ThatNewKid

iTrader: (1)

Hey all, this my first real post on a forum so hopefully I'm not screwing the pooch right off the bat but, I'm headed to basic in January and when I come back I'm looking to drop some money on an FD. I've never owned an rx7 before or any rotary for that matter so my question to you is what do you wish you had known before buying your first rotary/FD. I've been attempting to collect as much info as possible so I know some of the basics but I'm always looking for info. Thanks!

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

I hope you can take this as advice..not criticism.

If you plan to buy an Rx7,then your coffee pot should be full and your laptop charged!.

Your inquiry is more along the lines of what do I look for when I am searching for a car,and that really is a personal choice.
Mind you there are cars that are quite capable of holding their own as far as condition and mods done,but really there is so many variables of what was invested to get the car to it's present state.
Financially the car is a Money pit,but it's a pit that you would jump into if you had to..no questions asked..(stupid car!).

If you have time before you Leap into the Grand Canyon of car parts,then Take a look at what others have been doing with their vehicle..Pick out the Stuff you like and Stay within BUDGET..YES make a Budget..give your money to Granny and say Keep it,don't let me take any more than I need!.lol.(J/K!..but budget is a nice word..).
Honestly you can get carried away with the car,so try to keep a level head when you shop for one,or the parts you want.
Remember,even if the car is not working,you must WORK for the car,so in the long run the Car may sit there and survive just fine..just don't kill yourself trying to extend yourself financially!,after all,It's JUST A CAR!

ThatNewKid

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Styx! I already have heard that Rotaries are money pits. My goal is to buy one with as low miles as possible and as stock as possible and I'm looking at spending 15-20k on the car. I would assume that's a decent foundation so it wouldn't be as prone to breaking as say a single turbo 650rwhp 20b with 200k miles.

But yes a budget is a good idea and its going to be my mortal enemy. Unfortunately I'm the guy who is willing to dump assloads into a car. I just really like cars... So then would you recommend not using an FD as a daily? And I guess to further narrow my original question, was there ever a time you did something and found out later it was a bad idea? I.E. putting a synthetic in

But in so far as parts go I like second third and forth opinions on things before jumping into something crazy so I will check others opinions and experiences you can be sure of that.

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

Treat the car like your "toy".
I try to think that it is NOT something that will "last forever"..sort of like a **** star...chuckle!
.So, I tinker with it,drive the **** out of it,daily it,slide it..whatever...BUT I have a Reliable "Back up".
I have yet to Drift a Montana Mini van,but if I could..it would be done..lol!

ThatNewKid

iTrader: (1)

Hahaha I have a cousin who drifts a grand caravan so I'm sure it can be done! But that is a great point. Too bad it can't last for ever though that would be awesome. Can't wait to get my rotary. a little off topic but I assume your account name has to do with the band correct? *Oh mama I'm in fear for the long arm of the laaaaw...*

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

scratches head...hmm....looks at rx7club logo...

"welcome to the Grand Illusion,come on in and see what's happenin'..pay the price get your tickets for the show.."

"Sometimes it makes no sense at all..."


Nope...really a Metallica fan..heh!.."off to never never land"...

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

From the 3rd Gen. Section FAQ sticky....I'd personally start with the last link first:

Buying a Used RX-7
http://www.marx7.org/infocenter/faqs/3rd_faq_main.html
Buying a Used RX-7
Buy a Used RX-7
1994 RX-7 Consumer Reviews | Fast, affordable, exotic beast | Epinions.com

Evil Aviator

The FD is a money pit. The SA/FB and FC are not any worse than any other car their age, and in some ways they are better.

Bad idea. I have a lot of experience with the military and with finance.

Just about every military base will require your POV (military term for your car) to pass a regular military safety inspection if you want to drive it on base. When deployed, you will either need to put your car in storage or have your spouse drive it, and of course your insurance company will still want payments even though you are not driving it. If this is going to be your only car, then an old project car is not a good choice. If you plan on keeping your BMW along with the FD, then keep in mind that not only is it a pain in the rear to move two cars when you change duty stations (I moved every 24 months), but in most cases the military will only pay to move one of them. FYI servicemen spend an average of over $1,700 in non-reimbursable expenses every time they move. You do NOT want to add to this.

