don't you call your car the terd? Or is that someone else on there?

 

try to find a low milage mint condition rx 7 very hard to do most have over 100,000 miles on them

 

Old tread from the dead, yep they have definitely increased in value since the creation of this thread 10 years ago.

Since spring I have seen two other unknown FB's on the road.

 

I definitely think its only a matter of time until it's a classic! I consider it one already, mine is an 82, just at the 30 year mark.. If you look around, Datsun 510s fetch a pretty penny (not 100k but 10k is still good for a car of it's age and considering MSRP was like 4-5000? IF THAT) The same goes for Corollas, etc, lots of classics, they were mass produced like anything else (aside from barrettjackson's typical cars).. The difference with corollas, AE86 chassis' (my first love) is that there is tons of stupid teenagers (unlike myself) that have no love for them and are drifting them to their deaths.. they'll be worth something when there is none left.

 

Yikes! Old thread but heres my answer: Not really. If classic means it will be very
desirable by Joe collector and ramp up in huge value in the next 10-20 years I think
not. There are too many and even any special editions weren't that limited.

These cars are a lot like LBCs and I expect them to appreciate (or not) just like LBCs
have. (LBC - little british cars).

 

As a proud (soon to be third year running) exhibitor at the Japanese Classic Car Show, it's my considered opinion that RX-7's are already classics. They are just 'budget' classics.

The car was an engineering triumph when it rolled off the assembly line. Its lines and looks are clearly classic & quite distinctive - - and rather exotic for the period. Go look at pictures of the common cars on the road and in the showroom floor at the end of the 70's/early 80's.

It's handling & performance were at or near the top of its class, capable of outdoing contemporary cars costing quite a bit more.

I remember the impact the -7 had when it came out. It turned heads. It was superficially similar to the Z and a couple other hatchback sports coupes, but it was cleaner and more modern looking - the Z had been pimped up to the 280ZX in '78, which to me looked like an unfortunate attempt to create a Japanese Trans Am.

The -7 had less horsepower than the 280ZX, but was 400-500 lbs lighter, tighter & more agile.

They were quite exotic at the time, and their looks have held well for 3 decades now. A definite classic.

 

I agree with DD on this one completely.

The word classic really doesn't have to mean high dollar classic. I believe the value will rise as time goes on but will probably stay under $20k for clean originals or quality restorations. I'm not talking next week but over the next 10 years. I think we will start to see more people restoring them in the future.

 

I couldn't agree more with your assessment Glen. What is lacking is a large following like european exotics or American muscle cars. Classic Japanese cars here in the states are like classic British cars, much more segmented, specialized and obscure. Like anything, without enthusustic buyers overall values will languish behind the hot ticket items. Trends do come and go and maybe the far east sports car will have its day. At least Mazda makes a big effort to promote itself in Racing and to the youth market. In 10 years, todays MX-3 buyer might think it cool to get 40yr old classic RX-7. Time will tell.....and mine are staying bone stock.

 

Classic is what you think, not what someone else does. A classic car is made because people love it and want one. The RX7 is a little too obscure for most people, but for those of us in the know, they're a timeless and great car. Anyone that's buying a car for investment value is going to lose in the end, it just takes too much money to build/restore a car. Even if you do it yourself you still have to figure in your time and labor. It's worth something isn't it? My comment boils down to:

Buy and build your car because you love it not because of what someone else thinks or possible future value. If these cars ever do hit the stupid dollar values that the early muscle cars are, we'll all be wishing they hadn't. Almost none of us would be able to afford and drive them. What fun would your 7 be if you didn't dare drive it? Right now we have the best situation going, a car that others admire, although not as much as we do, and reasonable price ranges that make it possible to own one. Heaven? This hobby is about doing what you love, not about making money. If the investors come in, we all lose. Just save what you can and have fun.

 

It's been my observation that, thanks in no small part to Sevenstock and JCCS, the "classic" Japanese car segment is growing and the values are going up quickly. Clean SA's and FB's regularly go for more than FC's. Then there's the older RX's and we're just talking Mazda. I'm starting to see lots of old (pre-1980) Corolla's, Cressida's, and Corona's.

IMHO the biggest reason is that muscle cars and hot rods are pricing themselves out. People just can't afford the hobby anymore so they either find the less desirable American cars and build those or they go to European or Japanese cars. It's still pretty easy to get into a Japanese classic and parts aren't too hard to come by. Example: Alternator for my 78 Corolla, $15 in stock at Pep Boys.

I don't think we'll see Hemi Cuda prices on our 7's but they'll continue to go up slowly as long as we keep them on the road (read drive them)

Build it the way you want it, enjoy it, and don't worry about the investment. That's not the point of these cars.

