how much is this vert worth to YOU?
 

So a local man is selling a rx7 and its one of the cheaper ones for sale BUT also the most legit one ive seen in awhile that is very close to me.

Red 89 vert. 120xxx miles. Body looks good, red paint still shinny from pictures.

Black interior he rated at 7 out of 10

Bone stock 100% unmolested besides an airfilter :icon_tup: BIG plus to me!

Whats the down fall you say?....Its AUTO with two typical rips in the sides of the soft top.


Hes askin 2k, i only have 1k so thats what i offered him. Should hear back by tonight or tomorrow. Thoughts? If he accepts my offer then im going to compression test it and look at the under carriage before handing cash over.


Now i hear people saying n.a fc's arent worth shit so im kinda wondering to myself if i should even bother? This will be my 9th rx7.... im tired of daily driving my rx7 right now but if i have two of them again then i wouldnt mind as much haha

And wow, he just got back to me already saying he will take 1g.

congrats!...its a boy!

haha i was hopin for a girl

:)
Congrats, I think you got a great deal.
Be warned however, that this is the one car people will tell you not to do the convertible top on yourself - and they're right. It will probably cost you ~$3,000 to get a new top installed. I had mine done by a guy in Westminster MD (NW of Baltimore) as recommended by Treasured Motor Cars ( they actually would have subbed it out to him so they saved me a few $$) and it's worth every penny (if you have it!!!). Enjoy!

An auto vert... yikes
At least it's an S5!

my thoughts exactly.

Not bad. All the verbs around here are pretty high. 3k plus...

automatic + convertible + rotary =

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/i...DQitCg5ZksupZQ

Not a bad price though. If I may, I'll disagree with VAXheadroom. I was told that I didn't want to do the top on my car myself. I was warned that it was super difficult to do right. I took mine to a shop where some mouth-breathing idiot replaced my top and charged me $1100 for just labor. I even brought him a Robbins top (pretty damn good quality), along with brand new MAZDA targa seals. That's a lot of money BTW. Anyways, the retard ended up boogering it up so bad I never could get the top to seal again. That was the only thing I've ever, and I do mean EVER, let anyone aside from myself do to any of my cars, and they completely ruined it for me. I say do it yourself. Take the time to do it right, and while you're at it, you'll get some experience too :)

Congrats! Sure it maybe an auto, and a vert, but it is an s5.

If you can find a top with the frame attacthed to it, you can do it. I would say that it does work a lot nicer if you have a buddy help you. I have done this twice already on my car. If it comes with the frame its pretty ez, unbolt all around, take out all the plastic from the inside. and unbolt it from the motors inside. and of course lower the top slightly to unbolt the two straps in the back. And raise it back up when you have put the new ones in. All in all this is just a skim over of what to do. But it should only take you about 3hours with a friend.

Nonsense. The top is not easy, but it is not complicated. More tedious than anything and you canna get in a hurry. I did it over 2 weekends. I left it apart in the garage and walked away if I needed to think or if I got frustrated. I could have done a second top in just a few hours right after that. Check the archive for the correct adhesives for the various steps.

Welcome to the S5 vert world.

Go for it!!!

Its worth 1k in parts. Did he give a reason why he was selling so cheap? Idk that many people selling cars that will take 1k off of the listed price unless they are hiding something or have to get rid of it quick (moving,tickets, no room). But either way, 1k for an s5 is pretty good imo but im in KS. Not the easiest place to find rx7's.

I did the Top On an 88 in my Driveway with handtools.
Vert Auto:chick car.
Vert 5 speed:man car.
Vert TII,with a T04,+...: LeMan's Car..
lol!

So it sounds like its worth it so far.

I understand he took my low ball offer right away which is a tad bit strange but i said the top is ripped and i must do a manual swap(i have most the parts for the swap) , so that's why my offer is so low. I know hes alittle younger than me and just wants to sell it to build his 240. He said hes only had it for a few months. We didn't speak long since he was in a class though.

Im checking it out wensday since thats the only day we both are free. I will report back then if i have the car or not.

Hummm... I was thinking adding in the fact that it is an s5 makes it the heaviest slowest RX7 ever made. If the OP is fine with that and just looking to cruise it no worries, but man is the s5 auto vert a dog in a straight line. Like epicly slow. Like get ready to be smoked off a stoplight by a minivan, Jeep, anything pretty much....

