-Is the RX-7 for me?

[sky-x7]

Hey guys, thanks for taking your time to read this. I think it might be a long post, so bare with me.

The RX-7 has ALWAYS been the car that I\'ve dreamed about (It\'s the car that converted me from being a bike lover!) since I first laid my eyes on it.
That was when I was 16, and I\'ve still been longing to get my hands on one! I\'m still only 20, but I\'ve been saving up for the past few years so I can be ready for whatever quotes the insurers can throw at me!... well, within reason! (:rolleyes: )

I don\'t know a lot about cars, and from what I hear, the 7 needs extra TLC compared to other cars out there, but I\'m willing to learn. I\'m not an aggressive driver, although I know the car will need a heavy foot once in a while. It will be mostly be used to drive in the city.

I\'ve only driven (not including brief drives) a Corolla \'97 1.6, and my current drive, Civic \'01 1.6. I hear alot of advice to inexperienced potential buyers to try some less powerful cars, to prepare themselves for the RX-7\'s drive style. I don\'t want to end up as a statistic of young, reckless drivers so, if I must, I\'d be willing do so, for a year or so- What cars would you guys recommend?

... or am I just years too earlier to drive this beaut?

[Mr J.T]

hey an welcome firstly.

i was 19 when i got my first rex. now 22 im hooked. so in my opinion it is never to early. the major thing i found with mine was the day to day running of the car, im not overly heavy footed buy i went through petrol like nothin. the car its self is very drivable in standard form. i went from a 1.1i saxo to the rex and didnt have a problem. so long as u respect it it wont let u down.

good luck and keep us informed

[Jit]

hi mate,

i was 20 when i got into 7s...like Mr J.T im now 22 and also totally hooked....i dont think i could go back to piston power now!

If you want to start of with something rwd...why not get a £100 sierra and get to grips with rwd...or maybe a 320 beemer....im sure booth of those will get tail happy in the wet...something you can get used to....

EDIT - just read the bit about using it in the city....you really arent gonna like driving in the city in traffic and netiher is the car....yo\'ll be using a lot fo petrl creeping around )i know as i do it in london quite often) and the engie will get hot (not neccessarrily overheat) but it wil get hoter than normal...

[sadgoth]

I ran an MX5 for 5 years before I bought the RX, in terms of practice the MX5 is a great car to "learn the ropes", it\'s also still probably the best daily driver I\'ve ever owned as the RX is too powerful to drive at the limit on public roads (well if you want to keep you licence in tact) the MX5 is a light, very good handling, RWD car which you can drive hard and still not bring yourself to the attention of Mr Plod. NO IT ISN\'T A HAIRDRESSERS CAR!

[Mazzyrx7]

If you get a UK car the insurance is quite a bit cheaper than a import. I\'ve owned mine for 6 months and its great, moved from a Impreza turbo and not regretted for a minute. Fuel is the only thing which is a pain in the arse. I went on a road trip with 5 other performance cars. Every time I filled up I would put an extra £10-15 in. Which they kept telling me with great delight. But that\'s probably because they couldn\'t match the power of the rotary.

[Jono FD3]

I second sadgoth, I had an import mx5 and had a wail of a time in it!! to be honest with you I found the 5 to be very similar to the 7 in driving style (apart from the obvous power diff!!) I know people slate them and call them hair dressers cars, but I think that that is due to the fact that they havent driven one!!!! Mine was on lowerd biltein suspention so that would up the handeling...... but all the controles were the same..... steering sensitivity, clutch weight, gear shift & seating position!!!! so this would be a great car to get to know and I can garantee you will love every minuite!!!

[D2BBA]

I\'ll 3rd that, the MX5 is spot on.  

I now know 4 people who own them, my bro was the first and as soon as people have a drive they seem to want to buy one for a second car!

Which brings me neatly on the my other thought... why not buy a Rex as your 2nd car and run a reliable cheap car for the city.  It\'ll be better in the long run!  I use a lovely oil burning Golf through the week.  It aint gonna turn heads but it wont let you down either, and its cheap as chips to run!

