How much would you pay for a 10k mile GTUs?
 

There's really not much to say about it, just more a question of personal life. Opinions would be nice.

A friend has:
*A stock GTUs, 10k miles
*perfect interior
*exterior is a sun faded (will most definitely need repaint, not sure a new clear coat will fix.)
*One front fender is dented in
*rear main seal and oil pan leak.
Its just been sitting.... And sitting... And now sits...
There is a price, but I wont mention it, as to not create bias.
How much?



The Drama (Im sorry this is long):

My first rx7 was a junk of a junk S4, not even worth mentioning.
Ive wanted an rx7 since it was the "car that made me discover cars" as a kid.
My car knowledge revolves around rx7s, and rx7s only, so theres nothing I dont know.
Im just stating, THESE ARE THE CARS I LIVE FOR... I LOVE FC's, BUT... True, I want a FD the most.


I know this is such a "case by case opinion question" but I was SO ready to get it and work for it, but now I feel like I cant, which is total bullshit... Starting at the age of 15, I worked for and paid off my first car (A very nice miata, I must say... I tend to be picky and only want garage queens.)

...but now getting negative opinions. (Based on the fact that its not the right time in my life... Focusing on school, should save money for the real world, its too much, its going to get in the way of school... "theres dirt between the seat cushions"... Fucking PLEASE)...etc etc and stuff...
Im 24, at home, in school fulltime, do not have a job expect for freelance work I can get... The thought of getting this car was REALLY giving me motivation to find work and get things in order, but I was told thats "bullshit reasoning"... even though it was actually working... I already made some moves that are working out for me. (negative reinforcement FTW...)



Do I just have rx7 envy, or should I actually pick this thing up?
I have the idea of it being THE LONG TERM toy, I already know what I would do to this car (not rape.)
It needs a real home, and I was so ready to do that, but now Im worried im going to screw my life in the future by trying to pick this thing up.

6 to 8k, but would jew down as much as possible. i would then fix everything and put it up for sale for 15k. because that's what i would want to get rid of it.

How much money do you have to play with? It is much cheaper to find a nice clean one and go from there then to start with this thing that sounds like it needs a lot of work.

There is a nice one in the FS section.

Sounds like a $500 parts car to me.

Were you to try and fix it, you are looking at:
about $8,000 for paint and body work
about $2,500 for an engine rebuild
about $2,000 for new suspension, mounts, and bushings
about $3,000 for new tires, brakes, belts, hoses, fuel lines, filters, weather seals, etc.

10K miles on a car that is 20 years old...ugh! I know it's easy to fall into the low mileage trap, but not driving a car is worst then letting it sit, especially letting one sit that isn't properly maintain, which is clear from your post. I'm with Evil Aviator on this...you'll gonna spend a fortune getting it up to par and while I hate to see any GTUs die, this one might be better as a part-out car.

Where's it at, I need a fresh slate to start on my future wife's AutoX car.

Its already been bought, Im just going to decide to go with the decision I made.
I will be keeping this car for a while. See yall around more frequently.

hmm... This is how I build cars. Well put together. (Later than when I took this pic, Rollbar, harnesses, more suspension stuff...Sniff.)
(Dont ask me why I sold it. So dumb... Was totaled 3 days later.)

i would pay around 500 who cares if its a gtus

I agree with the cost of the $2500 rebuild & maybe the $2000 suspension, but$8000 for paint & body work really? A decent paint job without going crazy should be around $2500 TO $3000 with a little body work. Remember all these things don't need to be done all at once. I'm sure that the approach in which he decides to go about this project will determine the cost.

So instead of doing body work on the fender..... just buy a used one of the aproximate color. That will get you through for a while. And its cheaper then the body man. There i just saved you $100 be glad you got it if you wanted it. Life is short.

Yes, really.

OK, Im already having headlight / electrical issues, I tried search, but cant find the info I need, and we no longer have icemark :(


The car was missing a headlight switch, I put one in, headlights/highbeams work, all other lights work, but-



Headlights wont pop up, and highbeam indicator wont show up.

I made a new thread, but I was wrong. Highbeam indicator works, Just headlights wont turn off, and wont pop up

yeah. the paint on these cars was much nicer (less orange peel, etc) than an american car. plus its a TON of work to pull it apart far enough so you don't have overspray everywhere. plus bodywork. plus all the mouldings and rubber window seals and clips and things.

