jmabo205

iTrader: (1)

Just how reliable is an FC, If the engine is rebuilt and maintained properly? Want to know before i make a decision on buying one.

WadeMCarter

It depends how it was cared for; Bad owners, bad reliability.

enj01

I bought a fc with a atkins rotary rebuild and street port and haven't had any problems yet...well just a battery going dead , also you have to look and see how long ago he rebuild was done

hurleysurf24

iTrader: (3)

reliability depends on how big your wallet is

t2josh

^^^ what he said. Dont get me wrong i love my 7, but i would not say its reliable, just look at how many posts in this section of the forum are questions about how to fix the current problem with the're RX7. Although it is true (to an extent) how well it was taken care of may play a role in the amount or type of problems u have.

RETed

No, it's not.
The cars are over 20 years or right under it, and how reliable can a 20 year old car be?
It's not a Toyota.
In fact, Mazda reliability has been downright frightening.
Expect to pay up the *** for little things inside and out to get the car in perfect running shape.
"Reliability" should be thrown in with "gas mileage" as things you should not expect from an FC...


-Ted

brandonn

of course a fc isn't ANY car. but with any car the owner plays a large part of the vehicle's reliability, especially a car that's 20 years old. an oil change very 3000 miles during the course of 20 years comes a long way. but to answer your question, the 2nd gen rx7 is quite a simple car and very easy to work on. If you needed any help, rx7club is FULL of info and experts to help you out, something lacking in other vehicles. the reason why mechanics stay away from rotaries is because they know little about it. the reason they know little about it is because there are simply a dominating amount of piston cars out there (if you were a mechanic,specializing in the mass would benefit you more, in most cases). if you want a gas saving vehicle that gets you to point B, don't get the 2nd gen rx7.

marK's

but if you want to share an unexplanable bond with a car, get a 2nd gen rx7.

BurlesonRX7

I second this. Its a 20 year old car be prepared to shell out cash and bloody your knuckles on the weekends fixing things.

jerd_hambone

if you have it rebuilt, and do some reliability mods, and repair what needs to be repaired, then you will be good for a while

if you do really good maintenance, then the car and engine can last you a long time.

but it aint no chevy or toyota (my s10 had 320k miles on it and was still kickin and the lot i traded it at had a toyota with 490k miles and the people had driven it from tn and parked it and it runs amazing)

just don't skip out on maintenance, and it should be good unless you push it

ericgrau

iTrader: (1)

Yes it can be quite reliable, but it depends on the condition you get it in. Just get a buyer's guide and check it out carefully. Try the FAQ or google for one. Maybe have a mechanic look at it too. Try kbb.com for blue book values.

On mine I've needed the basic scheduled maintenance, a thermostat and an alternator. Those things you do on every car whether it's a Toyota or a GM. It also had a bad fuel pulsation dampener and a slow leak in the oil line when I bought it. PD was $300, oil line still has leak since I've only noticed it recently (but that would explain why the oil was low after 1-2 months of storage when I bought it). It hasn't developed any new problems in the 2 years since I bought it. I get 17/25 mpg, basically stock rated mileage.

OTOH I've heard of people spending over a hundred each month on repairs, etc. while getting 13mpg. Just check it out carefully before you buy. The time and money you spend on a buyer's guide and/or mechanic and/or nicer car is nothing compared to what you'll save later.

arghx

iTrader: (3)

just get a low mileage one with good compression. All the electrical stuff goes to **** at 100k+

t2josh

And try not to get one from the North Eastern part of the country, unless you want to get a tetnis shot before working on your car.

idsigloo

Depends on how old EVERYTHING is. My injector electical clips just put my car on a flatbed because the wires were so old and brittle they stopped working.

phoenix7

going on 200K miles on my NA. About 70K in my TII. You have to stay on top of things so you can replace them before they break. If you ignore your car and wait for things to break then you're going to find yourself having to repair the broken part + whatever damages THAT causes.

Check for posts started by me to see the recent 200K mile rollover thread.

I check my fluids while i'm filling up, change the oil on schedule, replace plugs and wires on schedule and the only problem I've had recently has been the battery. I need to replace the tires within the next 10K miles, I need to replace my brake pads, O2 sensor, plugs, and fuel filter soon.

Stay on top of your crap and you'll be ok. Make sure you don't buy a car that's on it's last leg and maintain it.