Hi guys,

I've been searching for an FC in my area for a little while, and recently have come across a 10th AE. The owner told the car has a Crate 13BT from Mazda with 14k on it. It's in good condition, with minimal rust, but my biggest concern is the fact the car is modded. It has turboback exhaust, intake, suspension, wheels, SAFC, bigger injectors, etc. The car also has a heel-toe eliminator, so its drifted, and the owner said he had some drift damage but replaced what was broken. The price is right, and in Ohio i dont know the chances of coming across another 10th AE for this price [$4500]. What do you guys suggest?

 

the mods aren't bad, but wtf is a crate 13b? Did he say crate, or did he say reman?


either way, i'd buy it

 

He said Crate replacement from Mazda?

 

oh, thats a Reman, in theory they are a very good idea, but expensive. Bascally its a like a crate engine, just not a crate engine. It uses "new" housings and all duting the rebuild of the engine. Anyway, I would buy the car

 

What was broken in the drift damage?

If the mods are done tastefully and everything else appears to be in good shape, then it should be fine. My '87 TII was modded and NOT in good shape. Lot of hacked up wiring, ghetto quick fix-it job, cheap weld job on front bumper support, and much more. Basically, the previous owner spent more money modifying it and thrashing it instead of restoring it and not taking shortcuts.

 

Yea, watch out for hack jobs. Especially for that price it should be in decent condition. When I bought my n/a the previous owner lowered the car by heating the springs. When I took the old ones off the were warped and there were a couple of other things done wrong that I am currently still fixing.

 

I bougt my FC from some guy that drag raced it and destroyed the clutch. You could lay into the throttle in 4th at 65mph and the clutch would slip so bad you'd swear you were in neutral. I say test drive it and make sure that there aren't any little grimlins.

 

yeah...def take it for a drive..if it drives fine.....ask him what was replaced.....any frame damage?......4500 for a AE is pretty good IMO......and if ur planning to mod it its already there.....the way i see it is.....u can buy a non modified car..and spend 2k on the parts that he bought..or just pick up the car if its in good condition

 

test drive is a must =D

but if he allow it, drive it hard.... only way to see if it is good =D

well, when i bought my S5 Tii, it was heavily modded too.... but i myself have no problem with that.... of course people will say, that car won't last, cuz it was a track car, blah blah, but u know.... if it is in good condition, no matter if it has been on tracks alot or on the street a lot... a good condition car is a good condition car.... besides, if it is a track car, wouldn't the last owner take Better care of it than a commuter?

i'd say check it, if green light, go for it, it is a good price =D

 

Thanks for the quick replies everyone. I will defiently look into the car more. It's a few hours away so I haven't been able to test drive it yet, but I definently will try to. The thing that bugs me about the mods is that I will feel that it isn't my car, its me driving somone else's car, but Im sure I will get over it eventually.

 

I'd look into it very closely. To me, it sounds like a good buy. Damage happens, as long as it's repaired that should be okay. One thing though-I would NOT give him much money for the car. Yes, it's a 10AE, and yes it's got an engine with low miles, but that bitch has been thrashed, and to be honest, things can pop up wrong with it that aren't readily apparent right now.

Also, you said "some" rust. If there is any rust at all, that tells me that the owner has been somewhat negligent in the care for the car. That doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn't buy it, but that's a red flag. On the fiip side, 10AE paint can and will chip and peel, so if the rust is limited to small spots on the outside where the paint came off, that should be okay. Just sand it and throw something on it until you can repaint it.

My .02.

 

As when buying any rotary engine car, don't even think about handing over the cash until you've had a compression test done on the engine.

 

What turbo FC has honestly never been driven hard in its lifetime? Cars are ment to be driven hard. Its got a new engine, which is a major plus. What kind of turbo is on it? How many miles?

Also if it has rust, it isn't specifically the current owners fault. Rust isn't easy to get rid of, I took all the rust down good on my last FC, and it still came back a few years later.

If its modded good, go for it. Mine was modded when I bought it.

 

yeah any hint of frame damage ever, don't buy it. My friend crashed his vert and some guy straightend the frame and its still pulls to the left no matter what we replace. Pay someone to do a frame inspection and a compression test.

 

I think the control arm was broken and replaced. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

I don't understand the connection...
Even if you meant "rear toe eliminator bushings".


-Ted

 

Thats what I meant, I apologize.