kuroi FD

18-20 for an fd, rx8's are 19 around here.

dclin

iTrader: (4)

Ok, sorry if this offends any Dodge/Chrysler owners, but more reliable? No. Sorry. Don't think so. Not by a long shot. I'd actually feel more secure driving the FD as a DD.

Rallimike makes a very valid point.

skir2222

735$ every 2 months just liability under my own name

Shinobi-X

If your commute is only 8 miles, you may want to let your insurance company know (if not already). I don't know who your carrier is, but some insurance companies give decent discounts for traveling distances that short.

EL5Letra

how..can you lose control of an rx8! it has a great break system, awesome traction control ? you want a third gen? try all over again but with a 79 corolla . learn rwd without all that power and all that assist. this way atleast if you wreck its an old skool car and you can hammer out most of the dents out .

Nat6c

iTrader: (1)

*ahem* *flame suit on* My personal opinion whether the accident is/isn't your fault. who cares. as long as you realize, you need to be more aware/careful of the evironment then coo. I'm 20 yrs old. own a 93 FD Vintage red. i pay 400$ a mo. loan and 380$ a month insurance That i WORK AND PAY for myself.I dont' know why ppl complain about maintenance/hard to drive and scary. I maintain my 7 lik ea normal cari would, and drive it like a normal car. never had a problem or failure. reliability is up to you and how the car act whether it's forgiving or not it's your own control that makes the car do what it does. If you can handle the car note and insurance and won't bitch about it in 3 months b/c you ay alot and prefer going clubbing or whatever. then go for it bro. **** happens. get up again, brush your shoulder off and move on. i work 50-55 hours a week. But i enjoy working for my car. if you love fd's that much to do it go for it. i get flamed all the time for being a "young punk kid" that drives an fd. i get it from the club in houston. i get it on the forum. but whatever. i even get it while i'm on the streets. i roll windows down and someone will yell. hey momma's buy you that car?? and i'm like nope. pay for it myself. thanks for playing

i understand these guys opinions b/c they "cherish" their car. etc etc. but hey. gotta worry abotu yerself. if they dont' accept you. either follow the crowd or lead your own way. my .02 cents.

BTW. i DD mine
* Flame ON!*

Los

XSTransAm

just wait till you drop a apex seal or a coolant ring goes bad. Then let us know how you feel.

Its not a matter of if, its a matter of when.

Nat6c

iTrader: (1)

if and when that happens i'll pull it out. rebuild it maself. and move on with life just like all my other motors that i'v gotten greedy with. it's a fact of life. Rebuild kits aren't that expensive considering it's such a "special"engine. rotaries are easier to rebuild then a piston engine b/c there's less stuff to worry about. just gotta wory more on specs and tediousness. but tis' just me, i try not to sweat simple things. Know what i'm saying?


Los

OKRX-7

You need to look into how your going to pay for an FD for start. Unless your paying cash straight up, your probably going to have a really hard time getting a loan on a car that is over 10 years old.

I know I couldn't find one locally when I bought mine. And even if you do find someone to loan you the money, you might be suprised the rates they are going to stick you with.

In fact, I wish you luck buying a car at this point in time without a co-signer.

You need a reliable daily driver while your in college, there is plenty of time for sports cars after you graduate.

BryanDowns

iTrader: (2)

Hopefully I'm not cursing myself here, but -

How are you guys getting such a high insurance price?? I am 23, have two cars insured in my name. A 94 Miata full coverage, and the 93 Rx7 full coverage. The miata is $120/month, the FD is $130/month.

No wrecks, clean record, ect ect.

Also, to the original poster: How are you as a college student going to afford this 15-20k car without your parents help? Have you had a job before? The average 18-19yr old college student type part time job will not pay NEARLY enough for you to pay for a 15-20k car along with insurance. I still dont own a 15k car, and I'm older and being paid ALOT more than the average student gets at their part time jobs.

Nat6c

iTrader: (1)

city county and state have alot to do with insurance. hosuton rapes in insurance. My problem is i have 1 damn ticket, 17 over limit. so it jacks my insurance up 700$. but i rememebered i'm married my common law so geico gave me a discount. used to be 1800 a 6 mo now i'm 1300 6 mo. when my ticket goes away i'll be around 800 every 6 mo thanks god....... car note's a bitch though. : cry :
oh well i just bend over and take it. not much of a choice =-) funny thing is though.



Los

turbojeff

iTrader: (30)

When I was 19 I bought a new car, $287/mo for the car and $185/mo for insurance. Now this is getting close to 20yrs ago (1988) so factor some inflation in.

Hindsight is 20/20 so I can now say... it would be a MUCH better idea to buy a house than to screw around paying $780/mo for that car.

