Hi guys, I have a question.

I'm looking to purchase an RX-7 sometime in the (hopefully) near future and am wondering what would be the best buy.

- I'm thinking around $8,000
- How many miles on an engine is acceptable
- How much should I expect to pay if I need to rebuild engine
- What year do you prefer?

I'm sure there's more, I just can't think of it. Anyways, thanks for reading my post and hopefully posting something.

Thanks,
Craig Pettit

 

for 8 grand american you can get a MINT 89-91 turbo. Compression is more important than how many miles the engine has on it.

 

I see your point, but more than likely the previous RX-7 owner won't know the compression of the engine.

^^

 

Just ask the person who yur buying your car from if you can take the car and get the engine checked out any one who is seriously trying to sell a car should easily let you. And a turbo model is a must have.

On the engine rebuild...are you doing the work yourself or taking it to a shop??

J

 

Take the car to a mazda dealer (they have a special tester for rotary engines.) and get them to do a compression test before you buy the car. I think that 6-7 grand american should get you pretty much any FC that is on the market. I would recomend picking up a cheaper car and putting the money into mods. Is this your first sports car? if so then get an NA. If not then get a T2, you will find that an NA just has no potential for mods compared to a T2.

To address your other questions;
89-91 are the best years (more power better electronics, better mechanicals and a cleaner appearence) but they are a little heavier.

If you want to get a car that needs a rebuild you should be able to knock atleast 3000 dollars off the regular going price of the car, probably even more because no one wants to buy a car with a blown engine.

 

Do you know which of the generations you like? It also depends upon what kind of HP you are looking to get out of it, spend $ on reliability issues that they have, and/or body work/paint, tires, etc. How much work you'll be doing yourself vs. a shop...

Example: you could buy a really good shape 84-85, put in a racing differential, nice tires/rims, brakes, suspension, and buy a ported TII motor w/ aftermarket computer for that price range and the car would perform extremely well, be light, and be pretty fast for most normal driving.

Or, you could get (like above), a fantastic 89-91TII that's immaculate or one that's got a lot of upgrades done, still in decent shape, and you can hop in and enjoy, maybe spending a little more on doing all the reliability stuff but still have a great car.

Or, you could buy a beat to SH 3rd gen or one with a blown motor for about that price and then take another loan out to pay for the reliability and upkeep maintenance on those

 

Wow, thanks for the help guys.

1987turboII -> I am not confident enough with my rotary knowledge to do the rebuild myself, so I would more than likely go to a shop.


What would be the best first upgrade?

 

Turbo 3 -> Well, first and foremost, I want a car that I'm not gonna have to totally overhaul to get in good working order. I'm really interested in the 2nd gen RX-7's, but I also like the 3rd gens (a little out of my price range). But I'm having a hard time finding many RX-7's for sale, they seem to be sort of uncommon around here (Northern Cali).

Also, does anywone have the link for the RX-7 buyer's guide?

Thanks,
Craig Pettit

 

Holy cow, for $8K the engine had better be freshly rebuilt or have about 30K original miles. Most engines need a rebuild somewhere around 140K miles, and a rebuild usually costs a little over $2K. If you buy a car that needs a rebuild, you should be paying $500-3,000 for the car, depending on the condition of the rest of the car.

The preference between the series 4 and 5 year groups is really more of a personal thing. The series 4 is lighter, has the better mechanical oil metering pump, and is usually found at a better price so it makes a good project car, but the fuel injector pulsation dampers tend to leak and start fires. The series 5 has more horsepower, better radiator and brake ducting, non-leaking pulsation dampers, and most people like the tail lights and gauges better, but it has the expensive/less-reliable electric oil metering pump and sometimes the generally-disliked automatic seat belts. Since you are looking at spending a lot for your car, you will probably find the newer series 5 in better condition. Whatever you get, I would recommend against the automatic transmission which is extremely expensive to fix and replace.

Here is a link on what to look for when buying an RX-7:
http://www.aaroncake.net/RX-7/

 

Well, I guess you guys think 8k is a lot. What price would you guys expect a '89-'91 TII would be?

Is it better to buy a cheaper and upgrade, or buy a mint?

 

Well, if i had 8 grand, id get a 89-91 turbo, with around or less than 100, id upgrade the turbo, because itll crap out on ya, if you wanna revuild , you mine as well spend 4 grand on getting a new engine. The second generatioons are a hell of a lot more reliable then the 3rd's and are really good cars, look for a 1990 turbo. Only mazda can check compression on the engine.

 

The cost of the motor rebuild price also depends on how crazy you wanna go with the motor. Just go online or to your local repair shop and get a price estimate. At last that would give you a ballpark.

J

 

<----i bought the 88 turbo in my avatar for 3k and it the CLEANEST fc you will see, still has the mazda floor mats. for 8k you can be picky, VERY picky. good luck and happy shopping!

 

Damn, everyone around my area must be smoking crack or something. I tried looking on autotrader.com and in the 99cent magazine autotrader and everyone wants 6k plus for theirs, and most of them aren't even turbo.

 

No they are pretty cheap up here if you search, for example I just got a 88 vert for $2500. Now it was not in the best shape, but mechanically it was perfect, and with a new top and carpet and some serious elbow grease the car is looking pretty good (well until I ripped the motor and drive train out last weekend to put in my rebuilt Jspec).

$8000 will buy a lot of car. Try Yahoo classifeds, Autotrader, and keep an eye on these boards.

You might also think about looking in San Diego and LA. The cost of a plane ticket to fly down is only about $100 with no advance purchase, and you might more than save the costs buying it there and driving it back.

The third thing to remember is just because someone is asking for $6000 doesn't mean that he or she will get it. The guy selling the above mentioned 'vert wanted $4200 when I walked on the lot.

For example I was considering buying this one listed on auto trader:

1987 Mazda RX-7 Turbo II. Silver, excellent condition. A/C, P/S, 5 speed, new custom Alpine 7858 CD system w/Boston Acoustics speakers, HKS ... more
Color: Silver
44 miles from 94931
102 miles, $3500
Phone: 4159021009
She is in Berkly, It was her dad's so she is the second owner and she has had it for sale for 2 months now, I bet you could buy it for $2500-$2800 if you had cash to wave in her face.

Get that, drop in a new motor when you got the money, and you would have a very reliable fast car for under $5000