my friend payed like 28 for a 06 si when they first came out. you could probably just sell it for whatever the kbb was and buy an fd somewhere else and a beater.

beater is a must with this car, imo. some other vehicle anyway.

 

Yea I'm still paying for the civic and I bought it for 27 with only 24 miles on it and still owe quite a few thousand on it and plan to transfer the loan over to the rx7 and would buy a little beater.

 

Make the trade plus cash, as was suggested before. With an RX-7 in the garage/carport/driveway/street/barn/whatever, you don't need to spend a lot of money on a beater, but it might be a good idea to spend SOME. You may well be able to drive the FD almost every day, but EVENTUALLY something will go wrong and you'll have three minutes to get to work or school or your girl's house. All the knowledge and expertise in the world doesn't help you when you need to pull off the UIM and check the rast's nest of leaks - it's still a long process you shouldn't rush through. Often times, the part you need you can't get at Napa, and Mazda might have to order it.

Moral of the story? Part of the cost of an FD is the cost of making alternative transportation available. I lucked out and got a 95 Camry (four door, I4, 5sp) with some minor front end damage for $250. That thing runs great ALL the time, is a piece of cake to maintain, and is able to haul around four friends and a bunch of stuff. As cool as the FD is, it's nice having a reliable "normal" car.

EDIT: This is what I get for making long posts - redundancy. :P

 

If you love Rx7's dont let a bunch of guys on a internet forum stop you to buy one. If you know their is a possibility of it breaking and accept it. Buy it. I think most people on this forum are alittle extreme with the whole "Rx-7 is not for people without money and a backyard garage" I think you should buy a cheap good car for DD and drive ur Rx7 on weekends. Ive had my Rx7 for a year almost a year and ive only spent money on modding the car. NO problems yet. Im expecting them to come, and im ready to safricise time of working and saving up to fix it.

If you love the car, and have a passion for it. Buy it knowing the risks. I did with EVERYONE telling me not too and im happy about it. 100%

 

Anyone else with helpful info?

 

Check my post in the thread I linked earlier in this thread.

 

+1, just know that the SI and FD drive very differently, don't go tooling around if you don't have a sense of how the car will react

with more power comes more responsibility, ya a corny outtake from spideyman but just don't go wreck it out of stupid driving

 

Keep the civic as a DD and find a clean FC to play around in.

 

Thanks mahjik I did read the links and they helped but I still dont know what to do all the horror stories and the rare and minimal good ones but I still want it and am going to see what happens

 

I came from a 2002 RSX Type-S, basically the same car that you have. Its a honda, it will take a beating, gets great gas mileage, cheaper on insurance, parts are cheap, it wont break,....i could keep going but im not here to tell u yes or no. In the end u will do what u want and thats how it should be.

Personally i sometimes miss my RSX cuz i could really beat on it and i wouldnt have to worry bout sumthing breaking. The FD on the other hand i baby like its made of glass, not necessarily because it is that fragile but because its my dream car and sumthing i have worked very hard for. In the end the FD will never cease to put a fat smile on ur face, its everything its cracked up to be, a pure sports car. So like the others will tell u, if u genuinely love the car, buy it, if u r just looking for a fast good looking car that wont need much care, this might not be what ur looking for

hope this helps, good luck with whatever u choose

 

It's the little things that add up. For example, a set of rubber spring perches costs 400 bucks +.

I've been trying to find a halfway decent strut tower bar for under $250 or so, but I'm coming up short.

 

Thanks alot powersrtipe that did help and I will post another message when I make my final decision.

 

keep the si and save some cash and then buy the fd. Forget about trading the dd for an fd ( fd is something that you drive for weekend, not dd )

 

a local guy and myself daily drive ours. him 5years 93 r1 mine 1years+3 from local guy (mild modds) ........... i think most members here buy junk/projects to start cheap thats where this not a good DD stuff comes from!!

 

Yeah, guys, I don't think anyone is going to talk him out of this. As someone who has been through multiple FD's I would say you are absolutely mad to get rid of a brand new Si. However, anyone would have to be mad to spend $27k on a Civic...so to each his own. You could get a brand new RX-8 for slightly more and they are almost as fun as an FD.

That being said.... since you are going to bite the bullet. You ABSOLUTELY MUST have a beater to daily drive. Even if you luck out and don't have alot of downtime you'll need to at least have a POS to list as your primary driver for insurance savings. When it does break, and it WILL, there is no fast-fix for a 7.

This car is, hands down, the most expensive automobile to properly maintain short of an exotic.

PS - do a search !!! This subject has been beaten to death, just like all the other ones. Good luck !!!

 

Lol thanks I guess that is alot for a civic and I would pay that for any fd but I got in the civic mess and have to try and get out of it but I will see about the beater sounds like the best thing to do, thanks again

 

Be smart, Keep the Civic.

Or buy the FD, keep in mind the 9 stages of Hell you must go through to keep a 14 year old car on the street.

It's a major theft target.

You need to go to school on it so you don't do the wrong thing and destroy it.

Go to a performance driving school so you don't wreck it.
This car can get you in trouble so fast you can't catch it.

The whole thing is more trouble and money than it's worth.

BTW: mine's not for sale.

You have been warned.

 

Trust me thats the surface of it..Thats what i thought before i got to really know a 7.. i had to get some minor things fixed and it came out to 2.5k.. now unless you will have lots of extra money on hand you will struggle with this car.. if its not now it will be later. Keep the civic or buy a mustang or like others suggested an Rx-8 something wont have problems with.. because this is whats going to happen if you get one, your going to drive it have fun but when the engine goes you wont have the money to fix it and be forced to sell it.. and i hate when people do that

 

Yea even with reliablility mods?

 

yes even with reliability mods

 

Yeah, b/c the car didn't have the reliability mods before.

Even when you do add them - it's just prolonging the inevitable.

Despite all of the negativity we are throwing your way, we also love our cars. Nothing else will put a big smile on your face (when it's working properly :: ).

 

you dont buy any car and think its going to be fine forever!!

buy it!
it brakes! just like any car would...just a little more often.
fix it!
Love It and go on with it!
but dont think it's gonna be cheap for parts. factory or aftermarket, atleast decent aftermarket.

but i would do more research before you leap in a rotary.
there very... delicate.
have you checked the facts thread?

 

Yea multiple times and understand all of the pros and cons on owning an rx7 of any gen but mostly the fd is the problem child of the family and I see there is a lot of useful information through out this site so if I did get it I could read and know what to do but the money things a different story...

 

money you will need cause a fd will take.

 

definately have a beater, you will not want to drive the fd everyday. They suck fuel like crazy. You'll either be spending a fortune on gas per week or end up driving less.

Any of the reliability mods might have yoru car off the rd for a while and then youd be screwed without a DD. i have the choice of s15 silvia, diesel pajero or toyota yaris for any of my DD duties.

a miata would be the perfect complimentary DD to a FD. Cheap, economical and reliable.