If you are going to basic training, then that tells me that you are at max an E4. Unless your family has endowed you with a lot of wealth, then an expensive sports car is the last thing that you need to finance right now. Don't be an idiot like your buddies. You will see lots of car dealerships around military bases with signs stating "We finance E1!", usually strategically placed over a brand new Mustang or Camaro. Don't do it!

Here is a better battle plan: Keep driving your BMW for now and save your money. After a year or two you will have a good idea about how much disposable income you have to spend on toys like sports cars. If you are deployed a lot, you may even find that sports cars are pretty much worthless, and that your money is better spent on smartphones, tablets, video games, or other things that you can actually enjoy during your deployments. If you determine that a sports car is affordable and practical, then go ahead and buy one when you have more knowledge about the conditions of your new career.

Here is a typical financial plan:
1. Invest 10-15% of your gross income into an IRA or TSP for retirement. An IRA is a better idea if you are well-diversified in the total market, but TSP is easier to set up, especially if you simply choose the L fund.
2. Save money until you have enough in the bank to pay 3-6 months of bills. This will be your new "0" balance. For example, if your 3-6 months of bills add up to $6,000, and you have $6,400 in the bank, then look at it as having $400 in the bank because you do not want to go below $6,000 unless it is an emergency.
3. Pay off your debt.
4. After all the above is addressed, then you can start funding things like college, a house, sports car, or whatever you like.

This is NOT a good financial plan:
1. Sweet! I have a new military job, everybody is offering me a loan, and my parents can't say anything about any of the amazingly stupid things that I finance to put me into debt for the rest of my natural life!
2. Screw funding my retirement plan, this "compound interest" thing is for nerds. I want to live now, and I can fund my retirement "later" and/or I trust the government to take care of me during the most vulnerable period of my life. History shows that the government has always kept its word, and it's not like the government is just about broke right now.

Always ask a financially-smart NCO to help you with big purchases and important decisions. He/she can help you determine what is a good deal, what is a good interest rate, good places to live, and how to take advantage of military/government benefits. Note that this includes PCS moves (you will have a "PCS" move to your first duty station after your training), so ask for PCS advice even if the NCOs seem scary right now. They may rag on you at first, but in the end you should get some good tips on how to take advantage of the system. For example, your Legal Residency determines the state where you vote and pay income tax, so you may want to keep your current state as opposed to changing it to one in which you will get taxed to death.

ThatNewKid

iTrader: (1)

A mustang or camaro? Ha.. no.. Heres the deal though, yes im going to basic but I am 10 credits short of an AA, that being said I am an E3. When I finish C school I will be promoted to E4. I get that promotion because I took an "advanced" job (Cryptology) and I signed on for 6 years. From what I understand there is an 80% chance that I will end up on a boat. My goal in 6 years is to be able to become a Pilot and to do that I have to get my 4 year and become an officer. The nice thing is that I have talked to a few people that have recommended that I do a program the Navy offers called STA-21. Long story short I get payed my Navy salary and my allowances and I become a full time student. Once I do that I become an officer and a pilot, which looks like you have some experience with. Now I could be completely wrong or I could screw up but personally I feel like that plan doesn't leave me without funds. But again Im looking at the future not the past.


On top of this though if I get payed at the E3 rate through my 6 month training, I come out with over 10k. At the Washington state tax rate Im left with a little over 9k before deductions. Then I would trade in my car and have I want to guess around 15k (KBB puts my car at about 5.5k) The reason Im trading it would be for a little extra cash but also because at the time I bought it I didnt know it had a GM transmission and I can see warning signs of it failing but they only show up in manual mode, so I want to get it gone. Then over the next few months I would save up for a truck, or something along those lines, to be more of a daily/grocery getter. I want to leave the FD stock for awhile and then slowly add in parts but i mean my goal is not a 600whp single turbo set up, Im aimed at like 300whp.

As far as retirement goes I do want to set up the militaries equivalent of a Wroth IRA and go with that. I've heard IRAs where you get taxed on withdrawing the money suck. As far as loans go Im not into spending money I dont have. Yea i get that you have to sometimes, if you leave your pockets empty constantly, but I dont buy things because I dont like giving up my money... Plus and I could be totally wrong but I dont think that as a single male without a house that ill have that many bills. I mean there are a few big ones but I dont have to maintain a house lets say.