8k for a paint job? Um no way in hell if you prep and buy the paint yourself, then bring it to a pro. Either way, very proper paint jobs can be done for under 5k EASY if you aren't dealing with rust and many dents. Paint jobs can go for 8k but NOT for OEM basic color/ easy work.

2.5k for a rebuild? Are we still talking about the same 10k GTUs?

2k on suspension? Yes sounds right but i wouldn't bother yet with a car with 10k.

3k for ALL maintenance? haha, OK buddy. Maybe if you bought every tiny piece from mazdatrix. :lol:

Sorry if i sound like a jerk.....i had a few. :lol:

I am a big GTUs fan. For said car in the condition you described I would pay ~$5k. The value to me would be in the "collector" aspect of it, so I would be willing to pay more than most probably.

Evil is right about needing some things, but you don't NEED to pay $8k for a paint job. You don't even need a paint job at all, but do expect to need to drop a good chunk of cash to get it road worthy (tires, belts, hoses, ect.)

Any pics of it? I am interested fo sho.

I'm also curious to know why a GTUs only has 10K original miles? Why wasn't it driven?

I wouldn't pay more than $5k for it.

I think $5000 sounds about right, but I would of tried to get it for less, say $4500. Based on the fact that it sat for so long and hasn't been driven much at all, it will probably have more issues than you think it would. There's kind of that low mileage sweet spot, where it still sounds low, but has been driven far enough and often enough that everything is in proper running order. I think only 10k miles is definitely below that sweet spot.

Some of you guys need to realize that when negotiating the price of a car, you take into account the labor cost of the repairs as well as the parts and materials. Remember, this is a "what's it worth thread", not a "what's the cheapie fix" thread.

Sure, if you provide $3K worth of parts and labor yourself, then you are looking at spending $5K for the remainder of the paint & body work. In the end, $3K + $5K = $8K. Sure, you can repaint the car yourself with a few cans of Rustoleum for under $100, or you can get a $20,000 show car paint job, or anything else in between. It looks to me like the OP will figure out what he wants to do with the car, but I posted the going rate for a full FC paint job so he has a reference point.

LOL, definitely sounds like you had a few if you think that engine is going to run reliably after sitting for nearly 20 years. Oil and coolant turns acidic with time, so there is a chance the engine is a total loss.

I would be surprised if the springs and shocks still work after sitting in a compessed state for nearly 20 years. Also, the rubber bushings and mounts may be dry rotted, depending on the conditions that the car endured while sitting. Then again, by some miracle of the rotary gods, the suspension could be just fine. However, given a lack of this information, I would assume a condition similar to other RX-7s that have been abandoned for nearly two decades.

Tell you what, when you sober up, call your local automotive shop and ask for a quote for all new belts, hoses, coolant flush, rod/clean the radiator, oil/filter change, new battery, new air filter, fix the main rear seal and oil pan leak, replace the transmission and differential oil, replace the brake and clutch hydraulic lines, replace the fuel lines and filter, fuel injector flush, fuel tank drain and clean, rebuild of the brake calipers, new side window seals, sun roof seal, and hatch seal, and then post the price on this forum. ;)

Mazdatrix is usually only about 2% more expensive than my local Mazda dealership, and sometimes Mazdatrix is cheaper.

Material goals are a prime motivator in a free market society. Whoever told you that it is "bullshit" has no concept of economics and/or no appreciation of sports cars. Not to bring politics into this thread, but just for my own curiosity, did the person who told you this vote for Obama?

no, McCain, lol. I just come from a VERY negative family... "I fucked up in life, so that means your going too as well."
Surprisingly my mom has been the optimistic one, hence why I went through with the car... (I guess after all these years she realizes my hobby is here to stay, and this is the heart of the hobby.)


I have some work cut out for me, no doubt.
Its been getting "some" maintenance throughout the years, last registration was in 98, and it spent the majority of its life in a garage, so it was somewhat taken care of.
Its not a junker, but the last few years might have been the worst, 5-10 could have been spent outside.

The motor though... Do I have only 10k more miles out of it? Could I reach 60k, or 100k? I know sitting is bad for rotaries.... But this will be my first experience with just "how bad".


I've known about this car for YEARS... I always asked him for it, and I finally got it. Here are some photos Ive had for a few years now... Car is not this good now, faded paint, and the dented fender.

LOL, I know a few conservatives like that, so that makes sense.

