The question is...
This following summer season, I am looking into purchasing an FD. I am a 19 year old college student with a little extra money made over the summers and have loved FD's since about sophomore year of highschool. By the end of the summer, I am going to have about 9k to spend on the 7. My parents have told me they will loan me 4 to be paid off at the end of next summer. If possible I would like to purchase one in the 11-12k range. My question is, would it be possible to purchase a 7 in decent visual condition with a motor that would be somewhat reliable and would last me 4 years at 9,000 miles a year max. Another possiblility would be to buy an FD with a blown motor, and get another motor and replace it myself. And by the way, I am pretty stubborn, and no disrespect, but dont waste your time telling me to wait untill I get out of college, cause chances are, I won't. Thanks for your time.

 

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/faq-3rd-gen-other-useful-links-68640/
^If you haven't already, check under "B" for buying. Some good info, in your case this one in particular: http://www.epinions.com/content_92709097092

It's possible. But even if you get an FD that's been taken care of, it's still a crap-shoot given the car's age. Alot of things other than the "motor" can fail and are costly. After you buy, I'd keep some money (maybe 1 - 2k) in a "just in case" account. My .02.

 

your too young to have a fd!!!! just kidding...

If i read the post correctly you will have 13k with the help of your parents. i have been looking through the FS section recently and have seen plenty of FDs with blown motors for 5-10K. I would just find one with a good body that is pretty stock and buy it with the blown motor. You can get a rebuild with the rest of the money and be assured that you will have a reliable car for many years to come. Good luck!

 

Just keep in mind that the major cost of owning an FD is not the initial buy-in. It is in the maintenance. If you buy an FD for 11k, it'll most likely need significant attention (you generally get what you pay for, and 11 grand is on the low end for a running FD). You'll need more than $2k to cover maintenance expensive over the next 4 yrs. So IMHO a 13k budget is not nearly enough for an FD. Almost any of our senior members would agree with me on this... There are also plenty of posts regarding this exact subject. I urge you to search the forums before you make a decision on if an FD is the right car for you.

-Rob

 

$13k might buy a reliable FD. But with $0 left, no gas, no maintenance, no insurance, no backup car. Whether you spend $13k or $18k, you will need to put some money into maintenance. The more you want to prevent it from breaking down unexpectedly (and mine has been very good so far), the more it'll cost in preventative maintenance.

What happens if this FD breaks? Can you park it until you earn the money to get it fixed?

Dave

 

I've spent $5,000 this year in just repairs alone (including a new motor). I'll tell you this: It sucked.

 

In my opinion owning a 93-95 RX7 is not ideal for a student or peoples with average income. It is a fragile, finicky car, high maintenance, and expensive.

These type of car is not really for daily driving...they are expensive toys for grown-up that have no problem come up with $3-5K for a blown engine.


Unless you are son of a wealthy Texan parents that spoiled their kids.

 

Damn your situation reminds me a lot of my own. I almost bought a mint 94 fd when I was in college and my financial situation then, was a lot like yours. I was pissed things didn't work out to get the car, but looking back I am glad I waited.
After owning an fd for 1.5 years now I admit they are a huge money pit!!! I have already dropped close to 10 grand on the damn thing. Best advice I was given before buying an fd is to have half of what you spent to buy the car readily available to spend on maintanence, misc. parts, blown motor, etc.
Now, I don't want to be one of the guys that says you can't do it, but living for a car while in college would not be fun. It means no money for road trips, no beer money, and possibly having to work while your friends are out partying.
Good luck with the hunt for a quality seven.

 

A little clarification...

I do have a back up car, a 94 explorer.

I am not planning on driving it for the first 3 or 4 months after buying it. That time is probably going to be spent doing any of the reliability mods to it that I can afford and getting more familiar with the mechanics of it. As of now I am going to college at UMHB in belton texas. For those of you who dont know where that is, it is a little two-horse town between Austin and Waco. Because I just recently got involved in a rotary club in austin before I moved, I never got a chance to tag along when some of the other members were working on their car. So all that I konw about the car is just book knowledge and have had no on hand experience. By the time I buy it, I will have had about 3 months of experience so I wont be plunging in without a paddle.

Because of the downtime on the car, I am not going to be paying insurance or gas and should be able to get about 800-1200 dollars and from the estimate I got from geiko, that should be enough to cover insurance for a 6 month period.

Thanks to all of yall for all of the feedback.

 

I'm 22, a senior in college, and bought my FD after years of waiting this spring... I have days when I love it (anyone who's driven the mountain pass in the Hudson River Valley between the Bear Mountain Bridge and the fishkill-peekskill rotary can probably guess how much fun that is to drive in a 7), and there are other days when it leaves me stranded and I'm ready to sell it (and I dropped 19 on mine). The only thing that's kept me from selling it and buying something more affordable is knowing that I'm so close to graduation and that it'll be a great car to have as a single LT at Fort Hood. It's great that you have a backup, but it sounds like you just have some cash burning a whole in your pocket. FWIW, if I could do it all over again, I would have bought something a lot cheaper and a lot more reliable and invested the rest to buy a race car (because that's what it really is) when I have the time and enough money to enjoy it. You'll probably buy it anyway, but I couldn't help chiming in.

 

Just buy it. By the time you can 'afford' it you'll be too old to enjoy it

(It's a compromise, just keep the performance mods sane, and it should last you if you're smart)

 

Shoot, can't edit after 30min...


Edit: I would NEVER buy a non-running FD. No way, no how. You MIGHT get a discount, but what do you really know about the car? At the very least you should buy a running (low compression is ok) FD, that way you can at least narrow down the issues.

The worst would be to rebuild the engine, and then notice the turbos are gone. Or the tranny (you see where this is heading)...

 

LOL, I just have to ask. How old do you think that is?

 

i think you'd be happy with an S5 T2. It's still super nice, noticeably more reliable and only about half of your budget for a SUPER nice one. Then there's plenty of money for reliability or performance mods left.

 

I bought my FD off a 57 year old man. He sold it because 'the boost hit was too much' (that's what the service records said!).

The techs response was: 'Normal operation of car.'

 

When I do get it, performance mods are going to be out of the question. My goal for the car is to make it as reliable and stock as possible. The one thing I plan on doing that might be considered a performance mod is a down pipe and a high flow cat, I dont know if thats what you would consider performance or not.

 

I wish I had a dollar for every one of these threads with the exact same questions word for word. I would accuse the people of cutting and pasting but I know they didn't do a search and read ****. wow.