Hey everyone. I'm 16, and new to the forums. I've wanted an Rx-7 since I was in fifth grade, and I started saving money for one once I could legally get a job. I've saved up about $5,000 and can afford to buy a generation 1, but my step dad won't let me. He doesn't want me buying a car older than '93 because they're unreliable (which is a reasonable thing to assume). I would buy a generation 3, but they're too expensive. So my dreams are crushed, but I'm still happy to be among other enthusiasts.

 

Go at yer Dad from the angle that it will be WAY cheaper to insure that car. If you take care of the coolant and the oil, you will have no reliability problems...I've had my '83 since 145,000 miles...it now has 198,000 miles on the same 12A rotary engine....replacing the starter because I wanted a quick spin on starts, and replacing the hydraulics for the clutch system are the only things I HAD to do to keep it on the road....the rest has been modification stuff to have fun and get a bit more power to the road. Well, there was the clutch dying, but that was my fault...the stock clutch didn't like 2500 rpm launches on 225/50/15 rubber and then seeing a real road course the following week...I killed that stock clutch with some seriously hard driving.

For $5 grand, you can find a great 1stgen body for about $800 and then have a fresh engine built for the car and dropped in and you're set for a decade as long as you don't spin it to 8500 rpm on a regular basis and you watch those coolant temperatures and the oil level religiously.

Mario III

 

easy to get parts for also.

and easy to work on.