Ok so I'm your average american teenager, I want a car. Luckily I'm smart enough not to want a Honda civic with a wing. In case you can't tell I'm in this forum because I want a first gen RX-7. I'm just wondering how much I should be paying for a stock 7 with a 12a, in daily driver condition. I live in Colorado so rust isn't a real big issue, it's mostly mechanics I'm worried about. What should I expect to pay for one of these machines? I've seen them from $850-$3000. There's one nearby for $1200, at this price should I expect a crapper or something decent, and should I hunt down a rotary mechanic to check it for me, or should I be able to spot any big problems?
Thanks

 

1500 - 3000 should be an awsome car with upgrades and good to great paint. 850 -1500 will be a driver with problems >850 will be a car, expect to work on it a good bit, unless you get lucky.


This is all in general terms. People have bought $100 great cars and $3000 peices of Crap.

 

I bought my immaculant 85 gsl with 80K original miles for 3000...don't know if that helps, no problems so far!

 

i bought an 85gsl with good paint perfect interier one bented fender and it ran(not well) for 100$!!! so there are deals out there you just gotta find it(and im 16)

 

i bought a 85gs decent paint nice interier no rust and one bent fender that a hammer and bondo didnt clean up the engine 136,000 miles ran nice besides little leaks and a over heating problem that a $8 thermostat fixed and mine was $600 (and im 15)

 

I got an 83 LE for 1500 that needed only paint, I have done alot more tho

 

wait wait i was 14 when i got the car.....lol and i have done alot of other stuff too like new raditor,,cd player,,gettin racing seats, springs and shocks, and oil pressure gauge since my sender is messed up and electric fan and strut tower bars............man i need a job but school is here and i better do good so i can pass and get a good job so i can buy more parts!!!!

 

Yeah, I'm raking in 5.75 an hour (though I've been promised a raise in december). I have $1300 saved up right now, and i've talked to the guy selling, he's willing to drop down some. I just need to figure out how to get dad to pay insurance. Oh, and should I hunt down a rotary mechanic, and what should he be able to tell me that I can't do on my own? Also, is 130k too many miles?

 

As long as the previous owner has taken good care of it, 130k miles is not too many. Rotaries that have been well cared for have been known to run for 200k +. I would reccomend trying to find a rotary mechanic, but if you cannot but have basic knowledge of cars i wouldn't worry about it too much. These engines aren't that complicated! Good luck and I hope that helps. If you do end up getting one spend a lot of time on this forum. You will find amazing support from the 1st gen community.

 

anything else I should be watching out for?

 

Storage Bin rust.

 

YES you want to get it checked out by a mechanic! Take it to Rotary Specialists on Sante Fe. They'll look at fluids, make sure it hasn't been wrecked and do a compression check.

If it's the gold car in Fort Collins, there's a Mazda specialist there that can do the checks also.

 

if you're REALLY SMART ENOUGH, you wouldn't get a rotary for your age.

rotary mechanic?? get a haynes manual and learn it yourself. by getting a mechanic, you're already burning cash.

you wouldn't do that now w/ a honda civic now would you?

 

I wouldn't touch a Civic, they are meant to be economy cars, I don't want an economy car, I want something that can perform.
It is the gold car in Fort Colllins. How much should I pay the mechanic, probably not more than one hour worth of labor, right? Do you have the Name and number for the mechanic in Fort Collins?

 

I agree.
$800 should buy a nice fb, that just needs washed, and some little cosmetic stuff you can do over time.

 

My first car was an Rx-7. It never needed anything but an oil change for several years. Reading through a Haynes manual won't help in a pre-purchase inspection. A mechanic who knows these cars will know what to look for.

 

Civics are actually terrific cars, great engine and suspension, but they certainly aren't cool looking like a sports car.

Typically, a pre-purchase inspection with a compression check is about $100. It's worth it to know that you're not going to need to put a new engine in it soon after you buy it. It's kept me from buying some expensive 3rd gens in the past.

The companys name is Mazteck Inc. They're number should be in the online yellow pages. You need to come up and look at the car before you do any of this though if you haven't already. There may be some problems you could find yourself that make it a bad purchase without even needing to have a mechanic look it over.

A couple of obvious ones are if the engine has oil puddles on the top of the block near the 12a emblems or if it smells like burned anti-freeze once it's warmed up. You'll also want to look for rust as mentioned earlier. It happens in Colorado too.

 

Must be nice. My First one <- see avitar, I picked up the tag on friday afternoon, put it on saturday morning and the engine came apart 30 minutes later.

 

Did you have a mechanic look the car over before you bought it?

 

No need to, Buddy I bought it from is a mechanic, Dad is a mechanic, I am learning but dont know as much as dad. Compression was great, and apex seal broke and the engine got a nice shimmey. My buddy had just driven it down to me from Ohio and it was running great.

I said "DAM it" real loud and went to find another engine.



I live in a small town, With two Rotary Mechanics, Me and a guy who has never taken one of the engines apart.

 

Thanks, Il'l make sure to get the mechanic to take a look even if I can't find anything.

 

So I'm going up for a test drive on Saturday. MazTech is closed on Saturdays, but this guy has maintenance records from maztech for the past 4 years. But, he said that there is a leak on the oil sender.

 

A leak in the oil sender doesn't sound like a big deal.

Here's what I'd do. I'd ask the guy if he'd be willing to take the car in for an inspection next week some time without you. You typically would pay for the inspection but you really don't need to be there. The compression check is going to be very important. Also I'd call Maztech on Monday and ask them about the car.

I obviously don't know how many cars you've looked at, but the best advice I can give is to be willing to let this one go if you don't feel great about it or if the guy doesn't want to work with you. There will be plenty more 1st gens popping up.

 

Alright, Il'l tell him I will pay asking price, if he gets the car checked at maztech. I've looked at a few other cars, but this will be the first 7.

 

Look at it first of course. If it's in good shape it could easily be worth $1200.