"82 Mazda RX-7, original owner, one of the nicest you'll find - $3000"

Does this sound like a fair price for a clean car? I have been driving Proteges (street and track) for the past six years. I don't yet have a good feel for the price ranges of 1st gens, but this does seem a bit high.

Please read the description and let me know what you think.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/car/181743000.html

Here is some additional info provided by the seller:

"it has 250,000 miles on the original engine. I've taken good care of it, thus the engine has never needed rebuilding. Always starts right up, has good and even compression, and still doesn't blow blue smoke out the back."

 

i personally would be a bit hesitant to pay that much for that car. it is clean and looks in good shape, but no matter how much you baby an engine, after 250k miles, its bound to be nearing at least the last years of its life. it all depends on what ur up to paying and how much YOU like it. Like i said, i wouldnt, you could probably find a better deal. I got my 83' for $800, with almost 2 grand in mods and clean interior, paint a bit faded, but still a good deal. Search around before dropping $3K

 

The pictures are not all that clear. I would request better pictures of everything from the interior to engine bay to every side of the vehicle. 3k might not be that high if the paint is excellent. But it says that the seats are worn and there are new covers means the seats are probably in bad shape? How about the carpet? 250k is alot of miles on a vehicle and there are alot of things to consider like the steering/suspension/motor/etc.. I personally will not buy a car with that many miles on it.

 

By the way, heres my mint 82 Gs model. It is practically flawless with 67k original miles on it. The only drawback for most is the A/T. It's worth way more than 3k.

 

^^
Dude, I thought you have some funky tail lights when I looked at those icons.

 

^^^

From right to left, we have Italy, Poland, and ?

 

And i don't have a clue. It came on the car when i bought it. The guy i bought ir from said that they were the original owners. I took them off and replaced the finsisher piece with a very clean on thanks to Ians.

 

Way too much, keep looking, there are less expensive and lower mileage one's out there.

 

I wouldn't pay more than $2,000 at the most for that FB. If you just keep looking you can find a VERY VERY nice 1st gen for $3,000 , well atleast around me in Florida you can. Usually I see rebuilt/streetported 12a first gens selling for around $3200. And thats with a clean clean body and a nice clean/rebuilt engine. Maybe thats just here if Florida, I've never really looked at how much they run for in other states esspecially Washington State.

 

i paid 750 for my 83. and mine has 140,000 on it and body/interior is just as good as that one. so... i say unless he is willing to the price by at least half its a no go. (still a nice fb and he is a good writer)

 

I paid $500 CDN for a freshly painted, rust free '84 GSL.

Keep looking.

 

Is it just me or am I noticing a lot of '82 cars coming out for sale? (including the one I bought)

 

I know I am off topic and not meaning to hijack, but does anyone else laugh to themselves when they read an ad for a rotary that "doesn't burn oil"? I can't help but think to myself that either a) they never checked the oil between oil changes, or b) they are flat out lying

 

What he should have said is: does not burn oil as rapidly as you might expect of an engine with this mileage.

I had a look at the car and gave it a good test drive. There is no question that he has maintained it and taken care of it -- suspension was good, all lights worked, no visible body rust, water pump replaced twice, clutch replaced, shifting was smooth, the engine didn't miss, door locks work and windows roll down, no mildew smell, etc.

The car wasn't perfect, but it has been diligently maintained. It's actually quite rare to find (any) reasonably clean RX-7 in this area. But every once in a while..... If the price were reasonable, I would have committed. Alas.....

 

Maybe $2000 or a little higher if it's that good. Ask yourself how long it will be before you see another like that for less.

 

too expensive... keep looking...

with 250k you will be doing a motor swap sooner than later...

 

There should be tons of cars in your area. 3K is to high for that car, Engine is at double it's life span. I would say $1500 is fair. 3K should buy you a nicely modified car or a very low miles garage queen.

 

I agree, $3k is too high for that car. For $3k and that mileage, I would expect everything to be near perfect and the engine rebuilt. As stated elsewhere, an engine rebuild will be in the near future. You can do better at that money, and for just a little more (around $4k) you can probably find a low mileage one that is close to pristine.

Unfortunately, the collector value of our cars is pretty low. I continue to monitor various sources for value of stock low mileage (<60k) cars, and rarely do they sell for much more than $4500. However, the personal value is much higher which is why we all bought our cars for next to nothing, have dumped a bunch of money in them, and won't sell them!

 

With that many miles, you will have to rebuild soon. Thats at least $1000. After rebuild the body and every thing else will still have that many miles on it. I wouldn't pay more than $1000, maybe $1200, tops.