Alright, well I've changed my mind a crap load of times already. Here is the current plan.



I'm gonna save money the rest of this year and all next spring, then I'm gonna get a loan, put a nice big down payment on it and buy a 3rd gen with low miles.



My question is if I buy a 3rd gen with less than 40k on the clock, and either stock or close to stock, and do all the cheaper mostly labor intensive reliability mods, how much do you guys think she will cost me in maintenence?

imho..

providin your not placin all your emphasis on just financin this car..

and have plans on reliability n maintenance cost only through the life of the loan..

i wouldnt be concerned with actual numbers..as it will vary with a great deal many factors..

including some of which.. residential n marital status..insurance.. job..etc

Hmmm...I'm STILL saving for my FD...maybe when I'm out of college...

I'm thinking specifically just covering the cost of the car's possible maintenance problems.



Here is my situation:

I'm in college and I live at home. (room and board covered, scholarships cover almost all of my tuition)

I have a job at Dana where I work full time for about 4 months, and part time the rest fo the year.



Expenses I have to cover:

Books

Additional food

Girlfriend money

Entertainment

If I bought the 7 it would be ruoghly 500 a month with insurance and payments



I would not upgrade the car with more power until I graduate, until then just reliability mods as this car will need to be in workign order most of the time.



*Basically what I'm asking is what would you guys recomend having left in my bank account while I am paying for the car if something goes wrong.

first n foremost...

shop for insurance cost then go from there...

r u considerin this as your primary ride..

I've already gotten a quote of ~300 for insurance.

Looking at 18k purchase price 6k down and a 6 year loan pyaments = ~$200 a month



Yes it would be my primary ride, but a car is usually available at my house if I would need it (like if the 7 was down for a couple days)

No one has any suggestions as to how much money you should have in the bank if you buy a 3rd gen with lower miles?

I love my FD. So don't get me wrong when I say this:



Allow for a motor rebuild. This can happen at any stage in the car's life, usually if it's been abused/over-revved.



My two motors have lasted 170,000 and 160,000 km's respectively, and the last time it was the coolant seals that finally gave up, although the apex seals were worn to minimum thickness.



A low mileage car should be good and last well, but you can never tell. I don't know how much your motors cost over there, but I'm rebuilding mine for about $1000 aussie, which is just the minimum parts cost. A shop will charge $3-4000 for the job.



I don't know if it happens in America, but in Oz it's quite a well-known problem for the heater core to split which is a big job to replace (dash out). $800 aus for a new Mazda core (or get one custom made by a radiator shop for around $200 aus).



Most of the other things that go wrong with these cars can be fixed by someone with mechanical and electronic knowledge for very little money. Use this forum for problems you encounter- chances are they've already been extensively covered here!



They are a fantastic car, so save up but try to get a bit of extra cash available just in case..... https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/bigok.gif

it really depends on how the car was treated with the other owners that have owned it. i got my FD 3-4 months ago and all i have spend on it is 10 dollars on a water pump gasket, 20 bucks on 2 oil changes, and 20 bucks on spark plugs. i guess you have to have the rotary like you



rotary god

https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...1047683894.gif https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...1047683894.gif https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...1047683894.gif https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...1047683894.gif https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...1047683894.gif

Thanks for the info.