honda_assassin

Hey, my dad is concerned about this being far above kbb and nada values. From my experience on this forum (more than a year), it seems that it's worth at least $4000, but I can't get a book price above about $3500, even using 18k mi. The guy said he won't go lower than $4400. Here's all the significant info. I've compiled info:

1988 RX-7 GXL
57,000 Actual Miles. The car is red and still very bright with no signs of fading. Runs perfectly. Body is in great shape. There is a small scratch on the front bumper from someone in a parking lot. It has no rust on the body. It has never been driven in snow except for this last winter. The interior is in very good shape. It has grey leather with no tears in the front seats. It has back seats also, which have not been sat in very much. The car is a five speed. I put a new stereo system in it. Performance mods are custom dual exhaust and an HKS intake.
The engine in this car was put in last year by the person I bought it off of. All of the work cost $3900. The engine only has about 18,000 miles on it.
As far as reliablity, it never breaks down. No problems and it gets me great gas mileage. It has no catalytic convertor but it would be very cheap to put on and would give you better gas mileage with the catalytic convertor. It does have a sunroof. There is no fading on the car whatsoever inside and out. As far as interior goes, it's a 2+2, all leather and no rips or extreme wear. Power everything and has an electronic adjustable dampening system and cruise control. The stereo is about two months old and consists of a Sony X-plod mp3 and cd-r and cd-rw capabilities and is XM ready. The 2 front speakers are 4" Rockford Fosgates and the rear are 6.5" Rockford Fosgate 3-ways and has no amp but sounds really nice. It also has dual custom exhaust with Aerospeed mufflers and an HKS intake. The car has 57k miles that are all original, and the guy I bought it off of put in an engine from a 1991 RX-7, so it's rated at 160hp. I have all the receipts, and the engine has 18-19k miles on it. Also, the guy said he put in 2mm apex seals and everything in the engine bay was new when he replaced the engine.


From the pics, I'm not so sure that the paint is perfect and glossy all over (nose), but it's pretty good. Here's some stuff he said when I offered up to $4250 and said I wasn't too impressed with the exterior:

The pictures are blurry so it doen't look as red as it really is. There are dings and stuff but i mean come on the car is fifteen years old. You are going to get that with any car that is this old. The blemish in the front i know i would get it fixed but i have no money to do so. However it's not horrible i am sure it would cost 50-100 if that. the rear you could buff out. Other than that it is in great condition. I will tell you that i paid 5000 for it and that was before i put the other stuff on. The reciepts alone add up to about 3900 dollars for the engine and all that in the engine bay. I thought i was asking a very reasonably price. But i need to sell it. So i guess that I will go as low as 4400. That is it. I can't take a bigger hit than that.

My dad needs convincing, and I would like a little too. Tell me what you think, so I can show him too. Also, I can get pics up if someone will host them for me.
PLEASE, help me out here guys!!!!!!!!

RETed

Tell him he's smoking crack.&nbsp If your budget doesn't allow it, tell the owner to rip all the stereo out of the car.&nbsp I wouldn't pay more than $2k for the NA, unless we're talking FLAWLESS body (no dings or dents), FLAWLESS paint (I doubt it if it's stock paint), and original, low mileage engine.&nbsp Let me clarify the last point...if the original engine blew, I'd question why it blew up.&nbsp Ask why the engine was replaced - it might point to some hidden (drivetrain) damage or abuse they are not willing to tell you.&nbsp Replaced engine should put up a red flag...


-Ted

honda_assassin

Here's the pics: http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4290100853

RETed

I'm not a member.


-Ted

importboi22

nice but not 4k nice you can get a real nice turbo 2 for that much

lemond

4K for an '88 n/a??? I can sell you mine for 1500 and it's a '90! They are asking too much for the car and its paint looks pretty old. Go check out the sales section on this forum...I am sure for 4K you can have an excellent TII...

honda_assassin

but this does have a 91 engine and everything in the engine bay only has 18k. the guy that had it before him replaced the engine, so i don't know about reasons. if he really paid 5000, i'm sure he got suckered. how much do you guys think it is worth? one reason i want this is b/c it's the closest one i've found. these cars are so rare in indiana.