 

all i know is... Mine will be perfect when its done.. and it will be exactly the car i want it to be. Ill never stop modding it, and ill never quit driving it. If it breaks ill fix it, if a motor blows ill put another in it. It will always be rotary, and it will always be way too quick for my own good. BUT... it will always be MINE and it will always be PRICELESS.

 

actually speaking literally the RX7 is a classic, its pretty mch official when it i called a classic in a book

 

I bought my RX7 as a rare example of how clean a 79 can be. I over paid for it knowing I was getting a mint (if not mint than damn close) car. That gave me a platform to work off of. I agree with all the comments about how the lil mazda is more of a niche car and will increase over time but at a slow steady rate. Last year when I looked up the value of my car in perfect condition it was $2900 this year I look it up again and it is at $3200 in my area.

Just an example here. In 1995 I bought my first car for $500 it was a 71 Dodge Charger with original motor and 80k miles. It ran fine for a few months then started acting up on me. As a young 18 year old I sold it to a lady who was begging me for it at her price of $900 because I knew nothng of motors at the time. 5 years later she finished the restoration and fixed the motor then sold it for $40k. Currently that car is going for $75k+ because it is a numbers matching 426, but once again I didnt know what that meant back then. I now know that was a very rare last year hemi charger.

I expect to be able to get $8k out of my 79 rx7 in 10 years or so even with the LS swap. not that I will ever sell but it shoudl be able too.

 

I think it depends what you mean by classic. I dont think they will ever be extremely expensive or unaffordable. They will be similar to the MGB's and Triumph Spitfires before them. Mint examples will sell in the low 20's if they are lucky. But the average RX-7 will remain pretty inexpensive and could be though of as a cult classic.

 

ALL 3 of my toys are already CLASSICS!

 

Well they are certainly becoming expensive classics now.... some recent Auction result from Australia

1980 Mazda RX7 Series 1 Coupe Sold: $55,000

1981 Mazda RX7 Series 2 Coupe Sold: $37,000

1985 Mazda RX7 Series 3 Coupe Sold: $27,000

 

All three are impressive examples. Aussie values have been substantially more for a long time. Those same cars in the US would of course still be exceptional examples, asking prices would probably run from 7-12K from a private seller and up to 20K from an independent "internet" sports car dealer. (which I've noticed more Rx-7's are gradually being listed on)

In both cases, serious buyers willing to spend that kind of money, are still few and far between here.

 

Bring a trailer seems to be a good place to see values of these cars in the states: https://bringatrailer.com/mazda/rx-7/ Clean cars seem to be going from $3,000 to 10,000 for a first gen.

 

Truely a classic thread. pre 9-11.. wow. I still feel what I wrote in post #12 is still relevant, but I am feeling that classic cars or car collecting in general are at risk of being "aged" out. The people attending the local car shows keep aging out and the kids just are not into cars like they used to be. I have my kid hooked on rotary ( he was 2 when this thread was created )

 

Yeah bringatrailer is great yard stick for current values of good to excellent condition RX-7s. For fair or worse condition cars I would say the range is from 1500 to 3000 for drivers.

 

This is a great thread even despite it's age. (like the Rx-7!)

I have spent the last day thinking of our cars and the insane world of classic cars. For example, my son's '78 build. A survivor car if there ever was one, minus a respray of the original color. This has the potential to be a "concours" restoration. as all original parts are still on the car. OEM stereo, no mods... outside of the carpet and seats need re upholstering... which is where things get iffy. but this isn't a Ferrari. My car is a 1980 "charity/basket case". It came with no engine or transmission. It can never be where it once was, so it is getting the GSL-SE drivetrain and other streetable modifications which are common to our cars.

I am lucky to be friends with a local painter who specializes in resto and "kustoms" (he's a House of Kolor guy). The frustration is a custom classic restoration-mod or what have you that was done by (insert national known builder here) pulls in top dollar at auction, even if my local guy uses the same product to the same specs as Mr. National guy. Odds are that Mr. National guy never touched the car but cashed the check the owner paid for the service. I seemed to think a top quality paint job would add value to a car. After reading it gets fuzzy. Expert judges for national car shows want original colors. I really like the Stardust blue my car came with, but my wife and I like the Stratto blue from HOK. So during my "frame off" restoration, will having my car painted in a HOK decrease the value of my car compared to just shooting it stock in a standard PPG? I wouldn't think so, as HOK is a well respected brand in the industry. The car shows I go to most examples are not stock colors. So what is it? Is that $10,000 paint job worthless?