For $1k if it runs right and doesn't need a rebuild you could probably sell it to some girl after you are done with it for way more than you have into it.

Swap is cheap, cleaned up to a off-forum buyer its a 3500 car with a good top and manual.
Assuming tires,exhaust, etc in good shape

+1. i've got a manual vert and its my favorite FC, and i've had all the models, and i think every year too, and i have done 3 rotor swaps and race cars, and the vert is the best one.

although its been collecting dust since i bought the Rx8, i was going to put a top on it myself and sell and ask $4k.

Were I looking at a convertible, the three main things I'd check:

-Rust, especially inside the cabin.

-Condition of the top. Assuming the sheetmetal/paint is good, the top will be the most expensive "bodywork" of the project.

-Interior trim. Very specific to the model, so your replacement options are cut way down.

black or white seem to sell best, get a few more bucks on resale.
at least thats my opinion. I used to buy and sell verts and turn a profit and I avoided red ones ( sorry red car guys - no offense )

yes, a bad top will leak water INTO the car. my car is a CA car and its got a dime sized spot of rust where water has pooled in the inner quarter panel. the ECU also should be checked, as its below the high tide line.

the top is expensive to buy, and its doable yourself, but kind of a PITA.

yes on the interior trim, the seatbelts too.

hmm i'd think red would be ok, the worst must be blue on blue!

Got my top replaced and installed for like $700, looks good as new, no leaks. Def not a $3k+ job.

And grats on the buy! My S5 5-speed sounds like it was similar condition to what yours was and I got mine for $1.2k

Well its not in my possession just yet and i still need to look it over first. I never owned a vert before so im excited. Hearing about the price of soft tops is annoying me. I dont want to buy a car then spend the same amount or more just on a top! But thats just how it goes. Being slow is not a problem to me, i never had a fast car before. Im more about all show and no go since "show" is wayyy cheaper than "go".

yeah I said the same thing at one time about the show and no go but when old ladies out accelerate you in their camrys you will grow tired of it, lol

Before plunking down the cash I'd pull the seats, pull the sill guards and look under the carpet. Four bolts per seat and like 5 screws on each sill. Rust is never fun and never easy and it is secretive and insidious. Jack the car up and poke the parts of the undertray where water would collect too.

Drive it with the auto in there for a while, that way when you do the MT5 swap you'll be all giggly for weeks!!! NA's are torqueless wonders and on the front of that AT is a torque absorber, not a torque converter! :lol:

And the top is easy. Two of us put a canvas top from Convertible Top Guys on in a day and it looks marvelous.

Good luck!

I been rocking a 86 n.a coupe for awhile now. Trust me, im used to the old ladies blowing by me. I dont love having a slow gas chugging car but i also dont have the funds to be fast.


He told me today its been sitting for awhile, hasn't even been started in months. Said the trans shifts hard, not surprised since i know auto rx7 trans are garbage.

I wanted to just drive it, not do a swap right away. Upon searching around im praying this 89 has the bolt holes already there for the manual swap. As much work that is involved i dont want to do welding and drilling. I dont even want to do a swap in general, its cold over here and i have no garage.

If i buy it im going to park it in my driveway and begin the swap right away. Only need pedal assembly, S5 TII flywheel and MC. I have everything else. :icon_tup:

Really just need to evaluate the car and see if its worth my time and money. Even if its still worth more than 1g sometimes you just have to walk away when its not worth your time.

or you could move, people drive so slow here that the vert is actually fast. or put it this way, i pulled up to the intersection @skyline, and a tanker truck and a prius passed me, then i turned and followed them. the tanker truck pulled away from the prius, uphill

I have no problem with NY besides the gun laws, wont be moving anytime soon!

I would not have bought an AT car, and if somebody gave it to me for free I would part it out. However, otherwise I think you got a good deal. I paid $1K for my 88 convertible that has more mileage and more flaws.

When I started shopping around for a new top I realized that I could buy the top myself over the internet for less than the local shops could buy it from their chain of dealers. When it arrived I opened the box to see if it was something that I could do myself, and it took about 2 seconds to decide that I am not a seamstress and this job was better off in the hands of a professional, lol. A local top shop installed the top for only $400, and they even fixed a little bit of rust.

Car care products from 303 or RaggTop will supposedly help keep the top from ripping prematurely. So far the 303 seems to be working pretty well on mine.

