hey i just looked at an FC w my dad a few hours ago and it has some small problems with it and i was wondering how hard/expensive it would be to fix because the car runs really nicely and the body is nice and straight.

the back hatch didnt pop open when my dad tried to open it so he had to open it from the inside and push out. is that normal? i read some other ppl had this problem too. how much would the gas struts be to replace them?

the gasket around the sunroof was leaking. theres a gap that i can look thru. it was about 1/4" thick i think. but thats kinda a problem because i live in washington and you kno it rains here... plus two of the caps on the top of the sunroof were gone. one was covered w duct tape. when i tried to open it i heard a noise and it moved a small bit but then stopped. how much would it be to put in a new sunroof?

that was pretty much it... other than a rip in the drivers seat on the side and the trim piece near the bottom of the window was chipped and started to rust. it ran really well and the body is in good shape. i think i might buy it too. the person at the dealership said it was either an 87 or an 88.

thanks for any help!!

 

gay server i just typed hella **** and it eraced it anyways sunroof probley needs some greese as for the hatch the shocks are probley worn as for the gas shocks they can run from 250-300 for some decent ones

 

how much do they want for it, and also the guy at the car lot sould know what year it is, but the main thing is the price

 

My hatch does that. Just need to replace the shocks. Does it have any odd mechanical problems?

 

oh yeah what i typed before it got deleated. does it smoke at start up at all or when you give it alot of gas and if it does what does it smell like?

 

yeah it smokes when you start it up. im not sure when you give it lots of gas tho. i heard it was normal for rotaries to smoke when you start them up?

there werent any other mechanical problems. it ran very smoothly with only a few clunks when you shift and a squeak up in the dash (prolly sumthin rubbing)

the price was 3999 but it was marked down to 2999. thats rite at my price range too. i think i can talk it down a bit cuz i have cash. that and i can complain about the problems it has.

thanks for the help!

 

are you prepared to put $2000 into getting it running at any given time? if not, dont buy it.

 

is the smoke thick and white?

 

i agree with zero, it sounds to me like he is trying to pull something over on you, my 7 never! smokes when i start it and sometimes i even leave it sitting for a few days, i would really go through it with a fine tooth comb before i spend 3 grand on it, and also is it a turbo or an n/a, if it is an n/a i really dont think 3000 is worth it for what you said is wrong with it, being that it is smoking and all,,,,,, just my input


john

 

How many miles are on it? The N/A's usually die around 175,000 miles. People will say that is Bullshit, but how many N/A's do you see that are running over 200,000 miles. Maybe 20, or 30?

Also do a compression check. I will include a link at the bottom of this page on how to do the compression check. It is alot to write. Plus the link is more descriptive.
Check for coolant problems, like is there any "champagne bubbles" when you take the radiator cap. Be sure not too take it off right after it was running.

If those things check out well, you should be good to go. 3000 is not too shabby really for a N/A. A turbo'd model if it had any of these problems that I described would be a real pain in the *** to get back in running shape.

You can get OEM body parts from the Victoria British catalogs. And OEM parts from your local Mazda dealer I am sure of.

Christ, I can't believe people did not mention a compression check or a coolant check. But one thing to consider, little things will kill you in the long run. Not persay an engine, but like a radiator, oil cooler lines,brake lines,brake pads,brake rotors,spring,shocks/struts.

Good Luck. I would also check on the for sale sections on here. It is where I found my 88.

 

sorry i did not mention a compression check, i thought that was common knowledge, i will remember to put that in my future posts like this one

 

sorry bout the last post, no sarcasism intendid

 

i wouldnt buy from a dealer though thats where i got mine... they are just crooked as they come, find one on the board.. buy it from a rx7 enthusiest or a really old man who garaged it in 90 and forgot about it lol

 

lol yeah i wish i could find one of those.

its an N/A

are you sure that smoking isnt normal? i read one of the other things on this board (the one about things to check when you buy an FC) and it said that some smoke was normal. its white smoke and it was a little more than i expected but i thought it was normal. im not sure tho. its not like a huge cloud out the back and it disapated within a few feet.

it has 131,000 mi. on it

theres another one that is 65 miles away, for the same price and it only has 91,000 miles on it. i want to check it out but thats a long drive to get there.

yeah i forgot to look in the rad. ill do that if i go back there.

thanks for all the help!

 

those arnt problems you should be worried about. the back hatch not opening is more of an inconvience that can probably be fixed easily. and the leak in the sunroof is not a big deal, if you need to just plug it up with something. the main thing you should be concerned with is how the engine is running.

 

it is true that some of them smoke, but with what i have had experence with is that the first one that i had it started smoking and about 1000 miles later the apex seals were gone for good, and now this one being my third (my second i sold and was running great) i have not seen the first bit of smoke out of it yet, that is just what i have seen personaly,,, i would look at the other one also, 65 miles is not that far if you get a 7 that you wont have to be replacing the engine on in the next couple of thousand of miles
hope some of this helps you into getting a good running rx-7


john

 

Your best bet is NOT to buy an RX-7 from a dealer who knows nothing about rotary engined cars. Look on the boards in the for sale section and you will get a better deal on a better car that the owner can tell you more about and also other people on the board can usually vouch for a car thats for sale here.