Hitting closer to home for us is a 1978 RX-7 that was known as "Codeblue" very custom, beautiful paint, a consistent show winner. It seemed to be a poster child for Atkins at one time. Supposedly it was the first RX7 imported into the states. Before it was sold, I remember hearing that there was 40 grand invested into the car, and that was 10 years ago. When it was sold the last asking price was $10,000. Now to be sure, the previous owners painted the car twice that I was aware of and had gone from different superchargers, to turbos and webers to EFI. There was always something new and exciting, so yeah. I was shocked that it did not sell in the 20k range. I bring this up as a tale of warning. Some of the work I consider sketchy now. the engine bay was in a matte black if I recall. trim pieces were painted in blue colors. It was a product of the yearly '00s. The work that went into it was second to none, but it was very suited to the tastes of the owner.

I see my car as an investment. An investment for my mind as a way to decompress while building it. Even the frustrations I have had have been happy little frustrations. I would like the car to be at least sellable if I need to sell it, with a minimum loss. I intend to show, I intend to promote Japanese classic cars. Go out and attend a classic car show. Spread the classic rotary gospel.

 

You should build your car which ever way pleases you the most. However if recouping your money is a concern, the only guaranteed way not to lose it, is not to spend it in the first place. Overall, I think these cars are consistently valued higher by more people for orginality rather than modifications. But as long as the modifications are done tastefully, it shouldn't hurt it. It might narrow the number of interested future buyers to others who have similar taste and a shared appreciation of the changes and work you have performed. A custom color is not a major departure from stock in my opinion, and could easily help add appeal. Again, the key is to keep it tasteful.

 

"Tasteful" is in the eye of the beholder! Lots of guys don't like body kits, or aftermarket wheels, so I've always been of the mind to do whatever I want with the appearance of my car because I do it for me. No one else.

The upside is that I don't get all wrapped around the axle about rock chips or leaky oil or diff fluid. These cars were made to be driven and enjoyed, and spending all my time worrying about where i parked it and whether it's going to get damaged or sun faded detracts from that enjoyment. I see mileage as a personal challenge and my 228k miles reflects that!

 

"Tasteful" and "eye of the beholder". No kidding! My tastes have changed over time. 20 years ago I only wanted black. Black with body kits and mods and turbos. Well, Now I want blue. and mods and turbos. I am realizing that I may need to forget the turbos, for cost and reliability. The thing is we as a collective are "new" to being considered a legitimate classic car with the old japanese cars. The rules seem to change on what is or is not acceptable. We have a great "pedigree" in our cars. Most future Japanese collector cars has at least the SA and the GSL-SE on the list. These are exciting times, but in the next five years I expect to see the last of the banged up junker daily drivers picked up as parts cars. I speculate that we will see an upswing of low mileage survivor cars, well cared for modded cars, and full restores being sold.

 

There really is no money in collecting cars at this price point (under $50k). Buy low and sell high based on short term current values which remain steady, that's all you can hope to do. The cost of storing it far out weighs the increase in value unless you own a barn in the middle of nowhere. And letting parts deteriorate while you wait for the price to go up a few grand just leaves you with a car that has deferred maintenance.

Case in point: the Porsche 912. Everyone has been saying the prices are skyrocketing because of the collector market for 911s and people are getting priced out of that market and looking for alternatives. But is the 912 a wise collector investment? Not really, unless you can trick someone into selling you one for well below market value or you can make a quick flip by fixing a non-runner and wiping off the barn dust. A not quite concours condition 912 would have cost you $25k in 2007 and is now worth almost $50k! Wow, right? No. I had $20k in a previous employer rollover IRA in 2007, I had it all in a basic Fidelity retirement fund and I didn't contribute anything to it. I could have bought one of those 912s and stored it buy cashing out and contributing a few grand more, but when I look at that account today it's got $49k in it. I didn't have to store that or change the tires, I didn't worry about birds crapping on it or the ceiling collapsing, I don't have to find a buyer or pay auction fees. It's just there ready for me to cash out.

Of course I can't drive my 401k...but you can't drive a collector car either. At most you can put 500 miles a year on it without affecting its value. That's pretty much a week's worth of driving for me. So in the end the car is more risky than just putting your money in a basic account that increases with the market. In the case of the 1st gen RX7, you might be lucky to beat inflation. So when you see one you can afford, buy it and drive it, then keep doing that until you're forced to buy another cheap fun car.

As for mods, do what makes you happy. 10 years from now it will be tacky. If you can reverse those changes, great. If not, who cares, buy something else and do it again! Let someone else be the care taker of originality because they aren't going to get the same level of enjoyment storing their treasures as you will driving it like you stole it.

Just don't cut the center console. First it was cassette decks, then CDs, then touch screens, now voice activated Bluetooth. It will keep changing. Install a different deck in the glove box if you must. That console can never be fixed once you hack it up to install a radio that's going to be dated in 2 years time.