Lastly cars are my favorite things in the world. I would give up almost anything for cars and thats why I am willing to spend good money on an FD. Now I could be 110% wrong and if I am please tell me cause I mean after all im an 18 year old kid who seriously knows nothing about life due to that fact that public school doesn't teach you how to put on your pants in the morning but they want you to learn how fast little johnny can throw a brick at his sister.

And to SgtBlue, thanks for the links. I've been going through them and they're just the kind of stuff I was looking for.

Evil Aviator

I think that you have a good plan, but you are overestimating your disposable income. Most E4s with kids qualify for food stamps. It will help if you are single with no dependents, but it is important to understand that you will be somewhat poor. You will not be in what most Americans call the “middle class” until you make E6. On the good side, you will be able to bank money pretty well if you are stuck on a ship.

I am not very familiar with the new STA-21 program, but it has been my experience that enlisted-to-officer programs are fairly competitive, and getting a pilot slot is a real long shot. Also, once accepted, the program will not guarantee you a designator, but rather you can request your top three choices and hopefully the Navy will put you in one of them. More likely they would put you in an IW slot, but there is always a remote chance at a pilot slot unless they take it off the table due to budget or personnel problems. IW is actually a better job anyway, although you wouldn’t get the flight pay.

They will deduct more than you think. Additionally, you should put 10-15% into TSP or an IRA, and put $5-6K into emergency savings, which will leave you with about $1-2K after 6 months. You can save a lot more the next 6 months though.
Washington now has state income tax?

The military has what is called TSP (Thrift Savings Plan), which I mentioned earlier. It is mostly equivalent to a civilian 401(k). An IRA is a little different, and it is a better plan IF you have a good financial planner helping you out. Both TSP and IRA have Traditional (not taxed now but taxed when withdrawn) and Roth (taxed now but not taxed when withdrawn) options, so their taxation is exactly the same in that respect. The main advantage of TSP is that it is easy to do, and rather than hiring a financial planner or educating yourself you can just choose the L-Fund (aka Investing for Dummies, lol) and call it good. The advantage of an IRA is that you hold the account rather than the government, and there are way more investment options. You can choose to fund both an IRA and TSP if you like.

The smaller bills add up each month. You will be able to get a better idea after a few months at your first duty station.
Here is what I am trying to say… It is fine to shop around for cars right now, but don’t buy one until you are well established at your first duty station. If you go out and buy one right after basic training, then you may end up getting sent to Diego Garcia while your car rusts in a storage unit, while your buddies are having a blast with the electronic gadgets that they bought for entertainment during their remote assignment. It is a better plan to save your money and assess your situation prior to buying an FD. I have a feeling that you are going to reconsider spending so much money on a sports car, but if that is what you really like, then you can certainly get one if you are willing to forego a lot of the things that your buddies are buying.

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

This is why I really didn't want to approve this thread as it comes down to a Personal decision and not a tech based question.
In the end it will be your decision and your burden if you decide to get an Rx7 or any car for that matter.
All I think that this whole Thread is saying,is that IF you can step into this wisely then you will not have a bad outcome..
You are basing your Decision right now on "when I "...You are gonna get paid and you haven't even done the Work YET...Don't anticipate Nothing until you are at the stage where you can actually DO it.A lot can happen in between now and then.

Short tidbit..I just sold a car..fist full of cash..last week..
I got 80 bucks left..and I didn't even get what I wanted to buy,with that addage: IF I sold it,I'm gonna get this"....Yah,sure..
See where I am going here?
Life Happened and I didn't get to reap any reward..Bills had to get paid,food on the table,clothes on my back,gas in the tank,..Boom..Broke again..
I am 4X your age and still it comes down to "try to think it through First".
Don't let your Dreams interfere with reality.But if you can make your Dreams become reality with Real life decisions,they CAN come true.

I really hate sounding like an Old ****..But I Don't want you to dig a hole and not come out of it..because of a Freakin Car..I did that,It isn't fun..I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
Anyways,I am done here.I wish you luck.Peace out..and stay safe.

