Me thinks hercules fell in love w/the rotary.

Which makes all your points about alternatives irrelevant. But that's just my opinion.

 

By your comments and your previous car choices, you seem to like all-rounders. That’s easily an 8 over an FD. Not the Evo as suggested, or anything else with a punishing ride.

But if you want a pure weekend toy, an FD is hard to beat. Though I found the FD, though more powerfull, lacks the charm of the renesis - it hangs on to boost after shifts, revs slower and lower, and is not as linear. Or if it’s just a toy, why not a convertible like a used S2000, you’ll pay more at the onset but save over time. Plus, I’d take n/a over boost any time. Or at the risk of getting flammed, if it's cheap and fun you want, get a used Miata. It's a blast to drive, just don’t expect any respect from the benchracer crowd.

 

This topic kind of reminds me of my insurance agent and his little collection of cars. Every couple years he adds another car to his stable, drives it for a while as his daily driver and then switches a around until the next super-deal comes along. Every one cost him under $10,000. Over the last 10 years he's managed to collect a few really nice vintages, not really sure of the years, but the following gives his impressions, top to bottom;

Porsche 944 Turbo
Best road manners of the bunch. Excellent acceleration, fantastic handling, comfortable ride. Better gas milage then EPA ratings, the only car he's ever owned that he can say that about. It has under 50,000 miles, one of the later models built, and virtually bullet-proof. If parts are required they aren't cheap, but nothing ever seems to break.

74 Porsche 911 T
He bought this one with a blown motor in the late 80's and installed a rebuilt 2.8 S motor with about 220 HP over 10 years ago. Motor has about 50,000 miles, chassis about 150,000 miles. Probably has more then 10G's in it today since doing body & interior restoration about 5 years ago. He let it sit for nearly 5 years at one point other then moving it around to keep from flat-spotting the tires. Another bullet-proof example of a Porsche - nothing ever breaks, even the AC still worked fine last summer. Oh it does leak a little oil, just enough that it's annoying, not enough to pull the motor and re-seal it. Excellent city car, definately not a track car.

Nissan 300Z Turbo
Powerful, but somewhat clumsy when pushed. So-so ride quality. His top pick for styling and loves the T-Top other then the creeks & rattles. Lots of little problems like leaky steering rack, gas strut failures, alignment stability issues (no sign of previous damage). Transmission seems weak, rubber parts have aged. He doesn't drive it much since "every time he puts the plates it costs him a couple hundred in parts" to get it right. I think it's got about 70,000 miles.

Mazda RX7 Turbo Gen III
This was his love-hate car. The most fun to drive, yet he rarely has the chance to really enjoy it. He used to use it for track days at Motorsports Ranch but as a daily driver it sucks. It was a theft recovery a few little dents but was parked for nearly a few months before it was recovered and the settlment had already been made. It has around 30,000 miles on it. Lots of little mechanical gremlins though, it's just as bad or worse then the Z car on maintenance cost. Likes the rotary feel and drivability but on the road it's a real gas hog. Has seen 5MPG at the track while his Class A motorhome gets 7 MPG when he tows the car. He's considering selling it this spring to make room for something else.

He's driven the RX8 and wants one when they drop to under 10G's, figures a few years before that will happen. If a late model Supra comes along thats what he'll buy next.

His pride & joy is a beyond the $10,000 collection, an early model Acura NSX. About 50,000 miles on it. It had an electrical fire as a new car that fried the harness and smoked the interior. Acura wouldn't have the interior parts available for several months so the insurance company bought the car. It took him about four years repair it as it took almost an entire disassembly to replace the harnesses. He also waited find a wrecked NSX to strip down, then resell parts. By the time he was finished he had something like $30 in the whole thing, so I suppose you could include it in the collection. In that case it's his favorite by a long shot.

 

Personally I think you are better off with an 8 unless you really really like the 7. A stock 7, even the FC isn't really that much faster than an 8 considering the 8 handles better out of the box. Drag strip faster... yes, twisty faster... not much.

A FC in really good shape is still expensive, figure in the 25k+ range for a FC you would actually want to buy.

Best bet to get a good FC is to try RX clubs and look for someone who wants to get out of RX cars and go to something else. Usually those people have to money to treat their cars right.

As for the EVO, I would take that any day over an Audi, no question. Audi's are way to fat and heavy. Last time I was at the track I watched two Audi's melt down with major issues, none of the EVO's or RX cars did. The EVO is faster, handles better, and is better looking than an A4. All you loose by going to an EVO from an A4 is creature comforts.

Anyone who doesn't consider an EVO one of the top cars under $100k simply doesn't know anything about cars.

 

Considering you actually used the word "reliability", I dunno. The 3rd gen is a wonderful machine, and certainly one of the most rewarding cars to own IMO....that said, it can be a huge money pit, and equally as frustrating as it is gratifying, if you have extra time and money, and a good rotary mechanic, go for it!

 

hmmm. By "creature comforts" do you mean all the things that make a car more comfortable to use as a daily driver?

 

QUOTE: As for the EVO, I would take that any day over an Audi, no question QUOTE:


Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha One born everyday.

 

To the idiots flipping out over the Evo suggestion...

