My husband had an 83 rx7 when we met. It had a run in with several deer over the course of several years and is now resting peacefully in the field next to his parent's house. He has always wanted to rebuild it but doesn't have the time or know how to do it.

Fast forward to present. Next month is his birthday. I want to surprise him and get him an rx. It needs to be in good condition, runable and not need a whole lot of work initially. I have found two - one at an RX garage in my area and one through the manager of that garage which would be a private sale. I need some help in determining which I should go with although I am leaning towards the private sale.

Bear with me - I love RXs, but alas I am a girl and will probably not give you all the specs you want and need.

Car #1 (garage)
'89, red, needs paint real bad, sunroof, interior is decent, crack in tail fender, runs good, 131000 miles on original motor and tranny $2200

Car #2 (private)
'91, midnight blue, no interior or exterior damage, 23,000 on new motor (not rebuilt) $3000

Like I said I am leaning towards the private sale. I would love to find an "83 cuz he loved that one, but I fear that it will be too much work and I want him to be able to drive it more than it sits in the garage. So what do you fellas think?

I cannot tell you about 2D and coupe and all that. This kind of fell into my lap yesterday. I can call and get more info if you guys need more info to make a good judgement call.

Thanks in advance!

 

I'd go for the private one myself. Does the owner have papers on the "new motor"? 2200 is way to expensive for that 1st car so I wouldn't even think about that one. Maybe you should just hint around about the second gen and if he likes them or not. Some people don't like the 80's look of that gen and really like the curves of the 1st gen.

 

i would first off like to say that that is the coolest thing that you are doing in the entire world.
you should check them both out...look for the obvious....do they look crappy, turn the cars on, do they sound like they wish to be killed? or do they purr....pop the hood, does the engine look clean? make sure its not TO clean though.

you dont have to no about cars to pick a good one just look for the little things like, cracks, rust, engine sounding like its on its last leg, if you get the vibe like something bad lies behind the cars mask, you might be right.

and at most look for things that are wrong with it to work the price down

 

Car #2 is the pick of the litter.

 

If your only choice is between these two cars, I would advise you to go for the '91. Last year for the 2nd gen RX-7, so all the improvements made over that generation are presumably incorporated into that year. Sign up for CarFax and check the history of the car.

But, why limit your choice to those two cars. Try Autotrader.com and eBay for more options. You may just find something nearby that is more suitable. Maybe even a 1st gen like your husband has.

 

Unless your husband likes a sunroof really bad......but maybe the garage would give some kind of warranty.

If car #2 has a new motor look to see if there are wires hanging and taped everywhere, and other stuff so you know if the motor was installed proper so it doesn't die outside of the guys driveway.

 

Thanks so much for all the comments! (Keep em, coming! I need as much info as possible!)

I think I have someone who can go with me and look for problems etc, but I don't know if he is an RX-lover or just is car knowledgeable. I trust him to help me though and the guy that has these cars seems real trustworthy.

Hondahater, I will check into the papers on the new motor. I do remember him saying it was one owner (before him) and that the original book from Mazda is with the car. Oh and we always dreamed of having one car from each gen so I know that he will be fine with a G2.

Go48, thanks for mentioning Autotrader. My hubby peruses them often and I hadn't remembered that until you mentioned them. I have been looking on eBay for quite some time and in the paper in various metro areas we frequent. So far, I have only found these two. I saw a dude yesterday with a G2 and we started talking about it. He is the original owner was the one who told me about this garage. The garage was formally RX Heaven and was THE place in Memphis to get an RX or parts. Now they cater to any foreign sports car.

Thanks again!!! I'm sure I'll have more questions!

 

get pics if you can. lots and lots of pics. post them up here and we can help you even more. from the little info given, i too would say #2. but, go get some pics of both cars, try to drive them if you can (or take a friend who can drive stick if you cant) ask as much about them as possible. ask if they burn oil (they should. very little, but still should due to OMP) but, yeah, mainly pics and we can help more.
by the way, the coolest thing ever. wish my wife would do that for me! especially all the reaserch and leg work. hope you all the luck in the world!

 

Here is a link to the garage (whish by looking at the site, I see is more than "just a garage!"

http://www.rx7heaven.com/index.htm

 

I'd go with #2 as long as it hasn't been sitting for forever. If you buy #2, that garage can probably look that one over for you before you buy it to make sure there isn't anything seriously wrong with it.

 

#2 ... if you are going to spend 3000 though might as well find a 89 t2 in decent condition

 

there are tons of first gen rx7's in atlanta just sitting in nice condition. infact, i can drive out to one right now.

 

What about 2nd gens?

Anyway I'd go with the 2nd choice, 90k less miles, and newer for only 800 more.

 

#2 is the thing I would go with.

 

89 GTU, black, sunroof, exterior in excellent condition, interior excellent except for dash
no motor
dashboard and wipers need replacing
one port doesn't work (don't know what that means but that's what the guy told me)
motor and tranny are pulled out at the moment
$600

Should I even consider this one? How much would a motor run (new?)
The guy that owns it owns a muffler shop. He bought it as a project and decided after he got it that he didn't want to put that much into it. He's had it four months.

 

SirCygnus, where might I find these 1st Gens? I've tried AJC, Autotrader and eBay and haven't found but a select few.

 

This may help you, it's from Aaron's site, it's helped me in the past:

http://www.aaroncake.net/RX-7/tech1.htm

scroll down the page and you will see 2 links:

How to buy a second generation non-turbo rx7

&

How to buy a second generation turbo rx7

Hope that can help.

 

try to find a TurboII with low miles (or a rebuild) with a knowledgable owner. I recently picked up a '88 artic silver TII for $800, 106k , but theres a catch, it was hit on the passengers side and screwed up the fender, door and suspension, its fixable but its now branded with a salvage title. If you dig you can find what your looking for, and i highly suggest looking through aaron cakes guide as it covers everything that should be looked into when buying a 7

 

Incredible info!!! Thanks a mil! Printing it out now!!!

 

buy the private one.

you sounds like an awesome wfie to buy your husband an RX-7 lol.

 

Are you sure you're happy in your marriage?

 

Any comments on this? I haven't seen car #2 (the private one for $3000.) I have seen #3. I love that #3 is black and not the midnight blue color of #2 which he will prolly not be crazy about.

How do I go about having #3 checked out. What is the "port" he talking about? The shop where #1 is works on RX7s. They could get the new motor for me and install it but how much am I looking at?

Sure would like some more choices ..... where else can I look for exactly what I want?

 

A new (rebuilt is better) motor installed by a random garage will probably run around $2000.

Does your husband like working on cars?

Oh, and my previous post is because you're an awesome wife.

 

LOL, thanks My5. Yes, I am very happy. My hubby is awesome and is very deserving of this! To answer your question, no, he doesn't like working on them and does little more than change tires and fluids. His brother is an American car machanic and he never got into them .... he raced dirtbikes in high school and can work on them but just loves RX7s. We always wanted to fix up the other one but knew it would have to be done in a garage, not by him.

I found another contender. This is exactly the car he had so that is why I am considering it. My dream car would be a 91 in silver with a rebuilt engine or low miles. Don't exaclty know how to find what I want though other than to keep searching. *sigh*

http://www.autohopper.com/forsale/au...&WI=4702411591

 

Yeah, you pretty much just have to keep searching until you find what you want. You can also check the classified section of this forum and see what you can find.