In TX you can probably find a house easily for what you pay in rent and car expenses...

Nat6c

iTrader: (1)

true. well here in katy it's 1200 a mo complete for a 3200 squareft 2 floor.
Smaller houses or older houses like 3-5 + are around 800 a month. maybe less depending on credit. apartments start at 500 to god knows what.


Los

fd0

iTrader: (8)

Ah yes, but can you drive it?

Seriously, check insurance rates before buying any car. There are many people who buy cars before really checking the insurance rates on cars and then have to go sell it right away losing more money.

BTW, WRX's can be found for cheap these days used but the insurance rate is really high. Imagine a lot of youngin's able to afford a cheap turbo AWD used car and deciding to be like Collin McRae on the streets and crashing them!

Good luck!

Heisenberg

iTrader: (3)

I am 26 and have full coverage on a 94 Honda Prelude and Full coverage on my FD. I pay under $200 a month for both cars. You actually should get a discount for having coverage on two cars. Im assuming you are using your miata as your primary driver and the FD as a part time driver. When i added the FD it really diddnt raise the cost as much as i thought it would. I just told them how many miles a year i thought i would be driving the FD and they based it on that. I bet my insurance would be way higher if i had the FD as my primary driver. I think you actually save alot of money if you have a little grocery getter.

When i bought my prelude a few years back i was drivin an older integra and had insurance on both my integra and prelude. when i canceled the coverage on my integra my insurance went up. go figure.

dclin

iTrader: (4)

The operative word here is 'college'. He is in college, and he is looking for a reliable car that is also fun, and preferably a rotary. That is the jist of this thread.

You pay $780 a month and work 50-55 hours a week to DD an FD. You have the capability and time to rebuild the engine should it fail. All this is terrific, but it doesn't really apply to someone who will be (or should be) studying 50-55 hours a week, and spending at least $780 a month on Redbull.

Some of us are trying to give him the benefit of hindsight that we've gained simply by living through similar life circumstances. Though only he will know of his exact reason for going to college, we can only assume that the general idea behind going to college is to build a future for himself (and a family should he choose) that will have more potential then had he not. It has been stated many times on this forum - an FD is generally NOT a good car for somebody going to college.

Of course, if he was filthy rich, he could probably own one (or 5) through college. Throw it in da gutta, go buy anotha. Apparently he has a budget though, so I would say that this is not the case. Maybe he has the benefit of belonging to a family that owns a chain of rotary performance shops across the the bible belt. Wouldn't have to ever worry about a rebuild. Didn't hear him mention it, so my guess is no. Or maybe he has a deceased, distant relative on his mother's side that stashed away a pride of FDs in a climate controlled warehouse, and willed him a spanking new FD everytime an engine pops or at the completion of a semester - which ever came first. Maybe not.

Given that none of (and nothing close to) the above scenarios apply to him, it's only reasonable that we suggest he look at other alternatives other then the FD. An FD is simply too needy, too costly, and too much of a headache for a budget minded college student that hopefully has purpose behind pursuing that degree.

Are you suggesting he quit college and work 50-55 hours/week to get an FD?

WolfpackFD3S

Some of you guys have super high insurance, I am 20 and I only pay a hair over $500 for 6 months of full coverage for the FD.

AYU

I had two FDs for awhile and my insurance rates for the 94 was cheaper than the 93. I believe this was due to the fact the the last 2 model years had dual air bags.

I think all the guys here have said it well. While it's not nearly as pricey as some cars to purchase, it's expensive to own an FD. It's awesome car to own if you're willing to put up with it's quirks. DOn't mean to preach but you have to think about where you are in your life and owning a car like this could set you back in your education. Invest in your future first. You'll have plenty of time and money to waste on cars later.

rynberg

Not everyone lives in "the sticks" guys....try moving to a metropolitan area and see what your insurance costs.

As far as my 2 cents on this thread go, you don't just lose control of a car driving "normally". If you do, you have a lot to learn about driving and an FD is most likely not for you.

In any case, as the rest of us "older" guys have stated, trying to own a car like an FD through college without "financial assistance" is simply not worth it.

SomeGuy_sg

I see a civic in your future ...... There are already too few rx 7 already

" Save a 7 , Buy a Civic "

fritts

iTrader: (5)

I see everyone's insurance and think damn. 27 years old Integra GSR as my DD and a 93 RX-7 for the play toy. Full coverage on my 7 289 every 6 months.

TwinTriangles

Wrecked your 8 and now you want a 7...?
Sweet, buy an FD and wreck that too, I'm trying to keep the value of mine up...

