i really want to get a 3rd gen soon (lude got stolen) but all my friends say its a huge headache..i was thinking if i got the apexi ECU, dp, exhaust, and strong apex seals id be fine for a while...i need a somewhat reliable car...

other choice is a new WRX..what u think?

 

If you are concerned with reliability, then don't get the car. If you want a pure sports car, get it.

 

Can be a headache at times, but the rewards far outway the headaches, I hope . I wouldnt recoment getting a 3rd gen as your only car they sometime spend time down for routine and non routine maintainance.

 

if you are mechanically inclined, and/or have money to pay someone to do routine maintenance, and/or would actually keep track of maintenance that needs to be done, then yeah, get the 7.

If you want to just get in, go, and park - then get a new car with a warranty (like the WRX). WRX is a good car, good performance numbers and a lot of people like them.

 

If you have the money, go for it. FD's are cheap to buy, but expensive to maintain, and the insurance is outrageous. Apex seals can only be installed during an engine rebuild.

Expect insurance to be 150-200 a month for full coverage for a younger driver. Also expect to spend at least 2-3k in the first year of owning an FD in simply getting it to run correctly and make it safer/more reliable.

Modesto eh? Some kids I wound up buying beer for were asking about my car when i was stopped over there to get gas n Carls Jr. I remember some guy had a lot of questions about prices...was that you?

 

Everybody above speaks the truth. I'm getting a second car.
Jim

 

Also, its best to have a cheap daily driver for when the FD is down for repairs. I think it's safe to say that our cars are up on jackstands being worked on for at least a couple months per year

 

I daily drive the hell outta mine, and have yet to have a problem... 10 months of DD now... Including a 900+ mile drive to St.Louis. But, I might be lucky...

 

is it worth it?

abso-*******-lutely.

 

I agree with what everyone else is saying.

My R1 was my DD for over 3 years and 60k miles.

That said, instead of dropping 20 some thousand on a wrx, get an FD in good shape for 15-17k and get a 90-91 Prelude si as your DD for 3-5k.

My crx is a lifesaver now (savings on gas alone pay for insurance)....who wants to put useless miles on the FD going grocery shopping?

 

ok heres a cost breakdown of things that need to be done on a newly bought FD

oil change : $7-40 (depending on oil)
silicone hose job : $150 (for just the hoses)
downpipe : $200-300
radiator flush/change : $~40
tranny + diff fluids : $~50
spark plugs : $~30
aluminum AST : $150
upgrade radiator : $250-400
boost gauge : $25-170
fuel filter : $20

total up to 1350, and thats if you do all the work yourself. If you dont know how to work on a car or do not have the patience nor the time...paying someone to do it...pretty much doubles the cost

if the engine blows up, its usually anywhere from 3500-5000 to have one rebuilt and installed.

and yes... owning an FD is definitely worth it

 

I've had my fd for 3 years now, bought it with 67k and it now has 103k on the od. It hasn't been down for any extended periods. Once for three days when I replaced the lower intake manifold gasket, installed a downpipe, and did the vacuum hose job. And a large part of that wait was because I broke a solenoid and had to get a new one and because I left one hose off of the wastegate and had to go back in and find that. Overall it has been pretty good. I've upgraded my intake, intercooler, and have a pfc now. I do have a broken motor mount and an oil leak now but they don't stop the car from running. I just bought my wife a new car so I now have a neon that gets 35 mpg and takes some of the load off of the 7. But it is possible to drive the 7 daily for several years. Just make sure you learn all that you can about the car and use this fourm, etc to save yourself time and a lot of frustration... The WRX is a nice car as well, very fast, a little ford escortis for my liking, but would be reliable. But if you spend the 25k and get a very nice 7 you should be ok too, or 15k and save the rest for potential issues which hopefully won't arrise... Good luck.

 

well the thing is i will be droping ALOT of money into it, like 4-600 a month on aftermarket....on my honda i worked on in every weekend..its fun for me to work on cars...

 

Your lucky! Once, my brothers FD was down for 3 months because it took that long for us to get a metal AST tank .

In anycase, yes it's worth it, no other car performs/handles quite like a FD, at least no car I have driven in as of yet.

Plus, it should not be that expensive or that much of a headache. If you don't wanna deal with the headaches, just pay someone to do the work for you. It's really not that expensive compared to the service charge for some of the other cars out there like from BMW or for a Benz.

 

If you have a lot of money to spend on it and like to work on cars on the weekends then by all means, go for it. Just don't get mad when you're buying replacement parts to fix broken things and not on go-fast parts. Its tempting to ignore the stock stuff that is broken to try and go faster but hey, a stock FD is already faster than just about any prelude modded or not, so you're way ahead of the game . That and you're friends will be jealous as hell .

 

Maybe we should show him how much Mazda wants for replacement parts before we encourage him to get one... lol

 

I fix and tinker with my FD at least every other day . No matter how much of a soap opera the car puts me through the feeling of its power putting me back in my seat every time i shift through the gears is worth every burn and cut it gives me . If I could own ANY car it would be my 94 FD3 .

 

I used to have a 95 supra, then a 98 vette but 93 rx7 is the best sports car by far!

 

Run away as fast as yer legs will take you. Get out! *evil grin*

 

I could let you humiliate yourself a bit longer with your "lingo", but it's "FD3S" ... not "FD3." There is no such thing as an "FD3." "eff-dee-three-ess" ... not "eff-dee-threes" ... "FD3S" is not the plural form of "FD3."

 

You tell 'em, DK.

 

Geez, maybe he just mispelled it!

 

My 93 CYM R1 has just rolled over 50k, I've autocrossed it avidly for the last 3.5 years, and it's given me next to no trouble, with only the expansion tank cracking (dealer had a new one in two days) and a couple of the vac. hoses popping off. It's bone stock, with only a K&N add on, so maybe that's why. But it's probably the most realible car I've ever owned!

 

It would probably be more reliable with the addition of an aftermarket radiator. That helped my water temps quite a bit!

 

Wow, isn't is amazing how the oens saying that it's reliable are the one's DDing it? That's quite odd .