There have been a few discussions here and there regarding some BAT auctions.

The most recent FB to go was a very nice original S3 FB 12A in Sunrise Red. I am biased, I have an S2 in Sunrise Red...

A super clean car but still something that has been driven, 61k miles! Only the sunroof looks a bit 'off' ?

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1985-mazda-rx-7-30/

Some of the comments are saying the FB will be the next S30 240z. Really cool to see the appreciation for these cars. $20k USD is quite significant.

 

that's because it's not the factory installed sunroof.

 

those aftermarket roofs are so bad, that car is worthless, imo...

but yes having played with these cars since the early 90's, its weird to have them turn the corner to be valuable collectibles. its good, its just different

 

Yes I was surprised that the comments made no mention of the roof. It looks like a better version of the typical add-on moon roof which is smaller and more oval and you see on all sorts of 80's cars.

I guess sunroofs were a big deal back in the day, so much so that people would cut a big hole in their roof!?

I also thought all GS models came with a sunroof... guess not.

Hopefully renewed interest and higher $$ cars help with parts availability.. or might make it worse, lets see.

 

its hard to imagine having someone hack a hole in the roof of your new car, but i've seen a lot so it was a thing!

some years the GS did have a sunroof, and some years it was an option, it seems like most of them have it though which makes hacking a hole in the roof kind of double weird, its not like these cars were rare

 

The factory in Japan decided how many cars were made with sun roofs. They were available in the US from the very first year, but not sure if they were strictly confined to GS models. (I want to say I've saw a few S models with factory sun roofs) They were mainly found on GS cars however as the S models were considered the basic "stripper version" of the car.

Since you were pretty much stuck with locating an existing car (new or used) with the features you liked, some buyers would settle with what they could get or find. If you decided to buy one without a sun roof, having an aftermarket one installed might seem like a plausable add-on at the time. Especially if you were the new, 2nd owner of the car.

I agree that in the last one or two years, the market for nice Rx-7's had taken a noticeable step or two in the upward direction value wise. Helped by an overall uptick in the market for Japanese cars in general. To me, it's both good and sad. Going to get harder to find affordable cars / parts and could gradually price out some that have been long time, loyal enthusiasts.

 

I'm glad the nice cars are rising in value. I don't like that people think their "restoration candidate" is a pot of gold. It's a 240Z, but I think this seller is a little too optimistic.

 

"Nice car" ? that one picture of the differential shows a lot of rust. That's a +30 year old car with about $10K spent on pimping it up.

 

That's a good example of what I was speaking about. When values rise, even the cars that would have been considered heaps, become like you say, "a pot of gold". We are still far behind the curve of early Z cars, but it's not inconceivable to have something similar happen to Rx-7's in ten years time. They were wildly popular when introduced and have an exemplary racing record.

 

I just clicked on the link to the 240Z
It just gets better as you scroll through the picks -- where did they store that thing? In a pond I'm guessing...

 

What's weird is the same site is selling a red one for $1000 less that needs a lot less work. The blue one doesn't even have floors.

 

what's the link to the 240z lake car?

ever watch fast'n loud where they make fun of elitist car collectors, playing classical music in the background? sippin white wine ? something akine to a PBS program.

Maybe those z cars go for so high is because they rust like crazy, and there's only one or two left of each type?

 

The link originally posted by j_tso:

 

thanks for the link. that is an amazing car for $8 k. where would you start on a restoration? you can buy new chassis/floorpans for classic beetles, but for a 1972 240z?

 

perhaps one day Mazda would consider making 12a housings again...

 

I like to think that I started the upward price trend on BAT. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...rx-7-gsl-se-2/ Now that was (and still is) a clean car. I wonder what it would bring on BAT today?

Since then, I've only added another 4K miles (a thousand of which were from driving the car home to Canada after I purchased it).


Taken before one of the last fall drives before the snow flew.

 

Just caught this Thread. Wow. Medium-mileage RX with aftermarket hole in the ceiling, self-admitted non-op AC and dirty seats.
This is (or was...) NICE -SE price territory. And Yes, JNew, you STOLE yours be comparison. For some reason maybe 2 people just HAD to have this car?? I am going to call the price "outlier", since too many recently have sold for far less to call this price the New Normal for stock GS's in middling condition (of course the crazy-low-mileage cars will always command above-normal prices).
Anyway. My 2¢...

Stu A
80GS
AZ