it's rare for me to post... but i gotta say something, even if it doesn't make sence.
ok, Engberg is right on this... this is an expensive car... and all this stuff, bla bla bla this is nothing that you haven't heard before.
LionheartC2K is a RX-7 noob... the FIRST time he has ever been to the site and people who are just looking to be assholes about something as small as someone asking a question. Be nice to him. He knows very little about the Rotary preformance and what-not. You were just as him back in the day.

AND IT IS POSSIBLE for a 17 yr old to own a 3rd gen, just money consumeing.
LionheartC2K... I wouldn't recomend it, get a 95 mustang cobra and save money. Cheaper all around for you. Now if you're ready to get a job and spend almost all of your money into that car. Then go right ahead.

just my 2 cents

yes. Pretty impressive, huh?

I just found that out recently myself when researching its engine. I was totally surprised. If they had an even moderately decent power curve, they would be fantastic cars.

Young man, there is some good advice here, just don't get pissed off at the old guys.....

Wuzzz up brian, I need to e-mail you.

Just something to add about insurance costs on a 3rd gen...what about 2 speeding tickets for a kid thats 17? any guesses?

I don't think I would still be here if i had my FD at 17. jeez, I wasn't even a speeder until i got the FD. Now it's like open road!!! WHOOOAAA!!! And I'm freakin 31...

I only have 1 ticket on my record which is for reckless driving. It's for my accident in my Celica. Thanks for the backup, Sirkus. You sound like this kid I know named Eric who drives a 2nd gen N/A, and is really cool. hmm *BIG COUGH* Yea, well anyways. 2 accidents rose my insurance on my Celica by $40 a month, but It's almost already been a year since my accident which was on Halloween and I can promise to ANY of you older more mature 3rd gen owners, that I WILL take care of this car. And when it comes to 17 year olds..I've seen em' drivin' WRX's, 2000+ Cobra's, and more...so, ANYTHING is possible. I have faith..blah

know the car.... respect its boundaries and it will be the car you dream of.....this car will own you......

Read as much info as you can before you get the car, there are a lot of sites mentioned by members of this forum that are extremely helpful, also this forum is a great source of info about this car, i have been here about a year and learned a tremendous amount. I too will be looking for an FD this summer when I turn 17, I have realized how much attention the car needs, but its a labor of love. So best of luck to you.

I dunno man, you do have a kinda shaky driving record. Mine's clean, I have two cars, and I'm still paying out of every pocket I have for insurance. Good thing I don't spend my money on anything else yet. Anyways, I've only had mine for a little bit and I can tell you that it's a whole lot of car to handle just starting out. I had a 2000 Eclipse for 2 years before buying my Jeep and my FD. For me, even though I kinda do regret paying for the new car, I believe that driving the slower car around gave me better driving experience. I probably still shouldn't be driving this much power around on a daily basis, but I am. So if it is what you want to do, then I say go ahead and do it, but you really really have to be able to show restraint because you can get well past the speed limit in a big hurry if you are not careful. That was originally going to be my 2 cents, but it turned out to be more like a quarter. Oh well...

Save your money!! car=13-16 mpg with gas prices now a days=$$$ Insurance =$$$$$ Reliability mods=$$$$
the damned registration for mine was over a grand..I dont know about you guys..but this car costs money

Look man, people on this forum are kind of harsh. Here's the deal... your insurance is going to be out the ass, plain and simple. The Rx-7 requires constant upkeep and maintenance, it is an extremely fragile automobile in almost all respects. Is it impossible for an 18-year-old to be a successful Rx owner? No. I got my first Rx when I was 19 and I would probably still have it today if it didn't get stolen. Now I am 25 and I am on my 2nd Rx that I keep in a garage and only drive on nice days (it's my second car). I still end up paying a great deal of money and I only drive it about once a week. My point is that while it is unlikely that you will be able to afford/maintain/drive safely/etc. an Rx, it is not impossible. Don't rush, research, and listen to the people in this forum, they have a great deal of knowledge about this car.
PS-people on this forum don't like it when you post before you search. In case you haven’t figured that out by now.

Amen,

I read your initial post LionheartC2K, and thought that the harsh responses were fitting. After reading your next few, I think that this is the one for you.

James

Don't worry about it. I went through the samething. My very first thread was ignored. My second thread (same topic, different title) was full of comments about using the search engine, and about not showing gratitude. Sometimes I would forget to thank the people who helped me out. Not that I was ungreatful, just that I didn't type it out so people thought I was being an info spounge. After about a month people get to know you, and not all will like you. It's impossible to be liked by everyone so don't take it personally. Look at it as I do. You won't even meet 99% of these people on this forum so if they piss you of, just turn off the computer go outside or try to do something else. These people here can only speak their minds and state their opinions but they don't have to effect your life or your decisions. If you want an Rx7 buy one. I bought the first one I saw. I knew nothing about them or the rotary engine and I didn't care what the people said to me here. I took their advice and ignored the rest of the jerks. Whenever I got mad I would step outside and just stare at my fd. Sometimes I sat in it till I calmed down. I love these cars and you will too if you get you're hands on one. Just do your research and you will be just fine. Welcome to the forum. :D

with two accidents in fwd cars I think a rwd TT with dangerous boost spike at transition is the obvious answer...GOOD LUCK!

