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That 85 FB Just sold for 16.5k! Was expecting to go higher, that is a super clean car. But in my opinion the S3 84/85 has the least desirable interior, for some reason Mazda held off with the "1980's" interiors for 80-83 then had to follow everybody else in the game.
I take it I am not the only one that follows BAT. FB prices are going pretty nuts. I got my S2 FB with 62k miles in very good condition for $2800 only about 6-7 years ago. I also should have found a nice FD at that time!
new and used cars' prices have exploded thanks to the chip shortage thanks to covid
when did fb = $1300 I missed it.
Heh.... my '81 was for sale for $500 for a few years in Decatur, he had no takers. I picked it up in 2016.
My '84 was bought for $950 from eBay in 2007. It was running but had some body damage.
I forget what I paid for my '85 but it wasn't much.
I paid $800 for my '80, in 1998. It was in great condition with only 80k miles. They'd just moved to Cleveland from Houston and had no idea what used cars were worth up here Most RX-7s that I was looking at were beat to crap and in the $1200-1500 range. Most of them had broken sunroofs, too, since thieves had figured out that prying it open was a great way to break in to a car.
Well there is one advantage to being old I bought my 85 GSL-SE from the original owner in Ventura, CA in 1994 for $4500 with 53k miles on it. Over the past twenty-six years I have put some money into it to make it the best version of it that it can be, and to individualize it to my tastes. It was my daily driver for fourteen years until I moved to the Midwest and then became my summer car (blue skies and dry roads only.) My insurance company tracks the market and just increased the insured value of my car to $16,750 this year which makes me a "happy-camper." I always get comments on it when I'm out in it and it's nice to see that people still appreciate the hard work it takes to keep it looking the way she does.
It was never a "collector" purchase for me peejay, it was a car I always wanted and when I found one in California I snatched it up. It wasn't bought as an investment but as a daily driver, and any changes I have made along the way were never made with thought it's going to increase it's value, but to please me. I think most everyone on this website has a "best vision" of what their RX7 would, could, should look like, and half the fun is in getting it there. If I ever sell it it, it will go to someone who has the same love of the RX-7's that I do, and collectors need not apply.
Beautiful FB. Wheels esp set it off nicely. And I am not seeing anything done that the next owner can't reverse to OE. And as stated, let's face it, even in the $16K+ range we are a looooong way from anything be remotely an 'investment' we should fear futzing with. We are treading water here. Own, drive, maybe get out from under it what you put in, at sale time. A Win no new (pick any) Supra, Z or sport Bimmer, porsche owner will ever see. Oh, and you get more eyeballs than most any new sports car grabs at the gas pumps.
Enjoy!
We can have this conversation again once 1st gens start regularly cracking the $40K + barrier. Like, in 10+ years. Maybe. Life's too short not to make the car what YOU want it to be - now, gents.
I just really wanted a 7, could have cared less that it's never gonna be worth anything substantial. I just enjoy it and always puts a smile on my face when I drive it.
I got my SA back in 83 as the best autox car I could own. Its been with me ever since. Its got ~140k on the original engine and still runs like a demon. The exterior has some "character" but I put all that character there myself over 38 years of ownership. The interior is mint. I had a mazda dealer owner offer to by it a few years ago. I told he couldn't afford it, in front of his whole sales force. You could hear a pin drop. Its been featured in Mazdas ZoomZoom magazine as well. Stu and Chris, we have special cars and I don't think any of us will let go until we are gone.
Software engineer who career took him all over the country? bet human resources kept trying to talk you out of shipping that car with you because it is so old. "But I know how to fix everything on it because I've done in 3 or 4 times already".
Welcome Bob. Wow. An original owner. I salute your hanging-in-there, never mind your incredible luck in getting a new one to begin with. Yep if you need tips this is the place to hang!
I have gotten offers of ten grand for my 79' here in so cal . My car is by no means perfect but considering It is daily driven, in my book that makes it more valuable than a weekend baby that may blow up on you . You cna still find them for 2-3 grand here but they are in rough shape, a good running car is a 7+ grand car.
I was obsessed with originality as well but then discovered my car had mods installed on it as far back as 1983. I do try to replace parts with Mazda OEM though, I have a lot of NOS stuff that has been put back in. The last bit I popped in was a NOS vac modulator manufactured in 1978!
What gives you the impression a "weekend baby" will blow-up anymore than a daily-driven 7 Frogman? Not everyone resides sunny Southern CA, my RX-7 was stored In CA and FL for multiple deployments, and is stored every winter here in the Midwest, and it never fails to start first time when I un-bag it. A properly maintained part-time vehicle is just as reliable as a daily-driven vehicle in my humble opinion.
What gives you the impression a "weekend baby" will blow-up anymore than a daily-driven 7 Frogman? Not everyone resides sunny Southern CA, my RX-7 was stored In CA and FL for multiple deployments, and is stored every winter here in the Midwest, and it never fails to start first time when I un-bag it. A properly maintained part-time vehicle is just as reliable as a daily-driven vehicle in my humble opinion.
