I bought my 1980 RX7 brand new and have loved it. I was wondering what it might be worth now. 22,000 miles, only driven in the summer and kept in a heated garage. original everything. what do you guys think?

 

Need pictures interior and exterior to give you best number. Single owner, 22K always garaged.
I'd say at least 5K, but we need to see the proof Besides we love to look at the cars.

I bought my 80 GS used in 1983 and have had it ever since.

 

and your in new york, welcome north ?south? east? west?
post a picture

 

very curious ....

 

Yes i will post pic.

 

will post more pics when its not raining outside - I don't get it out in the rain

It has 27,572 miles (I thought the 7 was a 2 sorry).

 

wheels are incorrect and i'm skeptical about the shift ****. if everything were in order, and we need pics to confirm, i'd say $6500 would not be out of the question.

 

S model. Interior looks to be real nice from what can be seen.

Difficult to judge from the pics, but the stock stereo should not have a black faceplate overlaying the silver console insert, unless this is an unusual build. Stock had tuner and ***** protruding separately through flush silvertone insert... unless that's the rarely seen 4-**** receiver. Would love to see a close-up of that.

Can't wait to see more pix; I'm fond of 80's.

 

Agree with DD, this is an S model with the two spoke steering wheel and 4 speed shift ****. Stereo looks aftermarket which is typical. Good outdoor pics of the exterior, interior and engine bay would say a lot. She does appear in exceptional condition as a 27K mile car should. Dave is correct too, your baby has FB wheels, I'm guessing they replaced the standard steel rims at some point.

Conditon and milage give you big pluses although it's held back a bit because it's the standard S model version. Generally asking prices for SA's in this condition have been in the 5-10K range. Finding buyers actually willing to swallow the hook at that price point is a narrow market. RX-7's are still under appreciated by the general enthusist.

Always great to have original owners pop up here. This is a great place to learn and find out things you never knew about these unique cars.

 

It looks kind of a mixture of S and GS model on the interior. I thought the chrome trim around the
shift boot only came on the GS models. The shift **** and steering wheel do scream S model
though.

You need a set of waffles to really make it shine. Those plus wheels don't look right on
an SA.

Love to see more external pics all around when it stops raining.

 

the shift **** looks to be normal for the SA but would require a closer look to be sure. you also don't have pockets in the door which is a good sign imho. I can't tell if there is a cover on the dash but from what I have seen they grey and dull up VERY fast and it has a nice dark shine to it. I would still say $6500 would be a fair price with that low of mileage. I know my 79 was worth about $3k when I bought it but I paid $3500 because I needed the owner to hold it for three months which he did very gratiously. and in the past two years since owning it, its kbb has gone up by $1k Me personally, I love to drive the prices up on these cars. Believe it or not a webforum such as this can cause the whole market to shift. For example an 83 gs sold for $9500 recently and was in bad shape cosmeticly, only thing it had going was the motor was swapped and boosted. He still had the open dif in it which was a surprise to me seeing how much power it made. IF you could sell yours for say $8k then that in turn raises the value of mine as well and so on.

 

You guys are good. Yes the wheels did not come with the car, they came with steel wheels and I bought a set of real nice aluminum wheels and these are just a set I picked up. It came with an AM/FM radio. I had it replaced with a 1980 AM/FM cassette stereo, so it's period correct. Still has the original exhaust system, brakes, spare tire. The interior is like brand new, never sat in the sun. More pics coming as soon as the weather breaks.

 

Here are more pics. Appreciate everyone's comments. If I were to sell this car, where would be a good place to post it? websites and/or craiglists?

 

more pics

 

DON'T SELL IT MAN!!! THat thing is AMAzing!

 

All of the above. You just need to get it out there. Hemmings or another speciality collector car publications are other sources. If you ever attend any swap meets or big race events, take the car with a sign in the window (assuming it's mechanically reliable). Nice old cars sell themselves to those who are interested.

After looking at your additional pictures, it does look very nice and unmolested. Original owners are normally pretty good about this. Some elbow greese applied under the hood would spruce it up quite a bit and add to the overall presentation. With only 22K miles you have a big bargining chip. The next question I'd have is, what about the mechanicals? Equipment detoriates over time without use and if the brakes or carburator or something needs some attention, those things play in to the value.

My guess (opinion) is that you may get some interest around 5K. Being an "S" model, I assume it still has it's 4 speed? Those are just less desireable and a lot of people perfer no sunroof over the aftermarket ones. Those are the biggest two drawbacks I see here. But still, nice car! I'd think hard about selling. Not alot of original owners left.

 

Did the S models come without side molding, then?

 

what you see under the hood is rustproofing. I had it rustproofed at the dealer when I bought it (Rusty Jones). Do you think rustproofing takes away from the value of the car?

Mechanically its perfect. Everything works like brand new.

The side moldings did not come with the car.

Thanks again for the advice, look forward to hearing more from all.

So, should I sell it or keep it?

 

Yep, S models on SAs meant no side molding.

 

Keep it or give it to me to keep for you

 

The standard S came without the side molding but I believe it was listed or "available" as an option.

Rust proofing is a plus in my book, unless it's way overdone and all over the engine bay. All I'm saying is, the appearance of the engine bay speaks volumes and can substaintially add or substract to the percieved condition in someone's mind. Even if a car needs a little attention, it's more likely to get it if the car is clean and well appearing to begin with.

Since she is good mechanically, has exceptional low miles and still in the original owners care, you have a very sought after situation should you decide to part with your old girlfriend. Only you can decide that for your own reasons. Good luck!

 

I noticed that there is a passenger side mirror. I know that in '79 the S model came with driver side mirror only, not sure about the '80. Did you add the passenger mirror? Just curious...

One additional difference with the S model was no intermediate wiper. (May have been an option, not sure).

 

I might miss a coule things but off the top, North American 79's broke out like this:

Standard S model:
2 spoke steering wheel, 4 speed manual transmission, steel wheels w/165 / 70R-13 tires (model RD-203's) key operated rear latch, 2 speed wiper contol. Red dot seats

S options included:
Body side molding, Alum alloy wheels w/185 / 70R-13 tires (model RD-107's)

Standard GS model:
4 spoke steering wheel, 5 speed manual transmission, Body side molding trim, Alum alloy wheels w/185 / 70R-13 tires (model RD-107's), remote operated rear hatch release, 3 speed wiper control w/ intermittent, rear sway bar.

GS options included:
3 Speed automatic, Sunroof, velour insert seat covers.

All models could have A/C installed at the US port and all cars went through small detail changes that first year from the factory like the push type fan control A/C switch, the hood prop changes, passanger side mirror addition, door card design, map pockets, dash speaker, dash vent and trim design changes. The velour seat inserts may have lumped in here too as a factory evolution to both cars instead of a GS option. I know they first appeared on late production (Jan-May 79) GS cars although JDM cars had em before North America. I think the first N/A car to have velour seats was the 79 Limited which was a dressed up GS with its own special option pakage not available on any other model.

 

80s did not come with passenger side mirror - not even on GS model

how are you guys able to enlarge the pics to enable such clarity ?

 

Standard S model:
2 spoke steering wheel, 4 speed manual transmission, steel wheels w/165 / 70R-13 tires (model RD-203's) key operated rear latch, 2 speed wiper contol. Red dot seats

Add to this no center console.