General pricing question
 

I am not to familiar with what the going rate for 1st gen's are but I thought I'd ask and this seems to be the place to ask.
I was driving around this weekend and came across a very nice condition 1980 at least body wise. The interior was in fair condition and the car looked to be totally stock with a manual (I'm guessing) 4spd. The guy wants $3k for it and I think that's a bit much, I didn't get a chance to talk to the owner but that's what was on the car.
Anything I should look out for?

If it is real nice and runs very well then it is worth that.

1500 is what I consider a base price on a 79-80 that runs and is in good shape.

For $3K you should be getting a nice 80 RX7. Hades12 is right for an average car. you don't state the mileage. I paid $4K for my 80 with 62,000 miles, and it is in very nice original condition. Its worth more like $3700, but I really wanted it, so you pay what your wallet and heart allow ;). Its not perfect, but very nice (I've attached a pic so you can judge the value yourself). Will the owner back it up with service records or documents?? The 80 came in 2 verisons : "S", a 4-speed stripper, and the "GS", 5-speed and extra dodads. First determine which it is. "S"s are rare, and should be 'cause they are pretty poorly equipped cars. Check the tranny, that will tell you. This particular car not withstanding, I would REALLY urge you to get one with a sunroof!! Makes a HUGE difference in driving enjoyment!! Any RX you seriously look at should be examined by someone who knows the cars; a local Rotary shop or even a dealer is better than winging it yourself. Its a $100 well spent. The engine needs to be checked for compression to make sure your not about to drop $2K on a car that will need as much in a rebuilt engine! The trick with rotaries is they can run fine, but still have the engine on the way out the door! These are great engines and you can expect close to 200,000 miles on a well cared for engine, but... get it checked. it requires a special rotary compression tester to do this, so don't let anyone blow smoke up your butt :)
Keep asking questions here - lots of good help and info. There is probably even a FAQ here that gives specific details of things to check for. And if/when you get one, let us all know and post a pic or 2!
cheers
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

I didn't get a chance to get in the car so I don't know the mileage, the plastic placard on the back of the car that would indicate the model was missing.
I do know a little about what to look out for being an FC owner.
Did all the 80's come with rear drums? And if so are they easily upgradable to disk?
Are they carbed or FI?

Drums. Upgradeable to discs using a GSL or GSL-SE complete axle. Carbed.

ok I just read the FAQ sticky - I am much more informed now