I found an 88 rx7 (N/A) for sale and I'm pretty sure its a good deal. I have never heard of this car up until I decided to go take a look at it bc it's in my price range and close by. The car itself has 219K miles on it, which worries me a little bit, but the engine is relatively new. They said a factory replacement was installed and only has 19K miles on it, they have all documentation to prove this, so I know its not BS. Theres no rust on the body, it looks nice. KBB says the car is only worth 1500 with the high mileage, but with only 19K on it its worth 2500. He's asking for $4000, does this sound like a reasonable deal to you guys? Are these cars realiable as a whole? I'm not so much worried about the engine since its new, but if the rest of the car is about to go....I don't want to get involved. I gotta admit though, these cars are sexy, I can see why you guys are addicted. And I'm defiitly impressed by the HP output of such a small displacement engine...I think it would be a fun little car, even though its an N/A. Do they make good daily drivers? It would be my primary car. Sorry for the long post and the questions, I'll probably hear a couple "**** off noob" comments haha.

 

for an 88 4 grand is WAY too much unless there is something to justify that cost, like a real nice turbo or a flux capacitor. but for an 88 NA with a rebuild and mechanically sound no more then $2000

 

hey what if the car was mint how much then?

 

Yea exactly, for 4K american you can get a running turbo 2.

The problem with these types of people is that they have no idea what the rx7 bluebook value is worth, they just know what THEY think its worth. Trying to explain what we told you to them and talking the price down is usually like talking to a brick wall. They think that your trying to rip them off, and you think that they're trying to rip you off. Endless cycle all due to their lack of knowledge on a cars value.

Point being, if they don't drop the price, seriously, don't buy it and keep looking.

 

if the body and paint are still nice, and there are no dents, no **** smell in the car or big tears, basically if the car looks pretty good, i would give him 3K and not a penny more.

Even with a newish engine you should still expect to do some work on the car, RX7's are an ongoing process, an engine is just one part of the car that needs repairs, keep in mind the car is still 17 years old and that the actual car still has 219K on it, unless it was kept in excellent condtion it isnt worth 4K to me.

My vert was very well maintained and it only has 95K original miles, and i still do constant repairs, little things but still. with RX7's you need to be completely in love with them or it just wont work, your choice, but if you love cars and it was love at first site(like with me) i say go for it, but no more than 3K

Oh and i paid 3700 for it, but from what ive read such a clean vert is very rare, so i put that into consideration when i bought it, i may have overpaid a little but i effn love my car

 

Well, for 4000k that car better be imaculate, but if not, if the car is worth that much to you then its your money.

Listen, as long as the car has been maintained properly the body should be fine. My uncle drove his 79 RX-7 over 400+ on orignial body/motor till he HAD to sell it. Thing is he maintained it very well. So that pretty much answers your questions right there.

As for reliable goes I'd say they are, depending on the driver, and maintenance though. It'll treat you only as good as you treat it. My buddy has his N/A 7 as DD for 2 years without a problem...cuz he maintains his. (Notice how I keep refering to maintaining it..its important)

 

i bought my original 86 GXL with 104k original miles on for $900.

what sort of maintence do you recomend?

 

check the faq for tuneup info

 

yikes for an N/A, thats alot...imo

as a comparison: an 87 T2 costed me $2500 USD. guy wanted $4k, talked him down and gave him NADA and KBB values, ur call in the end though.

 

Seller is unrealistic -- thinks he can recoup expense of new engine. That doesn't play. $2,500 tops.

Show them the KBB. Walk away when they won't come down. Point out that is a massive amount of miles on the drive train and suspension, and if he hasn't got papers showing replacement of some of that, you know more repairs are imminent. Tell him your next offer will be $100 less in a week when he hasn't sold it (say it with a smile). Good luck.

 

paid 2500 for my 88K mint 88 GXL.........paid 5.5K for my S5 TII..............I'd pass and tell him to try crack-lite.

 

i'm in the process of getting a 91 n/a with a almost new atkins motor (3mm apex seals) for $1500, you can do better than that

 

If the car is in spectacular phyusical condition (I mean everything from the body to the interior to the suspension in new order), with the newer motor I'd offer $2000 cash.

