if its over heated the motor is shot. rotaries dont like heat. you will need a rebuild.

 

so how much is it worth in its current condition?

This post like stated before has went off topic...I found a website that should help other people looking for an fc help buying one (both NA and tii) http://aaroncake.net/RX-7/buy1.htm

 

Definitely not worth 2K with the overheat problem. Could indicate that the engine needs a rebuild, and who knows what else is wrong with it inside of the engine bay irregardless of the interior condition.

I'd look some more on craigslist, and check the classifieds on this site.

Don't rush into getting something, look around, take your time. Find something in good condition or reasonable for what you are willing to repair on your own.

 

Why should he replace all of those things if there is nothing worng with them?

He said he wants to daily drive the car... not restore it to showroom condition.

 

Fluids, brakes, plugs and filters, are a GOOD idea though. If he wants drive daily those things could put his car in better condition, more reliable, as well as make it safer.

 

I think that because he does want to DD the car is justification enough for going through that list.

In general, when buying ANY used car I think it's safest to assume that scheduled maintenance was ignored (unless the seller has receipts proving otherwise) and it's better to bite the bullet and overdo it rather than have some minor issue balloon into a big problem.
Besides, going through a list like that basically gets you all over the car and it's likely that you'll spot other things that need attention- things you may not have thought to check before.
At the very least you also gain an intimate familiarity with your new vehicle which will provide some confidence and a good starting point for future mods/repairs.

 

Well yeah, it's a good idea to check everything... but you can't tell me you would replace the omp lines if they were'nt leaking, the coolant lines if they aren't crispy, and the brake pads and rotors if they are in good condition.

 

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/car/360304485.html

good buy or not? (im trying to talk him down to 1200)

 

I've had my FC for a year and a half and I've only had to pay for basic maintenance (oil changes, other regularly scheduled maintanance items) and gas. I get 17/24 mpg with very spirited driving, or a couple more mpg otherwise. So far gasoline has cost me far more than everything else put together, except maybe insurance. I just recently got a problem with the charging system that I can't figure out. So I'm going to drive it down to a mechanic tomorrow and have him fix it.

The FAQ has some good buyer's guides listed and some other general info. There's also this buyer's guide:
http://www.rx7.voodoobox.net/infofaq/bguide/bguide.html
which I used myself. Also do a forum search on the following items: OEM thermostat, DTSS, fuel pulsation dampener. Also don't overheat or let the oil or coolant get too low. On a turbo don't let it knock (N/A's almost never knock). You can screw up a rotary engine real quick from any of those (though not instantly).

The FC is a very reliable car, but there are some bitter people here who bought lemons and want something to blame it on. With 20 year old cars you could get screwed even if you buy a Civic. In fact, my sister bought a Civic with a bad tranny (she got rid of it a long time ago). Just shop carefully. The RX-7's reputation for poor reliability comes from the FD (which is also much faster and much more tweaked out than the FC, btw).

As for putting a turbo on an N/A, it is very hard b/c it requires custom fabricated piping, etc. Must people swap the entire engine or just buy a turbo to begin with. Turbos will be less reliable than N/A's, of course, but their owners say that with a bit more special care they do just fine.

The problem with the charging system was another bad alternator. So now I know not to buy remanufactured alternators. Turns out the problem was unrelated to the car itself.

Oh yeah, nobody is going to be able to tell whether or not an RX-7 is good based on the ad. You either have to take a buyer's guide and check it out in person or have a mechanic look it over (a good idea before buying any used car, btw). Or do both.

 

Lifetime warranty on though alt though at least right?

I agree, most FCs are 17+ years old and at that point they are only as reliable as to how well they were taken care of over their life and if they weren't taken care of what you're willing to do to get it back to tip-top condition.

 

Well, lifetime warranty on the 1st alt. 1 year warranty on the 2nd alt. The catch is, you basically do the reman's beta testing for them. It's a lot easier for them to slap on a replacement warranty than it is to make sure all their alternators are good. And if you want a refund so you can get a different alternator, they take your core but don't pay you the core charge. If warranties were honest they'd do the replacement labor for you and compensate you for your lost time. In reality it's a dishonest method of outsourcing quality control to the consumer. If I knew a good quality reman before, or that brand new alternators weren't terribly expensive (and that remans were so horribly unreliable), I would have gone for the better alt regardless of the warranty.

But yeah, very old cars can be unreliable regardless of the model. Always inspect before you buy.

 

no i wouldn't replace the lines if they weren't broken but most likely there going to break when when you remove the OMP to replace the seals <--- the reason most of our motors have a nasty oil cake allover the front bottom. and yes i would replace the coolant lines because theres several on ,behind and underneath the UIM that get cooked, and one that runs over underneath the oil filter pedastal that likes to get oil on it. i don't remember seeing rotors in my list anywhere? i like stopping though so i think replacing pads as pretty ****** important.

i DD this car harder than most of you guys ever will at the track though so these things are very important to me. if you don't value your life that much then sure skip over the list and do what seems "cool", if you want an fc that you can take out and run at 6-7k rpm all afternoon and not overheat or blow hoses or just not be able to stop, thats your decision.

thats such a tiny list you guys, i mean if you can't get that done within the first few months of owning the car how do you expect to do all the big stuff thats gonna need to be done eventually, go look at my VB garage and see what i've done to my car all within the last year and on a small budget.