Hey,

I'm going to test drive an '88 TII, hopefully this weekend. Are there any things I should look for? or signs to indicate the condition of the car? Thanks

 

Well im not too experienced with the rx7 yet, but i can give you the basics, I would just make sure ALL electronics work if its a switch..flip it. Let her run for a while, before you drive lift the hood listen for anything irratic, check hoses, lines etc. Make sure she doesnt smoke, and determine whats making it smoke if it does. Check for leaks, check the body integrity and lines, paint. when you test drive, make sure radio is off, listen to transmission, rear-end, steering. Be sure to check heat, a/c, and all those. Im sure others have more to add but theres my $0.02 dont spend it all in one place
Jeff
PS drive it for a good 15-45 minutes, see if she overheats easily.

 

Check all the fulids when cold first including coolant, check the oil look for any thing abnormal...leaks, cracked hoses... Then have him start it up while you look at the exhaust...Any smoke? If so I would walk away right then...If its fine go not just for a ride but a great ride under all driving conditions... Let it warm up to proper operating temps before getting on it though. Check your boost as you drive, how does it feel? Any exhaust leaks? Howz the clutch? brakes? has he changed the gear & tranny fluids? Changed the coolant? Plugs? Air filter? Brake fluids? Have records? Tires? AC work? All power options work? Take your time & take notes if you have to. Even if there are some problems, just use it to make it a better buy...Oh after driving open up the hood and check again for leaks, look under the car from all area's for any bad signs...Good luck, they are great cars and great values!

 

guymelef,

Well as always get a Mazda compression test on the engine before you buy the car. Be sure the Mazda mechanic shows you the rx7 book telling him how to poperly do the test as well and it's just not a "generic" compression test.

Other than that just make sure you don't see any frame damage, the interior is decent shape, and the car accelerates like it should.

You should expect things like the shocks need replacing, the exhaust system may need work, worn tires, the wipers may not park or work on high (do it yourself fix), potentially the 3800 rpm hesistation (do it yourself fix), the rear hatch may not "pop" open as the air struts are worn, the sunroof may stick a little (needs cleaning & lubing), the windows may be a bit shakey going up/down (window tracks needs cleaning & silcon lubing), etc..

How many miles are on the engine and turbo??

 

Another thing to look out for:

Any damage to the front end suspension, particlarly the subframe. Once the front subframe is bent or damaged you will never be able to get the front end aligned correctly.

With the steering facing dead center straight, there should be equal distances between the front center hub of the wheel and the fenders on both sides. If the drivers side is closer than the passengers side (or visea versa) to the back of the front fender/running board, chances are that the sub frame has been bent.

 

Thanks everyone,

Too bad, looks like it won't happen this weekend afterall. But I'm sure the info will come in handy on the 29th. Going to look at a car that's 400 miles away is a pain, LoL. Thanks again



vaughnc: looked through my old e-mails - the engine has
around 5k (jspec) and I have no idea on the turbos. I'll
have to ask, hehe

 

I wouldn't worry so much about the electronics. most of the components, if they fail, can either be fixed or bought from EBay for under 20 bux a pop.

Look on the side of the motor where the spark plugs are. Look between the housings. Look for signs of seapage, possibly oil, you may see some black gooeee stuff or some oil drips. This will increase your oil consumption.


Just picked up my rx7 this past saturday.

1987 TII, 141k original miles. Still ticking, original engine, original owner. Stole it for $1500.

 

Expect to find the car in average condition, most T2s need paint, shocks, and turbo work. Check and make shure it boosts at 5.5 for an 88 turbo, I think the 89+ boost a 6.6. Also bring a boost gauge and get a compression check. Otherwise other things to look for would be. Transmission, Exaust condition, and other ****. Just make shure the car was well taken care of and you'll have yourself one hell of a car.

 

1. My experience is that you need to test everything very thoughly, don't let the owner intimidate you into not looking as hard as you want. Often they try to steer you away from trouble spots. eg. You need to rev the engine hard a few times, some people don't like you doing that to their car. If they object tell they you have to look.

2. See Aaron Cake's site, it's terrific for all the problems with RX-7s, what too look for. Made a big difference when I bought my TII. At the very least you can feel confident that you can find stuff on the car that's wrong. The owner might not even know about some of it. Gives you a leg up for bargining. I've read it over probably 10 times.

My experience is that there are always a ton of small things wrong. Mostly not mechanically critical, but some may be.

 

if the engine is in decent shape use any bad things to help bring the cost of the car down. My car's interior was almost stripped of everything, shifter boot, every vent, door handles. I used that to drop the car 500 bucks.

cost me 200 to fix everything and I spent the rest on mods

 

Care to share that link?

 

I purchased my car for $2500 with nothing wrong, no rust, dents, everything works perfectly, the only thing is that i assume the front seats are not original or for that car to be exact, because the guy said he "thought they were ricaro" hahahaha please, and they are extremely firm and higher than I think they are supposed to be. But all that info helped me out too :P

 

Ah, more good advice! Thanks all.

Carter: url to Aaron Cake's site: www.aaroncake.net

Xentrix: LoL, your sig IS badass Initial D is good anime.

Anime an street (mountain) racing featuring lots of cool Japanese cars, including the RX-7! www.animepad.******** has some episodes of it if anyone is interested.