I just bought a 1988 Turbo II with a recently rebuilt motor and turbo already fairly modded, but with a semi-gutted interior, for $2500.

 

my less then spectacular 10th AE was $2000 and i think it was worth what i paid.

 

I paid $4500 for my 87 N/A Base model RX-7 in 1991 and it had 210,000 miles on it with the original engine.

The new engine factory installed is a Plus on the car but certainly does not add that much to the value.

My RX-7 was a daily driver for about 8 years. I also AutoX for almost the entire time it was a daily driver.

I had very few things go wrong with it, but when something broke it was usually pretty big.

My biggest complaint about the N/A cars is that the transmissions were not stronge enough and common to all RX-7's the electrical system should have been better.

Also with the price of gas going up it is not the most cost effective car to drive. I am not sure I ever showed more than 18MPG in City Driving and the best highway was a little over 21.

However, the car is an absolute blast to drive.

 

the miles are definitly high, but the brand NEW motor makes up for it. if all else fails, you can always find another body for dirt and just swap over. but i wouldnt pay more than $3k at the very most.

btw is it a gxl or a base? if it is base, id say 2500

 

Way too much in my opinion. I got my 10AE for $4k in near mint condition.

 

yeah, but did it have 19k new miles on a new motor?

 

I got my 87 TII for $3500 cdn. Has 219,000 kilometres on the body. I bought it from a good friend, who informed me the engine was rebuilt approx. 50,000km prior. I am a little skeptical about that (he bought the car from someone who informed him of the rebuild, but provided no documentation to my knowledge).

The body is near-mint with a new paint job. Interior is good (aside from being burgundy and one small hole in the driver seat). The engine ran strong (I've since blown an oil seal on my turbo, and will be replacing the turbo this weekend). The shocks are on their way out, but the pre-previous owner lowered it with some springs, and kept the stock shocks... no worry, I'm going coilovers.

Anyway, for $3500 canadian (about $3k usd or so)... I got a TII with a VERY NICE body, awesome interior... strong running (albeit with a manifold leak now too, that will need to be replaced). Aftermarket springs, exhaust and steering wheel).

I have only had to replace the alternator (and now the turbo), but I have a flooding issue so will need to take a look at that soon too.

I think $4k is too much for an 88 n/a.

 

I bought my first RX-7 (88 GXL) a few years ago. The motor was a factory remanufactured from Mazda (brand new housings, rotors, all the other internals all brand new, new water pump and vacuum lines) and they just throw all the old stuff back on top. So yea, follow all of the other advice in these postings...expect to make more repairs.

I paid $2,500 USD after my friend's dad had just spent $4,300 USD on the whole ordeal. Car had 152,538 miles on it and the motor had 160 miles, yes, 1-6-0 miles. I still had to break it in properly for the next thousands of miles

Thing is, the REST of the car wasn't maintained as it should have been, and subsequent repairs ran in the neighborhood of $1,000 USD tops for little things here and there...

After driving it for about a year and change, I found myself a slightly better body to swap the motor and near-impeccable interior into. The second '88 GXL I bought had two previous owners, both FEMALE. Every single service record you could imagine, overpaid out the wazoo, from the day it was driven off the dealer's lot in 1988. Cost was only $25! ($175 for car minus $150 after I sold the original rear-apex-seal-blown motor with 198,122 miles on it). And of course I stripped ALL of the electrical parts and stuffed them in a giant RubberMaid box for spares.

So NO! Don't waste your money. There are plenty of great deals from more reliable sources. I buy quite a bit of replacement parts from RX-7 World, based out of Rock Hill, South Carolina. The owner/operator, Ernst, has prices lower than most of his competitors, and of course usually price-matches other online RX-7 specialists. Of course he always has vehicles for sale in ALL price ranges. Check out the link:

http://www.rx7world.com/rx7/modules....category_id=59

There's a "decent" '87 GXL listed for $1,500 USD or offer w/135,000 miles, and the motor has compression as if it were new. Plus he can ship or personally deliver.