You will not know the condition until you open it up. Since you are basically broke right now, you could try cranking it and see what happens. Sometimes the rotor seals unstick on their own. If it seems to run OK, then you could change out the coolant and oil/filter and see how it goes. If this is your daily driver, I would recommend at least changing all the belts, hoses, fluids, filters, and the two oil filter pedestal o-rings, which you can do for about $500 in parts. If there is no internal corrosion, and the coolant and oil seals hold up, then the engine could last 150,000 miles.

Do you know what dry rot looks like? Bad tires can kill you, so be sure to check for dry rot.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5630050_tell-tires-dry-rot.html

Also check the metal fuel and brake lines that run under the car. I have seen many FCs with corroded lines. The rubber fuel lines usually show cracks in the bends when they need replacing.

who knows how long your engine is going to last but i bet your coolant seals are going to go first because of coolant sitting in the engine.

Yes, tires are dry rotted,
Sorry... Let me give you some more info on just HOW this all started:

Car was brought to my buddys shop for a tune up, since he knows rx7s well.
Tune up was done (Fluids, filters, plugs, blah blah), Either case, the car now starts and drives. (IF it didn't before... I thought it did.)
I knew whos car it was, so when I inquired about it, I ended up buying it.

My 10th AE had sat for the better part of 10 years when I got it. It was last registered in '96. Just take your time and replace lots of stuff. :) We want pics also. I have put over 30K on it since I got it though, and my engine wouldn't spin when I got my hands on it. Do it right and you will have another 100K on yours.

my 87 sat for 12 years. in the driveway, so the paint is toast, dash and ALL of the plastic is toast.

the fuel system is fine, oil system is fine, car runs great.

cooling system is full of crud though, even after flushing it out many times over the course of the year ive had it.

suspension is fine (even the AAS) the NEW tires were all bad, the dry rotted ones weren't round (the smog guy looked like a bobble head)

brake master was bad too.

but boy the number on the odometer is low....

as an addendum @72k miles, the dash, drivers door, and a bunch of other stuff had already been apart to fix something, so its not like low miles = original never been played with either

[QUOTE=Evil Aviator;9954803]Some of you guys need to realize that when negotiating the price of a car, you take into account the labor cost of the repairs as well as the parts and materials. Remember, this is a "what's it worth thread", not a "what's the cheapie fix" thread.

By far not implying do a cheap fix in any way, But an 8k paint job is overkill. I have a few freinds who work at body shops & I aked them how much to repaint my car. All in all $3200 for paint & labor if they didn't know me, now this is with no body work involved. I doubt he has 5k in body work & i have spoke to 5 different paint & body men BTW in my area. If he wanted to be cheap he could use Macco, I wouldn't suggest it tho. before I did my widebody I had spoke with a few shops on doing the kit & painting just to get an idea of price & I was only quoted at $6500. That was mounting the kit, molding the kit, repairing the crack in the hood scoop & painting it cobalt blue. The rest of you list was pretty accurate, but I'm sure somethings may still be in good shape depending on how it was stored.

Please post the contact information for this shop. I have 1, maybe 2 RX-7s that I need painted next year. It would be well worth transporting my cars to your area to save that much money. I still don't see how they can afford to do a full paint job at that price, but I would like to talk to them to see what level of miscommunication you had with them.

I tell you what, I will get a few numbers in a PM ok. BTW a gallon of paint will run you from $60 to $100 for a good paint, A good clear will run close to $90 a gallon & a nice primer system between $130 to $220. Remember a small to mid size car car be done with 3 gallons of paint, so lets break it down. $400 for the paint will definately get some good paint & less if you go with a cheaper paint. $300 for the clear & we will say an even $300 for the primer. BTW $300 is for a 2 stage primer which is not needed. That's 1k on the upper end of the scale without getting crazy with the amount coats, staying with 3 to 4 coats & no candy colors. You could add a gallon or two to get more coats for a deeper look, but that's still under $1500. The acutal labor of spraying shouldn't be more than 2k unless you have some custom painter from a magazine doing it.

It takes 2 days to strip the car, and 4-5 days to put it back together and function check it, and then there is the cost of new trim, decals, and replacing a few small parts that get ruined during the disassembly. Also, spray/bake booths are not cheap, so they would need to recover that cost as well as the initial and upkeep costs of the painting equipment. I don't see how they can do all that plus the painting labor for $1500, but then again I do know of a few shops that are desperate for business in this bad economy and they are temporarily operating at a loss in order to stay in business.

my car was a custom paint, plus had to fix the fender and i got it done for 3k. i know that paint can cost a lot but good paint jobs aren't always a lot of money, just have to look

Evil I PM'ed you a couple good shops I didn't want to take over this thread.

if the paint is "faded" make sure its not just the clear coat has fogged over alittle, try buffing it back out again b4 you decied it needs a total repaint.

my 2c as a body man.

