Hi everybody,
I have an important question. I found a really nice RX-7 for sale in Germany. It is a 89' non-turbo with 68000km's (43000miles) on it. I live in Canada, but I have realtives in Germany who could ship it to Canada. But the thing is, I don't know much about rotary engines. I heard that they are very unreliable and expensive to repair. Is that true?

 

They are only as reliable as the owner. They're not very expensive considering parts are available used pretty cheap, it just takes a bit of time for parts to arrive. However, importing one is probably a bit on the expensive side of obtaining a non-turbo, considering they're pretty abundant on this continent.

 

It all depends on how you take care of it. If you care for it well like change the oil every 3-5K and the coolant every year then that car will be one of the most reliable things you will ever own. If you dont then your in for it.

Case in point, my 89 GXL is finally having it's engine replaced at 217,000 miles the previous owner maintained her extremely well so she performed extremely well for her. Even before the oil seal went she idled smooth and had plenty of power.

 

Sonic, the reason why I want to import a car from Germany is, because people over there car MUCH more about their cars.This means the car is in very good condition. They also don't cost as much compared to Canada or the US. Another thing, it's a white RX-7 with white/black interior. As far as I know, the white ones in North America have either a red or blue interior. Thanx for the information though

 

Its still got lots of life in it, it seems (Rotaries usually go for about 150k miles ish, according to the FAQ =P). Repair jobs are expensive, but you won't have to be repairing it if at all; providing its properly taken care of. Rotary's have less parts than piston engines, so they have less that can break.

If you can afford the shipping costs, go for it. A white/black interior would be pretty neat to see =D

 

Thanks everybody. Another thing I read is, that if you shut the engine off before it reaches operating temperature, the engine gets flooded and you have trouble starting it again. Is this a common problem all older RX-7's (86'-92') have? Is it a big deal? I just can't decide between a 93' Toyota MR2 or the RX-7. A MR2 would be more expensive and I couldn't affort one that has less than 60000miles.

 

Take good care, the engine won't flood. Just don't start it up for no reason. Take it around the block a few times if you need to start it or whatever. Unflooding isn't hard or dangerous, just annoying... especially if you don't install a fuel kill switch (though not a hard thing to install).

 

Flooding only happens if the engine compression is low, or there is a problem with the hot start circuit, or you have leaking injectors.

 

or a bad afm lol

 

I lived in Germany for two years while on Active Duty in the Air Force. One reason people take better care of their cars over there is the inspections.. GEEESH.. If the car passes German road inspections, its probably a pretty sound car.

Also, its so damn expensive to HAVE a car over there, that most people do take good care of them.

However.. you need to check into the importing requirements. While i was there I had an esroct cosworth and to bring it to america would have cost about 10 grand in retrofit parts. Dunno what Canada's saftey regs are, but to get a car into the states is a real PITA.

 

My friends got themselves some cars from Germany and they paid about $1500 US for the shipping, fees, etc.