Mint 1979 RX-7's worth?
 

Hi everyone - I'm new here, but I have my eye on a low-mileage '79 RX-7 with only 30,000 miles in mint condition. No dings/dents/rust, etc... mint interior. What would be a good price to pay for something like this? Also, they have a choke, correct? Is it true that these cars can be a pain to start? I'd only really drive it during the weekends in the summertime, so I'm thinking that I'll be ok on that front.

Any suggestions as far as price goes (or anything else, for that matter)?

Thanks!!

Would really need to see pics to say, but 2K would be a great deal for you.

As long as the engine is in good shape they are easy to start, once they start wearing out they can then be a pain.

^^^^^^agreed. make sure the mileage is in fact 30K, as the 79's had only 5 diget odometers and the car could have had a rollover on the odometer. i would definatly like to see pics of the car as well. i'm curious on the vin number as well.

The choke on the UK 7's is certainly automatic, held with a magnet until the engine warms up, but I believe it's best to use it as a true manual choke, overriding the magnet and pushing home as soon as possible.
Starting is easy peasy particularly in the summertime and particularly when you are used to where to set the choke for different conditions.
Over here mint SA's and FB's with such a low mileage are going for about $6000 to $7000, although for lesser cars about $2000 to $3000 is more usual. A concourse FB with 38000 miles changed hands recently for over $8000. The higher prices probably reflect the amount of road salt we use, pretty universally across the UK.

i paid 4300 for my 80 w/ 37k

I'd expect to pay about $4500 for this car. The 1st Gens that bring the most with low miles are the GSL-SE models, which would go from $8000 to $9500 with that mileage here in the States.

Right -that's what I figured. They'd probably laugh at me if I offered them 2k and tell me I was dreaming :) Anyways, 4-5k is what I'm expecting to pay. Now here's my other question: Just how fast/fun to drive are these older 12A 7's? I've never driven one, but I think it might be fun to have as a nice-weather Sunday car. Again, I"ve never owned a 7 before, but I've read that they really stick to the road and are fairly peppy. Can anyone shed some light on the overall driving experience? I'm worried that the thing has a CHOKE (wow, that's seriously old technology), no A/C, no tape player, etc... but I just think it might be a fun car to have in general. I can't imagine that it's worth would depreciate that much any time soon either.

Thanks - from the 'newbie' ;)

My '79 has a choke (absolutely no problem starting, and it IS semi automatic...you pull it out manually and the magnet hold it out until the engine warms up, then it releases it), no A/C, no tape player, etc...and I've always had a blast driving it, for almost 30 years now.

Rich

Yep, great driving, goes round corners like on rails, my wife's daily drive from 1985.
Can be hard to manoever at parking speeds due to no power assist. The car makes up for that with sheer fun once on the move.

cars are pretty damn slow with the stock 12a but hey they still are a blast to drive

Thanks for all the input, people.

I have one more question - Am I correct in saying that leather seats were not available in '79? From the pics, the car appears to have black leather (or vinyl) seats, but from what I've been reading about the '79 Rx-7, it appears that only cloth seats were available in it's first year.

Anyone?

Thanks!

79 & 80 SAs different production runs had either vinyl (yuk) or a cloth insert (mono color or plaid in 79s!!).
Leather not available till 80 Leather Sport edition.
Stu Aull
80GS

If it is truly mint, $2k is a steal; $4k - $5k is still a very good deal. Read the various threads on buying a used 1st gen RX7 so you know what to look for.

The most I have seen one go for so far is $7k for a 12,000 mile, one owner, early 1979 GS.

I paid $2000 for my almost mint one owner 79 GS in 2005 from the original owner. The car came with loads of spare parts,and enough paperwork that I could tell where the car was at al,ost any point in its life. My car was always a New england car,and you would never be able to tell because it was never driven in the winter,and has never seen salt. I would say that $2k is a steal,mainly because I think I stole my 79 for $2k with only 75kish miles on it. I wish they were worth in the $-5k range,but I just don't see it yet,either that or I got the deal of the century.

question is it a S or a GS might take a couple hun of of price you'll know this by how many gears its got 4 speed its an S 5 speed it's a GS

Spoke with the dealer yesterday. It has 5 gears plus reverse, so I'm guessing it's the GS model. He gave me a VIN #, but it only had about 11 or 12 numbers to it. Does that sound right? I thought it should have 17 numbers, like most cars of today.

What are the other differences between the S and the GS?

No, the SA's were built before the standardized 17 digit VINs were put in place.

Rich

the big differences were the 5 speed a sunroof and alloy rims on the gs

And a better stereo.

Rich

But the GS didn't always have the sunroof,as my GS does not,but it does have the alloys. Heck my GS doesn't even have Air Conditioning.

Alloys and sunroof still were optional - both under $300 each, I think. Sticker is still in glove compartment. The electric remote hatch release was on the GS also.

the GS came standard with the 5 speed trans, body side mouldings, a tinted band on the upper portion of the windshield, a rear anti sway bar, intermittent wipers, cargo straps, electric hatch release, the four spoke steerig wheel, the dead pedal, the door panels had pockets, you got a storage compartment onthe center console, and you got the wider tires.
the options for both the S and the GS were a/c and the automatic trans.
GS specific options were the aluminum wheels and the sunroof.

Hmmm...I though the GS also had an upgraded stereo, with a tape deck and speakers in the rear? My S model came with just a basic Clarion stereo radio, with speakers only in the kick panels.

Rich

I have an odly optioned SA with sunroof had a/c before removal 5 speed tranny the 4 speed came in the 78's 79 they up and went 5 speed. Also in 78 they had a dash speaker 79 had the kick panels and hatch were optional. Dont know too much about the stock radio as mine didnt have it in there. 79 also brought a limited edition with different wheels and a charcoal / Black color only optioned on the 79 LE. Which I have a full set of 5 if anyone is interested. P.S. Snatch up that 79 in a condition like that Book value is around $7,000 even though people wont pay that much cheapo rotary owners....But hey the VMRC is based out of CT and as you can see we have a few SA's you could check out this coming year and with no emissions on these Vintage Rotaries the Sky is the limit!!!!

You say this car is at a dealer? If so then id offer them $2k, as Id be willing to bet they have that or less in it. Regardless of mileage, the 79 isn't enough car to go for $5k and anyone who paid that got taken. Even if it only has 30k miles, the car is most likely all original which means everything in it is nearly 30 years old.