I'm pretty sure Blaze Red on the FC was always a single stage finish. I know it was on my '90 GTU. I believe only the metallics were cleared. The OP may have some luck with a clay bar and a buffer.

Just tried some clay bar testing... Next Im going to try a buffer... I *might* get lucky with even just a new coat of clear. we will see. Still alot of work I will have to do.




Miata Car cover... Your doing it wrong.

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...5&d=1272307593

Looks to me like a good find.

You never said what you paid. Care to share?

lol @ 8k body work, WTF? I just got quoted for my body work which includes putting the car on a rack and pulling out the front right side 1", working out a nasty dent right above where the divers side tail light curves around the body, some stripping, some rust on the sun roof, removing all the small dings in the body, removing all seals and weather stripping, painting the door jams ($100 for each side) and other small stuff, the cost came to just over 3k, that’s with PPG paint and a 6 year warranty.

So unless he's going with a show paint job with multi (more than 3) layers of base coat and clear coat he wont be seeing 8k for body work.

I would have paid ~4k depending on the interior.

So far the paint doesn't loo all that bad, I do agree a good detail job might work out nice.

$3k

Why is everyone bashing aviator for a paint estimate?

You do realize that labor rates are different depending on the market, right?

His quote is paint and body work which could make the number slide by thousands depending on what kind of body work they do and what the market looks like when you have the work done.

I can guarantee you if they are pulling out dents and going over the whole car removing seals, anything less than 3k, just for the body work, means they are using body filler.

For a quality body man to run over the car and make it look perfect from every angle, you will be throwing at least 6k for paint and body, maybe more.

How does his semen taste?

Are you defending the fact you wasted a king's ransom on said amount of work?


Damn. Did the crack rock you smoked tell you that?


Edit: Nevermind. This is rx7club.......

I know it's hard to always log on and be an internet tough guy but give it a rest for a few posts.

We all get it.

You drift.

You do your own body work.

You know just about damn everything about sevens.

Maybe if you start talking like an adult, instead of a 18 year old e-thug, maybe someone outside of the drift forum will take you seriously.

Really, grow up.

First off Nobody was bashing Evil, Second he is a grown man & doesn't need your defense, Third I have already PM'ed Evil the phone numbers of some of the better local body shops in my area & have spoken to a few of my friends who do body & paint as a career, all in which were 3 to 4k. Now if you read the the OP's post from the begining there was minimal body work & I'm sure he is not looking to have more than 3 coats of base color & the 2 coats of clear recommended. With that said take a minute & relax. BTW Scrapp good luck with the car, hopefully things come to together smoothly & sorry for taking away from your thread.

sorry, i'm not paying 3k for paint and body work. let alone 8k! I'm doing a motor swap in a honda for my paint guy in exchange for "basic" paint and body work i'll have a thread of before and after when i am done. it will be re-jammed and the engine bay is already repainted.

I'm not defending anyone.

I'm asking a question.

I read the post and it doesn't change what I said.

I'm glad you took the time to PM phone numbers, a little much to win an argument in my opinion, but to each his own.

The point that was trying to be made was that when you are buying a car you assume the worst before you make an offer.

I'm sure there are paint jobs that are less than 8k but you don't want to give a seller any of that benefit unless you like wasting money.

I wasn't trying to win any agrument by PM'ing the info to Evil. He asked so I did what I could. I respect Evil & his input, I feel no need to prove myself to anyone on a internet forum. It's pointless, my reason for posting was to give the OP a better idea of what to expect. Now at least I did a little research before I posted & didn't just talk on something I knew nothing about right! BTW I'm more concerned on how the car is running for the OP than how it looks.

No I dont mind, Threads are threads, Yall reassured me quite a few posts back. I prolly paid a fair price, I plan to keep this car for years...and years...years..... My wish will come true and I will be passing this car down to a son or brother..... Or it follows the red curse we have at the shop and gets totaled.... I hope the first, cause I really dont want an FD anymore, I love this thing.

I wasn't aware you had an FD, nice now all you need is a FB! Or did you just want an FD before you got the FC?