Chris

[iaint]

Which brings me neatly on the my other thought... why not buy a Rex as your 2nd car and run a reliable cheap car for the city.  It\'ll be better in the long run!  I use a lovely oil burning Golf through the week.  It aint gonna turn heads but it wont let you down either, and its cheap as chips to run!

Damn good advice.  The rex isn\'t a car to spend time stuck in traffic.  Not too much of a problem for a healthy car with mods that keep it happy in traffic (cooling mods mainly) but, while it looks cool, it won;t be fun and will be expensive to run.

As other have said - the MX-5 is a really fine car.  A 5 for daily (1.6 for economy and insurance) and the 7 for weekends/showing off.  Having a daily runner will mean you might be able to get the rex insured on a classic policy saiving £s BUT your age might prevent this.

[nikp]

I have driven an MX-5 before - they\'re great little cars. To be honest, they feel like small RX-7\'s handling wise. Very nice.

[RobbieRX-7]

The mx5 is the best selling sports car in the world FACT. http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=80631 Hammond off top gear said the new one is excellent.

[Adriansturgess]

Apart from all the obvious good bits about owning a Rex . The downside is that like any performance car they do cost a fair bit to insure, to fuel and to maintain and there are always potential expensive problems waiting in the wings. So I think you need to be confident that you have the financial resources to cover running the car as its not worth getting into debt over. I would say an MX5 is a good bet for a couple of years anyway and you may even get more enjoyment out of it by knowing that you can more easily afford to run it. Meantime start saving.......

[RobbieRX-7]

Just realised that you did\'nt say which generation rx7 you like most. There is an rx7 going on ebay and finishes in 5 hours http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1989-MAZDA-RX7-2-RED_W0QQitemZ110008358426QQihZ001QQcategoryZ18211QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

I gotta say that i love the fc turbo2 http://gb.chinabroadcast.cn/mmsource/images/2005/07/11/pb050711073.jpg

Or if you want a super rare rx7, then why not get a 1st generation fb convertible..never seen one before and i dont think mazda even made them http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/mazda-rx7_W0QQitemZ200007283127QQihZ010QQcategoryZ52640QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

[nickwebley]

Well, I\'m 20. I have had my Rx for 4 months now, its a UK, and as said earlier, its easier to insure when your young.....especially when you have 9 points!:(  As everyone else has said, DO NOT use it as a daily driver!!!! I live in London and unfortunatly I currently don\'t have a company car.....so Im having to use it as an every day, the petrol is killing me, and it gets damn hot!!!! You should be ok if you buy one, just watch that rear end, and have some money put aside to run it!!!! :cool

[Donato]

It really depends on what you want it for and if you have the money to run it.

As for your age, you can\'t really use this as an accurate guide, i know some 20 year olds far more mature and with a safer attitude towards the roads than people in there 30\'s or 40\'s, its down to attitude and knowing your limits, respecting other road users. Respect the car and it will respect you.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

Cheers

Donato

[sky-x7]

hey an welcome firstly.

i was 19 when i got my first rex. now 22 im hooked. so in my opinion it is never to early. the major thing i found with mine was the day to day running of the car, im not overly heavy footed buy i went through petrol like nothin. the car its self is very drivable in standard form. i went from a 1.1i saxo to the rex and didnt have a problem. so long as u respect it it wont let u down.

good luck and keep us informed

Thanks, that was a reassuring post. I\'m glad some had started young and lived the dream :o


however, reading other posts i\'m having second thoughts...:3Confused

I was planning on selling my civic before buying an rx-7, and I really can\'t see myself owning two cars right now. I only drive locally from time to time as I work and study in central london (congestion zone :Grrr ), so having 2 cars seems pointless. I\'m not in any financial difficulties at the moment, but gathering the information i\'ve recieved here, it might not be wise to own an rx-7 because of my current lifestyle

Shallow as it may be, i\'m more into the looks of the car so anything that looks like a box i\'m gonna have to give it a miss :o
I\'ll be considering the mx5 as well, so I might look into that instead.

Thanks for all the input guys!