YoshiFD3S

iTrader: (19)

Well, since we're getting into life stories, here's mine.

I used to own a ~300rwhp '88 S4/S5 hybrid Turbo II, and ever since I sold it earlier this year, I've always wanted to own another FC. My financial situation has improved so much since those times, to where I can realistically afford the loan payments and insurance to finance a car. I was about to go with another Turbo II, but I have yet to find any good deals on any S5's.

And then miraculously...I just secured a full-time position at my work and a nice raise. Making about $1,400-$1,600 or so a month isn't too bad for a 19, coming on 20 year old. I love my job, so job-security and "Where is the money gonna come from later?" don't scare me. I've been living on my own for about 6 months now. It's been tough, but I enjoy the freedom. Although I can't say I don't get frustrated with my roomates every now and then.

The finance company I am working with this very minute, in order to get a loan for a local FD, says that the FD I'm looking at is valued roughly at $11k, which is about what the guy is asking..However, the finance company will only own 80% supposedly, which brings down the actual loan amount to 9k.

It IS harder to get a loan for an older vehicle, mainly because as we all know, RX-7's in general are collector's vehicles, but these finance companies can't go by that. They go by dumb **** like Kelly Blue Book retail value.

I had applied for a Personal Loan with my mom as a co-signer, for $12,000, as to have a few $100 more than the guy is asking for his FD, but we were declined. Due mostly to my insufficient credit history and lack of "Net Worth". My mom makes fairly good income for her age, owns a house, a car, etc etc...but yeah...Personal Loans are hard to get.

The Credit Union we tried to use will not do an Auto Loan where the car is Collateral, because the car IS older than '99. I'm pointing this out because the whole "car is older than XXXX...so the loan company will/won't..." things that you guys are bringing up.

So here I am. $9k through a finance company. They hold the title (which does suck). My brother who has used them twice before is willing to spot me the other $2-$2.5k I need to get the car...

Monthly Payments
Car Payment: $9,000 + Interest (forgot rate) / over 36 months = $361.29
Insurance Payment: Consistant $240 a month for full-coverage.
((That'd be with 3 otherl cars on insurance: '89 Honda Accord DX, '78 Datsun 280Z, '85 Nissan 20SX))

P.S. IF you can get a personal loan, the key benefits to a personal loan are that full-coverage insurance is not mandatory. In an Auto Loan, they WILL put a lien on the title, and hold it until you pay them off, and you WILL have to pay full-coverage insurance.

I'll be finding out today if my brother can get his loan without having to put his Datsun up as collateral...

SOON!!!! I will have my FD...it's been my dream car for about 5 years now. Ever since I started driving. I never see FD's here in Georgia, but every time I'd go to Florida to visit my dad I'd see at least one and I'd go "OMG DAD LOOK!! THAT'S MY FAVORITE CAR!!!"

Wish me luck!

Nat6c

iTrader: (1)

i hate all of you with your $300/6mo ins..... bastards.....


Btw. I'd never say to drop college for a car. not if your pursuing college for a "better" future. My only quirel is that if you Really Really wanna do. go for it. but i do agree with the rest. if college is your main and true goal for now. just wait. we'll be around. just may be less of us


btw i dont' work only for my car. for my age i make a pretty decent amount of money. No i'm not bragging about it. just don't want ya'll thinking I work this hard JUST for a car. i do have a life

good luck though however your wish to persue your life. join wonderful. wait a little longer. wonderful as well

Los
Edit: BTW Dclin, very well put

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

I hope the original poster keeps a few things in mind (aka unsolicited advice):

1) Although it's been said the 'anything is possible if you want it bad enough', you have to ask yourself if that is how you personally work. I don't work that way, and life in general does not work that way. So unless you're really, truly passionate about FDs, and nothing else, I don't recommend putting yourself on this path. And if you're passionate, you know that the opportunity and desire will be there later if it can't happen now.

2) When it comes to comfort level, I feel prospective FD owners should have plenty of comfort in the costs of ownership - both maintenance, fuel, insurance, financing (if you don't have cash), and opportunity cost.

Yes, I said Opportunity Cost - a real Econ 101 word that I'm going to actually use. Remember that when you spend your money on an FD, you're either missing an opportunity to grow that money through savings, or missing an opportunity to spend it on something else. Leave your options open - you can always buy the FD later and enjoy it more. Or there might be another sports car you will want more. Or there might be a house that you want to buy that will need the money for. FDs are not the kind of car that you can pay 10k, drive for two years, and sell for 9k. A lot of money can get sucked in, fast - make sure your outlook is realistic about that. It's often not easy to sell them.

You can't go back and do college again. The FD will wait for you.

Dave