EDIT: btw, I'm 19 and only pay less than $100/month for liability, comprehensive and collision with high coverage amounts AND liability only on my honda beater. I don't know about you since you've been in two accidents but it's true what you were told about the FD being cheap, they just consider it a $16,000 10 year old car. When I first got insurance at 17 I was paying 115/month just for liability only on my honda...

I don't think the fact that it is a 10 year old car will help your insurance. It is a 10 year old 17K+ car. They have to protect themselves and if you total it they are out of 17K, where as if it was a 10 year old, say eclipse GSX, they would only be out a couple of grand if you totalled. They also have to look out for who you hit, who you may kill, and the fact that you may kill yourself. With a kid with 2 accidents driving an FD the factor on all of those goes up greatly. But it will be under your mom...but she also will have to insure a 21, and 17 year old on the car right? Both male? When I was in highschool I had to be put on my own plan because I rose my family insurance through the roof, driving my moms '94 mustang gt convertible, and I was the only 'non-adult' on the plan.

Oh boy!! It's a "post cruel advice" thread.
My turn!! My Turn!!!
-----------------------------------
Don't spend any money on an FD until you've....

A) Moved out of your Mommy's house.
B) Got a college degree
C) Got a full-time job.
D) Bought a house.

Then you'll be wise and rich enough to be a proper caretaker of an FD.

IMHO, More than half of the first cars bought by males under the age of 20 end up in the junkyard in a couple of years. An FD doesn't deserve an owner like that.

Yea. I'm really in no rush to get the RX-7, I'm not going to rip myself either. 1993 FD with 80k+ miles goin for $15,000+? Forget that...bluebook is around $7,000 at a dealer. I actually won't even be able to drive till August anyways, because the judge I had decided to make an example out of me..sucked. A kid from my school was there the same day for multiple speeding tickets and I think 2 DUI's..he lost his license for 30 days I think? Yea...kids like THAT don't deserve to drive. I made a HUGE mistake the night of my accident, but unlike others, I've actually learned more than a great deal from it. Honestly, I'm not one for speeding anyways, I never was. The thrill and excitement of speeding around those turns is what had me, but it's not like I was driving like that daily. I had actually done it before and so I thought I would be OK, yea, big mistake in judgement aparently. Anyways, I know what I'm getting into here with wanting an RX-7, but I don't drive any more than maybe 100ish miles a week anyways, school and back is 10 a day, and maybe about 60 miles in all on the weekends. I don't plan on going out every night like I used to with my Celica, that was a mistake too, which effected my performance in school. I now it sounds wrong for me to say so, but I believe I would take good care of the car, I never took my Celica for granted, I'll tell you that much. Unlike others who tire of driving, I loved every minute of cruising while listening to music. That's gotta be one of the best feelings in the world. Can I get an Amen? lol..

well although i agree with some of your points, im 19 and have an FD, even tho im in england, its not cheap to run, all my money from my job goes towards insurance, fuel which its not kind on, replacement bits and bobs and just lots of TLC.

now this is the most hard to care for car you could imagine. i have to check the oil weekly cos it eats it.

i've done numerous race car training courses so i am lucky to have that when im driving this car but it is VERY rapid and easy to lose control of.

my advice is if you get 1 dont get cocky and arse about in it to show off, or race it for at least 6-12 months cos it really does take that long to get used to.

but it is an amazing car, just dont wreck it cos there isnt enough of them in the world as it is

WTF, your not going to rip yourself? blue book for only 7k??? It really does not sound like you can afford this car right now with statements like that. If I were you, I would not get a FD. Also, just for your info, a good FD is worth more then 15k! Apparently your going for a salvage fd or one in major rust/neglect...

BTW: 2 accidents is still 2 accidents. Who wants to bet that his future FD is gonna be accident #3???

>_< Again, with the negativity. I never was one for racing, and although I'm sure it'd be tempting in the FD, I'm not dumb enough to race a car I'm not even comfortable driving normally yet. I'm not a friggin' idiot. NONE of you here can say you've never made a mistake before, if not at least 1 driving mistake. I'm young, I know, I've learned enough not to make the same mistake. I don't plan on racing up and down busy streets every night, I'm not like that. I've got months to earn some money for a down payment because I've gotta get one at a dealer, which I found is surprisingly not that hard. I can basically afford up to $15,000, but I have seen them cheaper. Insurance will be the deciding factor, but hey, I've got patience. The FD is a dream car for me, and dreams come true, so I'm in no rush. Unfortunatly due to some recent info from my mom, regarding insurance, I just might have to go solo if possible. But at least when I turn 18 I can apply for a credit card and maybe some loans or something to pay for any initial costs if I get an FD.