The Evo X will in all likelyhood have more creature comforts and have options to make it more daily drive friendly. All indications are the Evo will be going a little more upscale. Go ahead and insult it all you like, the fact remains that Evos can take out most cars under 50k (including "true" sportscars) in every performance category. The Jackasses who are insulting the Evo have never even driven one.

Evos usually have just about the best seats on the market, they have a good amount of space, the interiors are boring but well laid out, and the AWD is great for bad weather. The ride is stiff but if that bothers you the MR versions are pretty comfortable for a car that handles so well.

Lastly, I used to own an A4, I'll take my Evo every time for a daily ride. I'd rather have more fun than have a prettier interior. I wouldn't suggest the Evo 8 or 9 to most people for a daily driver, but the Evo X is going to be a different story.

 

What's so special about an A4? Front heavy, psuedo performance, when you're looking for a sports car? How'd the A4 even come up in this conversation?

 

When the Evo X comes out I would have to consider it as it not only has the performance but loses the riced up econobox looks of the earlier models.

 

the original poster has this exact thread over in the rx7club.com and its alot calmer than over here, no one over there is putting down anyone else's opinions, its just positive comments and good lucks. Sometimes disagreeing with someone is fine, but not when it ruins a good thread and is ment to disrespect a member.

 

The current EVO MR didn't feel front heavy to me. On the other hand, the Audi A4 feels very front heavy.

If you want to spend 15-17k on a weekend car, why don't you consider an NB MX-5? They are so fun to drive and have great aftermarket support.

 

So hang on, idiot, have you actually been in an Evo? Also, on the one hand we're talking about creature comforts and you say the Evo handles better . . . um, get your arguments straight. Sure the Evo handles better, the A4 is not great, period. However it is a VERY nice car for the money, and this is the OP's daily driver, NOT the car hes thinking about replacing.

Creature comforts? Not in an Evo. In an A4? Few are better _for the money_ .

That's why I laugh at the evo suggestion, that's it; no discussion regarding the handling, but that's not the point of the discussion.

 

IF it does, my opinion changes, but IMHO that is a pretty big if. We'll see.

 

in a little defense for the sti/evo. besides the wing there isn't much on it that most would consider rice cosmetics, for IE brembo brakes, light weight wheels, light weight body panels, a factory turbo, and a tested awd(more tech in their awd than the quattro). Its more rally tech than street based tech, you should see the countless extra body welds they add to the evo.

 

it really stuns me how stupid some people on this forum can get...in no way was he stating his Audi was a sports car, if you read from the beginning you would realize that the Audi is his daily driver and he is looking to add a weekend car to his garage. If the Audi is better then the Evo or vice versa doesnt really need to come into play. Also to be honest they shouldn't even be compared, if you like to compare the two you might as well compare the Evo to the Audi S4 or the RS4 ( but still not in the same price range ) not the A4...

 

I own an Evo as my daily ride right now, I used to own an A4. If you didn't suck at reading comprehension you would realize that I was throwing the possibilty of the Evo X out there as one car that could take care of all his needs rather than having the Audi as his daily and needing something more fun for the weekends. I was not comparing the Evo to the Audi in any way when I made my original comment.

Saying the Evo is like a FWD Japanese mustang is about the stupidest thing I've ever heard on these forums.

 

Evo is a fwd japanese mustang. Same farking thing except these days awd from fwd is as common as dumbasses like you.

The OP specifically said he's looking to go back to an 8 or a 7 from his M3, which he replaced his 8 with, and might be regretting. Only a dumbass who sucks at reading comprehension would read that first post and think he might want something remotely similar to his A4 to replace his M3, A4, and be lots of fun to drive all the time while at the same time being comfortable and relaxed, ok, whatever.

See someone about your anger problems, just throwing that out there like suggesting an evo . . . .

 

Yeah, I'm the angry one...

You're so misguided you're not even worth my time.

 

Sorry to be off topic, but...

EVO is a Japanese Mustang?

 

Lot of arrogance here... presuming to know what OP wants... speaking on his/her behalf...
I'm outta here.

 

The Z350 is said to be such.

 

Ike wont let you go on this one, didnt you know that he actually sleeps in his Evo with a Laptop ?

but Evo = Fwd japanese mustang ....... I have to disagree with that.

 

What can I say, I hate the evo. For the money there are better cars, much better cars, out there, especially the 8.

The evo is about cramming the most power possible into a tiny cheap POS economy car, like the lancer.

Would YOU buy a base lancer over a base mustang, if you had to choose? Come on.

You guys are hung up on the awd vs rwd and good handling vs zero handling of the evo vs the mustang.

But you loose sight of the fact that the strategy is exactly the same: put big powa into a small car that can barely handle it.

So, CYA, dynamho, CYA Ike.

Disagree with me all you guys want. Who says we have to agree? Peeps get upset because they cant get the other guy to agree with them. Big deal; cry to mommy.

I'm not trying to convince anyone, just presenting my point of view. If you don't like it great! That doesn't call for any insults.

I still say LOL Evo to replace A4. Yikes.

 

take your time and look around for a STOCK LOW MILE RX-7. That's what I did and couldn't be happier.

I did all the reliability mods and some power mods and take good care of it and it has never let me down.