Hey all,

I have been in the market for an RX7 for sometime now.. heck almost a year since my buddy got his. I have looking around for one, but I keep getting mixed infomation. So figured that I would join up with you guys, and perhaps yall could help me out, seeing as you guys actually own these cars.

So, I am in the market for a 2nd gen Mazda convertible.. like an 89-91. I really like how they look, and my friend bought one last summer, so now I wanna buy one for this summer. I usually only buy german cars, (because of the build quality) but I wanna go out on a limb and see if Mazda can go toe-to-toe with them.

So here are my questions:

1. Since its a rotary, I can't use syn oils, right? what about semi syn?
2. How long do they motors last? Some tell me 100k, others say they run forever.
3. I will be looking for a manual, so are they hard to find? Are they durable? What about the clutch?
4. Are there any problem areas that I should know about? Anything that would leave me stranded? Anything expensive?
5. What kinda gas mileage should I expect?
6. What's an average price for one? I see them really clean ones with 100k going for like $3k.

I guess that's all that I have to ask. I did use the search feature, but it seems.. well... like any other car forums search feature, absent minded and slow. If you all have any other things that I should know about, please don't hesitate to tell me.

Thanks in advance,
Zerodynamic

 

1. you can use synthetic but you need to either premix in the tank or use oil metering pump adapter to allow you to run a seperate oil tank to inject oil into the combustion chamber.

2. Depends mostly on maintenance these engines are much more sensitive to heat (they run very hot) and obviously oil.

3. They are fairly common and clutch life is about average compared to most cars.

4. everything is expensive the problems are endless as these vehicles are old and the wires tend to fail, grounds fail and when the engine goes it is about average (cost wise) in the car world I guess. However my brother has a VW corrado not a G60 but the rare engine his crap is expensive so if you are adjusted to paying for german car parts it should be comparable.

5. this varies greatly with maintenance and how you get in the pedal. You should get 20 or more on the expressway and no less than 10 local. I have a very heavy foot so you might do better. I have had 5 of these and loved them all.

6. AVG. price varies by geography.

7. convertible does not come turbo so dont try to find one.

have a look at my pics on the link below this is a very clean restoration. Not a convertible but more rare.

 

by the way handling as you might know from your friend is actually superior to most german cars under $50K. Engine power on the convertible is not. However turbo model is usually comparable