Stress testing. There are cars that run fine for 20-30 miles and then start overheating, leaking fluids, flooding ( with carburetors). Proper Maintainance is key but how many people " properly" maintain vehicles that are used a few times a year? Oil must be changed every three - six months. gaskets dry out, parts stick, fule gunks up, rust does its black magic and animals bite stuff, etc. I will always favor a daily driven car over a garage kept one, one enters the fray every day, one may or may not have issues that crop up down the line .
I have to add my two cents. I am one of the owners that only use there rx7 on the weekend. But when it’s used it get driven hard. I am also obsessive about maintaining the car when it’s not in use. I usually use the car for HPDE and trailer it to the track, my SA draws a lot more attention than my 01 NB does. I tried to sell my SA on Bring A Trailer and it didn’t meet reserve. I wanted to see what a modded car would bring and it was less than I was willing to take.
Stress testing. There are cars that run fine for 20-30 miles and then start overheating, leaking fluids, flooding ( with carburetors). Proper Maintenance is key but how many people " properly" maintain vehicles that are used a few times a year? Oil must be changed every three - six months. gaskets dry out, parts stick, fule gunks up, rust does its black magic and animals bite stuff, etc. I will always favor a daily driven car over a garage kept one, one enters the fray every day, one may or may not have issues that crop up down the line .
I can guarantee you I hear the RPM limit buzzer every time I drive my seven, and at thirty-six years old has "zero" leaks. The people that "properly" maintain their RX-7's are the majority of the people on this forum Frogman, whether it be their daily-driver, fair-weather, or weekend thrill ride. All the items you mention are things that can be dealt with with proper maintenance. It's not an "all or nothing" situation, just my opinion.
I can guarantee you I hear the RPM limit buzzer every time I drive my seven, and at thirty-six years old has "zero" leaks. The people that "properly" maintain their RX-7's are the majority of the people on this forum Frogman, whether it be their daily-driver, fair-weather, or weekend thrill ride. All the items you mention are things that can be dealt with with proper maintenance. It's not an "all or nothing" situation, just my opinion.
On this forum, I have no doubt all of us maintain our cars. But when someone has a car they drive once a month vs a car that gets driven daily, I would bank my money on the daily driver getting me from here to san Fransisco and not the garage kept car, some things truly DONT show up until you go on long long drives, at least for me , a lot of issues that did not manifest themselves on my weekend excursions started to rear their head in when I started taking it out for daily 40 mile drives, small issues become big issues, small leaks suddenly start to drain significant levels of fluid that might otherwise take a month or two for you to notice. I'm not just speaking of mechanical issues, Rust and rot seem to take over parked cars much faster than moving ones. 7's have a lot of people doing shady stuff to hide issues as well. Proper maintenance is KEY as you noted, a improperly maintained daily will die .. an improperly maintained weekend warrior will probably make it back to the garage.
Bought our 1982 Rx7 8 years ago from the original owner and it is fully documented. I drive it on the weekends and sometimes to work. I always change the oil before putting it to bed for its winter sleep here in northeast Indiana. It has always started flawlessly every spring. The only leak I have had was an antifreeze leak caused by 3 of the 4 freeze plugs starting seep. Had them replaced and the car is bone dry underneath.
Bought our 1982 Rx7 8 years ago from the original owner and it is fully documented. I drive it on the weekends and sometimes to work. I always change the oil before putting it to bed for its winter sleep here in northeast Indiana. It has always started flawlessly every spring. The only leak I have had was an antifreeze leak caused by 3 of the 4 freeze plugs starting seep. Had them replaced and the car is bone dry underneath.
My car has a 20 year maintnence gap , BUT they only put 20,000 miles on it in that 20 year period. When I bought mine it was leaking from the pan , the dowel pins , the oil cooler , Master cylinder, trans pan .. The rad was fine but that one went on me too ! The lady said it was her brothers and he gave it to her and just couldnt afford putting fluids in it any more haha .
On this forum, I have no doubt all of us maintain our cars. But when someone has a car they drive once a month vs a car that gets driven daily, I would bank my money on the daily driver getting me from here to san Fransisco and not the garage kept car, some things truly DONT show up until you go on long long drives, at least for me , a lot of issues that did not manifest themselves on my weekend excursions started to rear their head in when I started taking it out for daily 40 mile drives, small issues become big issues, small leaks suddenly start to drain significant levels of fluid that might otherwise take a month or two for you to notice. I'm not just speaking of mechanical issues, Rust and rot seem to take over parked cars much faster than moving ones. 7's have a lot of people doing shady stuff to hide issues as well. Proper maintenance is KEY as you noted, a improperly maintained daily will die .. an improperly maintained weekend warrior will probably make it back to the garage.
My 85GSL-SE was my "daily-driver" for fourteen years when I was stationed in CA and FL, but having retired in the Midwest I have no intention of exposing my original California RX-7 to winter weather. I do miss not being able to drive when the spirit moves me but it gives me something to look forward to in the Spring. My daily driver now is a twenty-one year old Acura RL that I bought in 2007 when I retired here in Indy (I tend to hang on to things) and it gives me a couple of things that the 7 doesn't. It has airbags, heated seat, and a cupholder which is nice at my age.
:-) 2000 RL, my daily driver
Most RX-7s that I was looking at were beat to crap and in the $1200-1500 range. Most of them had broken sunroofs, too, since thieves had figured out that prying it open was a great way to break in to a car.