I'm glad this kid is getting some slack. He's better than most newbies that come on the board. I bought my FD when I was 17. And all I can say is be prepared for investing alot of time and money into it. I'm lucky enough to have gotten one with a warranty. And insurance probably won't be cheaper on the FD over the Celica as most have stated. I got a clean record and my insurance is 120 a month under my parents name. Its well over 300 a month under mine. You're not going to want to total an RX7, cause I imagine insurance won't give you much. Does anyone know more on that?
Nick

Let me give you some advice as a kid your age. I'm 18 now but I got an FD when I was 17. I went through two cars before I got it, gaining experience with manual tranmission and rear wheel drive.

I however have a perfect driving record with no tickets and accidents. I'm not saying I'm much more capable to drive this car than you but this car is not an easy car to drive. You can very easily loose control and you will constantly be tempted to GO FAST.

It is light, it is fast, it is agile, and because of this it requires a lot of caution. YOU CAN NOT FUCK AROUND WITH AN FD. YOU MUST KNOW HOW TO CONTROL IT.

My advice is if you really think your ready for this huge responsibility then go for it - but REALLY think about it first.

Listen to the man! he knows what he wants and he's gonna get y golly!


On a serious note FDs are expensive...I have had mine a couple months short of a year and already have close to 30k invested. Ouch! I don't know about you but I sure didn't have that kind of disposable income when I was 17...I was too busy teaching retarded tourists how to dive trying to save for a new surfboard :D

Here's my .02 cents. I'm 19 i have an FD, a beautiful 93 Red 5spd. I bought it with my own money all 10k dollars of it, i pay my own way through life insurance and everything, which runs me about 250 a month for a clean record. I am having the engine rebuilt at Pineapple Racing as we speak. Do i deserve to have this car yes becuase i know i can maintain it and i love it more than just about anything in life. It is my dream car and im willing to do anything to keep it. you have to ask yourself are u willing to make the same sacrifice?

PS im from Marietta Ga when i get it running again ill take ya for a run in it LionHeart.

An yeah im in college at Kennesaw State. Get a scholarship the money you save can buy u those reliabilty mods and that big FAT M2 large intercooler your gonna get. Gotta share the love. Lighten up folks i have learned everything i know about the car from searching on the forum and yeah there are things you just cant find thats when you ask.

i say screw the insurance and just get bare minimum. insurance companies are like casinos because the odds are always in their favor except that you can never really win because they will find a way to jack you no matter what. Theyre also a lot less fun. I have only used bare minimum insurance since i got my FD 7 years ago. With all the money ive saved by not buying full coverage i probably could have bought two more FD's by now.

See now YOU guys are the kinda people I would hang out with cuz you've got optimism like me, lol. I've got a friend who lives on the KSU campus, he drives the white Integra with the bright ass lights, and the smoothe curves, AZN kid, hehe. Anyways, yea hit me up on AIM, my s/n is the same as it is on here. My mom is currently using 2 insurance companies because just to add my 21 year old brother with a book-long record to her 2001 Camry would be like $200 a month. The only coverage I want on an FD, if I get one, would be for if someone steals the car, if I wreck the car (just in case ^_^), and if someone else hits it...I don't know the terms and all, but what kind of coverage is that? $240 a month after my 2 accidents for my 2000 Celica to have FULL coverage. I've been in my fair share of fast cars too, by the way, and I've driven RWD cars in the rain, so I know how hard that is to get used to. I know what take-off is: '95 3000GT VR-4 is a good neck-snapper, and I rode in one of the modded TT Supra's that used to roam Barret Pkwy.. I want the RX7 for a couple reasons. Now, I know I'll be tempted to speed, and unfortunately I'm sure I will at times, but don't act as if you guys haven't "tested the limits" before. I don't plan on zooming on curvy roads, God no, forget that. I would love to see what it's like on a real drag strip, for example. I'm also interested in circuit racing, I'd love to learn how to drift. On streets, the only thing I would use the speed for is maybe to shut up some ricers and Mustang owners who think they're baddasses, but I'm not talkin 100mph in a 40mph zone. lol, more like a "Hi...BYE!" ^_^ LOL...I know the FD has MASSIVE potential, and I plan not just to unleash that potential, but to SAFELY control it.

Agreed...BIG time.

I need to meet some 3rd gen RX-7 owners in my area. If you are one, hit me up on AIM. LionheartC2K is my s/n, we'll see about meetin' up or something. I could really use some hands-on experience with being in an RX7 n' stuff