Grimlock

what should i look for as far as the health of the engine? the motor has 128,000 miles on it. is it near the end of its life?

Felix Wankel

Far from it.

Turbo_Crazy

Just do the usual compression test, as well as all the basic things you would look for when buying a car. The guy/gal you're buying it from could have babied the thing like crazy, or they could have treated it like crap. You make the call.

yayarx7

as I love to work on them, and am not afraid to tackle any job, my requirements for a used SE are different from those who do not want to do or pay someone else to do any BIG jobs in the near future. The condition of the vehicle only affects the price I would pay for it, not weather I would get it. If I run accross an SE in my price range, ****** it up. You can fix anything and these are the best IMO (stock)first gens.

82transam

iTrader: (18)

I'm with yayarx7, I too use condition to regulate how much I pay for a car, not whether I get it or not.

85RX7GS

iTrader: (1)

Check the wheel wells inside of the car for rust. Ask if the engine has been rebuilt. Ask how often the oil was changed. Ask how the car was driven. Finally, ask the person if he/she knows what a wankel is.

itzweapon

Make sure you have the original SE gear box.. they have a vent on the passanger side. Listen for a humming comming from the rear while cruzing.
:] Make sure the factory radio works :] Look under the car.. twords the rear of the motor.. make sure that oil is not dripping.. as well as the oil metering pump.

cjf

iTrader: (1)

what are you going to pay for it?..as with any car, receipts!!! oil changed often?? if you are worried about the engine, have a compression ck done on it...what does the oil pressure gauge read when operating?? these gauages are not real accurate but , you should be 45-60...128,000 miles can be a lot of miles , maybe not...all depends on the over condition of the car and how it was maintained...if you are a novice with "7's" , have it checked out by someone who knows ... ...good luck....cjf

djs2571

oil pressure gauge reads 45-60 at idle and 70ish when revved at all. But the sending units do die on occasion, so if it looks like 0, then to normal, then to zero again... get a used one from a junk yard to see if thats an issue first.
The upper mounts for the rear trailing arms like to rust out, and that 'reinforcement' panel above those links hold moisture and rust through the inside. The lower arm mounts rust the floor to. And look under those leather flaps in the rear just in front of the plastic over the shocks.
I've seen one that was severly rusted in a junkyard, there are holes at the inside base of the front strut towers that rust through. Where the pitman arm (steering) hooks to the frame. and the above resr end rust. in the front wheelwells at the upper rear inside, there's a 'shoulder' that gets rusted through a little too.
That's all you can see from the outside.
Though I doubt a miami car will have much rust though.

yayarx7

Why would you worry about the gearbox being a GSL-SE original?

Directfreak

iTrader: (2)

yayarx7

You just wanted to use that. You probably sit around just waiting for the chance.

I still want to know why the original trans matters. The 84-85 12a trannies are the same exept for 5th gear. are you saying that the car is diminished by the one gear?