https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1979-mazda-rx-7-27/

Up for auction this week.
Not my car, but do know the owner, a Forum member. This one is pretty exceptional (I have seen it in person), so of course, we can't (well, shouldn't) be judging ALL 1st gens by this. But may point to some trends...

Stu A
80GS (which I wish was THIS nice...!)
AZ

 

That's a beautiful specimen! I do love the SAs.

 

Crazy to think that's what my super rough shell looked like when it was new...can only hope to get it back to being that nice.

 

Real nice with 75k on the clock. Owner did a good job fretting this up. looks like the mirrors were painted. I think the tail lights have a light coat of a smoke tint, but I could be wrong. Looks tasteful. Does anyone else think it had a re-spray? Not many cars of that age and mileage have that good of a coat of paint. Makes me eager to get my car back from the paint shop.

 

Hard to tell if it has been painted or not. It's a stunning example overall!! It honestly looks almost as good as it did when the car was new!

 

that was nice to see, such a cool car!

 

Awesome car, so clean for the miles. Love the shots underneath.

https://bringatrailer.com/mazda/rx-7-fb/

Really cool to see all the comments for the FB's on BAT. Everybody loves them and always chime sin on how they miss theirs etc.

 

Near as I and the Owner can tell, the paint is original, tho he may have had it detailed. The exception -as noted in the Auction - was the roof had a couple of dents as did the driver fr fender, so these were resprayed by one of Phoenix' premier paint shops. The match (which had to be blended into the B-pillars) is flawless. As mentioned, the spectacular condition of the undercarriage reaffirms that stuff up top is very likely original.

Stu A
80GS
AZ

 

Yes, other than drivers side fender and roof, the rest is original paint (including both mirrors and windshield/door trim).

 

LOL - guess this is Tim's way of intro-ing himself as: the Owner

Stu A
80GS
AZ

 

Oh-Kaaaaaaay. So the Market has - for the moment - spoken
$17K!
Con-Grat's Tim on presentation of a really exceptional RX7.
Two guys had to have this car and this is a great result. And like our 240Z brethren, this price will look cheep in another 3-5 yrs.
Congrats to the new owner (who apparently owned the exact car, back in the Day). Drive. Enjoy. Love it. Its money in the bank. Hope we see you here on the Forum... (he has been invited)

Stu A
80GS
AZ

 

Congratulations to all involved!

 

It's encouraging...but BaT seems to produce an unrealistic premium on everything. I feel like the exact same car might have sold for $10k though normal channels.

 

Whats "normal" can be different from one person to the next. It includes everything from parking the car on the curb with a F/S sign, to consigning it to an Auction house or online dealer. Just depends on how hard you want to advertise the car. The more you market the car, the more expensive it is. BaT does charge a fee but the logic is, they attract a broader audience that will typically pay more than the local tire kicker.

Currently, your average condition Rx-7 isn't considered very desirable to a large number of enthusiasts. Too many were mass produced. Exceptional cars however (this one included IMO) will attract additional interest and it makes better sense to market these types of cars on a broader scale, to buyers who are more willing to spend larger amounts for the quality examples. Yes, if the owner chose to advertise this car on these forums or their local F/S ads, they would probably be faced with having to let it go at a lower amount. But they would be leaving money on the table. The guy who bought this car seems pretty happy that he even got the chance to own it.

A vehicles "market" includes all cars in all conditions at both ends of the value scale. Currently, for Rx-7's that market is a broad range. But as the nice cars can attract higher values, they pull the rest of the cars up some too, that's just the way it works. It's still best to buy a car because it speaks to you, not as an investment. If that passion happens to also increase in value, that just icing on the cake.

 

Damn! I need a rats nest, thermal reactor manifold, an SA ignition box, and new paint.

Who am I kiddin, I'm never sellin it, ever. I might get another tho.

 

LOL - t_g, other than THAT, you are good to go....


Stu A
80GS (with..."needs")
AZ

 

Here’s another nice one on BAT for ya (By which I mean First Gen, as opposed to SA specifically)

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-mazda-rx-7-9/

 

That's another nice one. I'm with you Tim, not getting rid of mine. I searched for 2 years to find mine.

 

Wow! that is wonderful, Seems just yesterday we were arguing over whether or not the 1st gens would become valuable $$$

 

So, this one only got to $10,250, RNM, and is an original paint GSL...

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-mazda-rx-7-9/

But THIS one sold for $11,000, repainted, and a GS...

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1985-mazda-rx-7-23/

The comparison is worthwhile because of the virtually identical mileage of the two cars. You never know how an auction will go! Were the bidders diggin’ the no sunroof and more modest interior colour?

All very interesting...

 

Personally, I would pay more for no sunroof. They are just rust demons waiting to happen and they reduce the cars rigidity some.

 

Each to his own t_g_
Never noticed a rigidity issue on my S-Roof'd 80. You do need to pop the top and lift the weather seal to make sure there isn't something nasty going on - but this is the story anywhere on a car where there needs to be drainage! Rear hatch drains are even worse if owners don't clear the debris from drain holes regularly. Daily pay-off with open-air driving in a tight-quartered coupe more than makes up for it...

Stu A
80 GS (with hole in roof...)
AZ

 

I'm with you Stu, love my sunroof, no rust even spending almost 30 years in Michigan!

 

When I was shopping for an SA in '02, I bought my GLASS roof panel first, then went looking for the car
I found mine in San Diego county (me being in Alaska). I flew down with the glass panel as luggage, dropped it in the car, mailed the steel panel home. Had the trip of a lifetime going back home, with some great mountain vistas to take in thru the roof on the way.
Turned down several nice SAs that were straight tin-tops before this...
Have never found even beater S-roofed 1st gens to be particularly rust-prone around the sunroof (other areas: yes!). Its really one of the simplest design-styles of SRoof, being a simple lift out panel with out sliders or hidden tracks, etc to collect hidden debris.

Stu A
80GS
AZ