SleeperZzZ

i payed 3 for my 91, with about 25k on the engine, papers to show it, it also had an intake and 17in rims. i'd keep looking

Terrh

iTrader: (7)

$4k USD is INSANE!

I'd sell my 10th AE TII for that.. well, maybe a little more, but close to that

you can find a NICE 87-88 TII for that price, easily. Keep looking around! That car doesn't sound like its' worth more than $3000 CDN or $2000 USD.

arr exx seven

I'm going to have to agree with Ted on this one, there's no reason to replace a NA Rotary with only 40000 miles on it, mine had 3 times that and ran great. Sure, the 90 engine is more powerful, but for the effort to swap a good engine he could have gotten that thing ported and had the same results. If he did blow the engine, then that car was probably horribly beaten on, and I'm surprised that the rest of the drivetrain hasn't fallen apart.

The_PCM

Hell I bought my car from Arr_exx_seven for 1.5k has 126K miles now and still starts up like a dream. From the looks of it I should get at least 30-40K miles out of it. Then I'm putting a ported 89 in it.

Icemark

edmunds pulls up:

Trade in: $2700
Private party: $3400
Dealer retail: $4600
with no regional adjustments (like it would be $150 more in California for the same car)

But I would be wondering why the car has had two engines in only 57K miles. An engine in that car should last 3 times that. Sounds to me like there might be more to the picture than the owner is explaining.

Personally I would only offer $2700 for it just because of the mods like the stereo, and other things.

It would be worth the $3500 that it should sell for if it wasn't all moded and had the original engine.

Anything over $4000 is a rip off.

arr exx seven

...but only once the engine needs to be replaced. The only thing I would swap prematurely from an S5 to an S4 would be an 89-90 NA GTU rear end

honda_assassin

Eventually, I'm going to direct the guy to this thread. Recently he said he understood the dad thing and that he would deal with me b/c he really wants me to get it (me being close and an enthusiast, not a street racer punk). Therefore, I think he might be ready to settle for $4000. Do you think I should offer him that, or should I only offer $3500-3700? That would certainly offend him somewhat, b/c he paid $5000. Either way, I'm going to wait at least several days to build up responses from all of you to convince him. Thanks, everyone. Keep 'em coming.

AE_Racer

iTrader: (1)

Dude, unless you can get it for $2k, I wouldnt do it....You can get a Turbo II for $4k, and probably with a new(er) engine...Hell, I bought my two Turbo IIs for $2 grand, one engine blown, other had a fresh streetport with like, 200 miles on it, but coolant seal is gone in it(thats why he sold it)...So keep looking around, don't settle on the first car you come across and talk yourself into thinking its a good deal......

Icemark

only if you have money to burn.

Again, the stereo he has brings down the value, the two motors bring down the value.

The value increases on how much more stock the car is when it has low miles.

bingoboy

Don't go wasting your money to keep from offending someone. It's his fault if he overpaid for the car (and his problem as well), not yours. I may have overpaid for my car, but here's why. The paint actually was pretty flawless and orginal without any body damage or rust anywhere and a practically flawless interior (no cracks in molding or anything..which is amazing) with the orginal engine running strong and no modifications anywhere to the car (except 6 inch jbl speakers all around). The owner (he was the original owner) also had a billion receipts for all the regular maintenance that had been done to the car (oil changes etc..) so I knew at least the car hadn't been neglected. He also let me beat on the car when I drove it around because he was confident I wouldn't find any problems with it. For any other car I woulda have paid substantially less.

Point being...I was able to see the car in person and sit in it and then drive it around and then go home and think about it, at which point I realized I really really liked it and it really was cherry (compared to a friends FC ). If you can't see the car in person it can't really make that kind of impression on you. The guy I bought my car from had an internet ad with pictures and a description of the car as well. There is no way I woulda paid anywhere near his asking price just from his ad if I had not seen and driven the car. You don't want to fork over 4k for some crappy digi pics and the owner's word.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck with whatever you decide.

honda_assassin

Well, I know that. There's no way I would make a deal before I see it and drive it in person. However, I just want to be straight with him before I go see it, so neither of us waste our time. Anyway, I guess I didn't realize how negatively modifications affect the price on the lower-mileage cars (I haven't been able to afford any such cars until recently). So, only if I'm really impressed should I pay even $3500? Thanks, guys, and keep the advice coming! I really want to build up a variety of opinions.

honda_assassin

Here's what he just told me about the engine and all:

The guy replaced the engine because he bought it off of someone that let the apex seals lock up. They didn't start it for a few months during a winter i believe. Instead of just replacing those, he replaced the whole engine. He left the transmission from the original car. So everything else is stock. Just the engine and everything else i mentioned in the engine bay are new. I think the radiator, pumps, wiring, ignition, and other odds and ends.