I had a top of the line full Robbins top installed by a professional for a total of $1,100, and that same top is currently on Ebay for $165 less than what I paid for it nearly 3 years ago. While labor costs and taxes may be higher in some cities than they are in St. Louis, $3K sounds absurd.
1988-92 Mazda RX-7 Convertible Top with Rear Section | eBay

S5 didn't add too much weight actually. The convertible in 1988 weighed in at a staggering 3003lbs. In 1989/90 they weighed 3045, and the heaviest was the 1991 model year at 3071 lbs. Those are all 5 speed weights, so add about 40# for auto.

The offset, though, is that not only did the S4 make slightly less power, but the S4 convertible ONLY came with the 3.909 open differential. All S5 convertibles came with the 4.10 gear ratio differential, whether they were auto or not.

I have to agree with Styx. TII convertibles (especially w/ a hybrid turbo) are a BLAST to drive.

True, but the extra power from the s5 motor was due mostly to the VDI and 8k redline. All s5 autos were lowered to 7k redline because the auto trans couldn't spin past that safely. Also, all s4 verts were manual. There is a big performance difference between the s4 vert (manual obviously) and a s5 vert auto that doesn't have any more usable power, weighed in at 3115 lbs and had a 4 speed slushbox. I love the vert and would cruise and s5 auto vert but there is no way around it being epicly slow.

Not bad.. I would buy it and just put a new top and just leave it stock..

the vert its the nicest of the Rx7's, even stock and slow. i couldn't resist putting my steering wheel and cat back on mine

Soo its basically mine. Its getting delivered to me sunday. Body doesnt have a single ding in it! Interior looked flawless besides staring at the auto shifter.
Needs some work that wasnt mentioned at first but really i will prob never find a unmolested clean cheap vert local every again so i just had to get it.

He had the center cap wrench, jack, wheel chocks, cover for when the top in down. Not one single bent spot where the pinch welds are buttt its not 100% rust free. I expected that though. Pictures to come in the future.

sounds like a winner!

Nice! That is a steal of a price.

Got it delivered to me tonight. One nice ding in the middle of the drivers door i somehow over looked or maybe wasnt there before. Considering its the straightest body ive ever gotten my eyes keep looking at the ding.

Will be going over the brakes, source the last 3 parts i need for the manual swap, tune up then well see what happens. Top is expensive and will get to it in the future, i will seal the two rips as best as i can. Any ideas about that? Was thinking black duct tape that i have or fuse a patch some how. Plenty of pictures to come tomorrow.

I got mine with some sort of sealant on the top. Not too sure what it was, maybe plasti-dip or brush-on electrical tape. The rips on the sides (typical to all verts eventually) were sealed with duct tape. All the repairs seemed to be effective, only until I put the top down. Turns out that sealant and tape don't stretch as much as the vinyl. When used as a temporary fix to preclude rust, then it's ok in my book. Otherwise, don't expect it to stay on the top for too long. It'll eventually come undone.

I tried black duct tape but it only lasted about 2 days. I ended up putting regular duct tape under the vinyl with the sticky side up, and then put Shoe Goo over it. That didn't look very good but it worked until I received the new top. A vinyl patch fused to the top would probably look better. Regardless, I wouldn't operate the top with a patch because the holes are in a stressed area. You may want to get a car cover if you don't have a garage.

Ahh shoe goo! Should seal off water much better then duct tape. Wont be operating the top all winter. Plan to get a car cover tomorrow morning.

up at the top corners i was thinking about putting some vinyl under the top of the top, it wouldn't be perfect, but that's ok.

at the bottom corners you'd have to make something, but if you make it loose enough to not rip, it'll look horrible

and you might want to pop a couple of rubber plugs out of the floor

Autozone sells Vinyl repair kits for like 16bucks. I heard it works pretty well. I haven't had a chance to use mine yet seeing as how my car is in the shop. But give that a look over and see if it can help you. :D

So heres two quick shots from my cell phone. It made the red look really strange for some reason. Sourcing the last 3 parts i need for the manual swap and will be doing it on my 10 day vacation coming up! Already found 2 parts, mainly just need a S5 TII flywheel with the clutch bolts now. Installing a s5 turbo trans with custom drive shaft : ) And thanks for the vinyl idea EPIC, i will try it out sometime soon.

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