Hi,

I just registered here this morning and I'm glad to be here. Reason? I'm thinking of buying this car:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=206994533

...and I was hoping to get some opinions on it. It's a 91 black convertible, manual, with less than 28K miles on it. I haven't looked at it yet.

I was seriously considering buying the Mazdaspeed 3, while trading in my 01 Corolla and selling a Kawasaki sportbike, but I'm also looking to buy a house pretty soon and I decided I didn't want the higher car payment (even though I was willing to put down a good size down payment on the car including cash and trade in). Then I got the idea of looking for a *second* car instead of giving up the Corolla, so I started looking at Autotrader -- Integras, BMW 3 series, and then I checked on RX-7s and saw this one.

I owned an 86 manual from 98 to 2001, and although it wasn't the most reliable car in the world (it was over 110,000 miles when I got it and in those days I sometimes couldn't afford to fix things), it was incredibly fun. The handling/tossability, the taut/direct feel, the excellent (IMO) shifter, and the engine note were the high points for me.

My RX-7 had a couple of differences that made it stand out. I don't know if the exhaust was stock or aftermarket -- it wasn't "burbly" or deep, but when accelerating hard in the first few gears it had the zoomiest sound I've ever heard! It used to make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck and I remember my younger brother (age 11 at the time) saying it sounded "like a spaceship."

My car had no power steering, which meant the steering was pretty tough at parking lot speeds but awesome at all other speeds. It also had custom wheels (15" though) with pretty drastic offsets so that the contact patches were pushed out I'd say three inches on each side. I put 205/55-15 Pirellis on. It might have also had lowering or other suspension tuning, I don't know, but with the very direct steering, wide track, and the tires I added, the car was an absolute blast around a corner!

I'm wondering if this convertible, with 400 added pounds, stock wheels, power steering, etc. would recapture some of what I loved about my old car. And from an objective point of view, do you think this sounds like a good deal? I would assume the car would be relatively reliable for a while with only 28K on the dial. I don't really want a fixer-upper (if I put money into it it would be to improve the stock package).

Thanks for reading my lengthy post and I appreciate any responses.

 

i dont know if i could spend $11,000 on a 16 year old car. i would difinatly compression test any rotary car before i buy it

i think a brand new mazdaspeed 3 with a warrenty would be badass, if you can afford it

 

The convertibles are fun but not as sporty. The handling wont be as good and the acceleration is also going to suffer a little bit. Before you make any decesions I'd strongly reccomend looking at our sale section. 11k is very high for a vert. Shop around a little more and i think you'll find something else you might like more for alot less money.

 

thats a really rare car, super low mileage, highly sought after color scheme and model. its probably worth 11k, but theres no way I'd pay that, and i dont think you should either. you can get everything you're looking for in an rx-7 in a 2000 dollar 150k mile coupe.

 

First I would check www.KBB.com... I checked that car and the values are below...
Excellent
$7,295
(Selected)
Good
$6,765
Fair
$6,105
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Mine is not a vert, but is in nearly perfect condition... It is an '89 n/a w/ 73k miles... It is not power everything but was worth the 4200.00 I spent on it... I live in Arlington, TX which I am sure you know is right down the street from that car... For 11k you can get a nice 3rd gen in this area...
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Oh yeah!!! Dont forget to pull a carfax... That may not be the original speedo...

 

yeah, low miles is nice but...11K nice? Not to me.

 

are you kidding me, i own a vert also.. and besides my turbo II that has adjustable shocks/and RBsprings iwould say its the best handling 7 i have had, the extra wieght comes from making the vert 99 percent as rigid as the coupe, i would say offer the guy 7 or 8, and pay no more than 9, but thats an excellent find. one of the last few under 30k miles.

 

Car is definately clean... I'd rather buy a 3rd gen for that price though. I wouldn't spend more than about $7500 on it. Low mileage or not, it's still an old car.

 

This thing looks clean man! If you have the money and are really into RX7's I say do it. Take it for a test drive first though. This one is going to be a bit different than your 86.