So, what effect does this have? The engine wasn't blown (I'll double-check before I buy), but the tranny isn't new either.

He also just told me he wouldn't go below $4000. I haven't mentioned going lower than that or even about this thread yet, by the way.

bingoboy

heya I'm curious, are you still on the lookout for other 7's? I'm sure you can find others around for less than 4k that are in nice mechanical condition. When I bought my car I chose it from like 4 or 5 FC's I had considered.

BobbyRX

I just bought a car from a used car Stealer last Mother's day. Its an 88 GXL, white, with all the features you mention, minus the leather. I paid $2500 with a $500 trade in (vw bug). The body has a lot of little dings (I didn't notice at first), but for some reason they painted it anyway, the paint is good though. It has 134K miles on it now and 12K on a Mazda of Japan rebuild (new rotor housings). The car doesn't appear to be beat on and everything seems to work. The interior is in good shape, but is missing some of the little vent louvers in the A/C dash grill peice.

All and all, it really only matters if the car is hard to find in your area (RX7 GXLs are pretty rare around here) and how well it was maintained. I wouldn't pay more than 3600 for the car you describe. Mine was listed for $2995.

honda_assassin

Well, bingoboy, I'm not in CA. You guys have a lot more RX-7's over there. In fact, it seems like they all are located in this big U around the edge of the country and us Midwesterners are screwed! GRRRR!!! Plus, my parents want me to get something close. That doesn't give me much choice. There is a nice vert (RxRot) a little farther away, but a vert is just too impractical for me. Plus, it's heavier/slower. I am still keeping my eyes open, though.

Mazdarules

LISTEN TO ME!
Honda, I know how it feels to find a car that you really like. The car sounds like it's in great condition, but even in good shape it's still a 1988 N/A. A mint N/A Series 4 86-88 is not worth more than 3000 usd in MINT CONDITION, by MINT I mean under 50k miles, orginal everything, garage kept, first owner, full maint history, etc. This car is probably worth around 2500 max. please don't waste you money on this car. you can find a better car at a way lower price. i've been burned before, I would hate to see it happen to anyone else.

I can tell by the way you talk about the car that you're already sold on it. this is the worst way to be when you go to look at the car. I'm telling you one more time, do not buy this car because they're rare in your area or whatever, they are around you just have to look for them (I'm from a really small logging town on the westcoast of Canada, you have to take a ferry to leave. The mazda dealer was a three hour drive from the otherside of the ferry, and i was able to find a number of RX's in the oddest places after looking). Step back from the sale, it's way way overpriced ( we're not talking about what he paid for it, but the actual value of the car) you will regret it in 6 months when you realize how slow an NA is. A nice T2 can be had for 3000-4000.

JasonL

My god I couldn't imagine paying that much for a S4 N/A, even a S5!

If your worried about speed/weight don't go for the GXL anyway! There are lots of TII's out there, just take your time and search. You might have to travel but you'll thank yourself later...

devius

i got my 87 T2 with a new jspec engine in it for 1400! took me about 2 months to find it. just wait, dont jump on the first 7 you find. hell you can maybe even find a fairly good condition s5 T2 for 4grand. just have to have patients. believe me, just about everybody on this thread has told you NOT to buy it. that its worth 2500 max! at best. the exterior doesnt even look like its even in very good condition. the owner is smoking some serious crack thinking he can get that much for it. he'll never sell it. and i hope he reads my post cause he's a moron that lost money on the car from whomever he bought it from and i laugh in his face HAHAHAHAH! oh yea....btw....DONT BUY THIS CAR!