ThatNewKid

iTrader: (1)

Ok guys thanks for the input guys. Youre right though, I should just take a breather right out of basic. For me I see a number like 10k out of basic and I think "Sweet! Ive never made that much that fast!" and then I look at a nice car. This is why schools not having some sort of an investment/budjeting class bugs the hell out of me... I mean i have no idea how to do taxes or really what that entails. I mean ive done tax returns but other than that..

It is competitive and I dont think itll be a slam dunk but I did relatively well on the ASVAB and I want to work hard in basic and A&C schools and then look like a good candidate. The way STA-21 works from what I've been told is that its a more specific deal. You go into an STA-21 path for such and such job but it is possible that I dont get where I want to be but at least I made Officer.

Its not income tax per se but I still lose money, which sucks... Ive been working for the past 2 years but they've been taking 16% of everything I make.

Yea Ive talked to a few people who set up IRAs and they say it sucks because really after inflation and considering that the tax rate goes up when they go to pull out the money they loose more taxing it off the bat. Ill have to look into the TSP and see what the deal is with that cause I had hear of it but not that much.

Yea i get that. Ill probably have my Xbox and computer and then ill be fine on the gadgets part but i follow what you're saying. I do see a lot of military guys who buy their Geneses, Evos, Stis, GTIs, M3s etc and I get jealous but I mean it has to be doable so at least I can look forward to that. Hopefully i can get stationed and stay put for awhile. Thanks again for the input guys. Thanks for sharing the story Styx. Not gunna lie this has bummed me out a little but at least now i know more about what Im getting into financially so I know not to screw myself over.

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

Hey you are more than welcome.I learned the hard way,so if you can get anything out of this,it's worth the effort.

as far as the "story"?..
hmmmm..

One day ..I was at Bandcamp.....!..?...!!

Slow2k

iTrader: (9)

I just wanted to add; unlike most cars, stock isn't always neccesarily better with these cars, a properly modded FD will take you farther than a bone stock one that has a little less miles in my opinion. For instance, removing the pre-cat for a downpipe, silicone vacuum jobs and even an aftermarket fuel rail has good perks as long as the parts are of quality.

samjaza78

If you want a better idea on what you'll be capable of doing and what actual money you're going to have, pm me. I've been in the navy for a minute.

Evil Aviator

Yes, this is really more of a finance/lifestyle issue, but I think that you are right in that it is better discussed in this subforum as opposed to the lounge, lol. Anyway, I think that the links posted by Sgtblue will offer the OP the technical help needed for this issue.

One thing I forgot to mention is that you should check to see if your first duty station has an "Auto Skills Center". This is a multi-bay garage that you can rent to make repairs, rent tools, and even get help or take classes on automotive skills. You can't store your car in the bay, but otherwise it is a big help if you have a high-maintenance car like an FD. There is usually an attached auto parts store, which is typically tax-free.

Budgeting is not that difficult. Fortunately, your taxes will be pretty easy in the military, and your unit will probably set up a free tax help office each year during tax season.

Yes, I would trust the program to at least make you an officer. The military is very good at keeping their word in that respect. When I was in college back in the 90s the military was going through a lot of personnel cuts and did not have officer positions for some of my ROTC classmates, so the military cut them loose after graduation. While they were a little upset over not having a job, they were happy to get a free college education with no military obligation.

Based on the STA-21 selection rates, it looks like the Pilot option has a 1% to 6% selection rate, and overall there is about a 15% to 30% selection rate, depending on the year. When I was selected by the Army there was about a 1.5% selection rate for the candidates.

That is probably federal income tax and payroll tax. You will have the same in the military, plus they will take out money for life insurance (SGLI) each month, and money for the GI Bill (MGIB) for 12 months which you should elect to do. As I stated earlier, I highly recommend that you also deduct 10-15% to TSP and/or an IRA.

The important thing is to get started early. Now is the time to focus on earning money, stashing it away in TSP and/or an IRA, and setting yourself up better jobs down the road. You can't do anything to change inflation or tax rates until you become a Congressman.

If you want to learn more about finance, then I recommend the USAA website or reading books by Ric Edelman. Also, here is the TSP website.
https://www.usaa.com
Ric Edelman - Three times ranked the #1 Independent Financial Advisor in the nation by Barron's.
https://www.tsp.gov/index.shtml

Jumping off a cliff is also doable, but I don't recommend it.