Would you trade AP2 for FD3S if.......
 

Here is my situation,

My wife is great! Unlike a lot of other people we know, she insists that we not sell our S2000 just because we are expecting a baby in April. I fully agree with her. We both love the car and haven't ever wanted to sell it.

However, we are living in Japan and the resale value our AP2 is greater than what we paid for it new. This is a reason why I have been debating on selling. Also, the only other car I ever wanted is an FD3S. FDs are dirt cheap here for decent ones with low miles. By the time we move from Japan we could legally import a 91 FD :barf:/>/>/>/>/> , or we could purchase a 93 or 95 since it is on the approved waivered list for import vehicles newer than 25 years.

My other reason for taking interest in possibly selling is the back seat issue. I know the FD is small and probably not car seat friendly, but once our child is big enough to use a regular seat or booster seat they could enjoy it with us and therefore the car wouldn't just be for "date night" or for other baby sitter times.

Now, I know its coming from you all...the reliability issue... The FD wouldn't be a daily driver. I know FD's have massive issues, fires, apex seals, vacuum...etc. I know you can't beat the S2000's reliability considering the ease of maintenance when compared to the Mazda. I am assuming the break rate for S2000s is nowhere close to that of an FD. I am not looking for high horsepower numbers or stop light grand prix crap. All I care is that the car is a pleasure to drive fun to work on, seldomly trackable, and looks great. (FDs are the best looking car ever IMO)

One more thing, I prefer left hand drive over right hand drive.

What do you all think?

I wouldn't think twice about selling the s2000 if this is the case, you can always buy a different one when you get back!

Sell it. Don't buy the Mazda until after the baby comes, my guess is priorities will change. Besides, Japans economy is in a state of chaos, things will get much cheaper in yen terms soon since the BOJ is trying to weaken the currency.

I'm sure I'll get flamed by FD lovers. 90s Mazada cars equals junk. I wouldn't touch it even if it was given to me for free.

What color Ap2?

Why limit your choices? I'm sure a mazdaspeed3 would fit the bill better. I've never driven one but I hear good things, just an option.

FD with LS1 ;)

I think what people do NOT understand is the condition of a mazda RX-7 in Japan compared to here is not even comparable... You can get rx-7's out there in perfect condiion less than 50k miles for about 3500 USD over there oh and there mechanics arent rotary retarded in japan... surprising eh? Pull the trigger OP I lived in japan for 2 years and I bought a 97 rx-7 there for 5500 and never EVER looked back! Till this day it is the best car I have ever driven... Oh and not a single problem at all! Nothing feels better than a rotary coming onto boost ;)/>/> smooooth!

Key note: rx-7's = junk in the U.S because of stupid crappy/lazy owners and mechanics who care about turn around time and a quick buck rather than quality work...

If it has done all of it's annual car inspections then you know the car is in great running condition and wont give u a problem... Unlike here there mechanics are very serious and tight on there inspections so long as it has passed the annual car check your in the clear!

Actually, I was talking about other things too, not just the powertrain. Interior build, paint, etc. 90s Mazda's weren't up to average build quality back in the day. We owned two Mazadas from brand new which were disposable cars. RX-7s weren't much different when I was looking for one in the late 90s. At the time those FDs I were looking at were less than 6-7 years old but looked like they were easily 15 year old cars. Even with disregarding the 'reliable' powertrain, the overall build wasn't up to snuff of other cars during that same time. Especially not at the premium Mazda was asking for the RX-7.

Sounds like a good deal to me. Hard to find a low mileage clean FD RX7 here for cheap, S2000's are a dime a dozen. I'd say sell it, turn a big profit, buy a cheap RX-7, import it and use the proceeds from the profits to help buy another S2000 down the road.