how can you say maybe about a yugo? If ya want an efficient cheap reliable car, that is not going to impress anyone but yourself get a saturn oor something. As long as you don't leave it the sun too long, it won't melt.

 

As far as things breaking or needing replacing, the items and problems that come up often on the board are common on any 10+ year old car.

But as too the car being worth it IMO: There are no other cars for the same miniscule amount of money that can give you the sports car performance and overall feel of the RX-7.

 

WEll, I got a year before I can do that..It seems, that time has gone really fast ever since the Word Trade thing, but yet, it is going much to slow

 

I am priviliged enough to own two great sportscars, a 86 GXL (Which is the g2 rx7, 1.3b Naturally Asperated engine, all the nice little power toys [this is for those who don't know, so don't flame me! ]) and i also own a 92 Mitsubishi Eclipse (G1 DSM, 1.8 litre 4cyl, no power toys)... I love both my cars, so need to flame that i own a DSM here's my cost comparasion vs. maintance time/money to get each to a "Daily drivable" condition.

RX: Initial Cost: 200 dollars (yes, i got a wicked deal)
Intial Condition: Poor, a noticable amount of small dents/hailstone dents, paint fading, small interior trim pieces missing, etc.
Intial required parts [clutch, Cmaster Cylinder, B master cylinder]: ~220 dollars.
time to get functional (to get it running happy, it just needed the new clutch, new cylinders): ~8 hours, (first time i had it jacked up, i checked EVERYTHING I could, exhuast, brakes, etc).
Misc parts: ~130

Eclipse: Intial Cost: 2100
Intial Condition: Good, small exception was G1 DSMs had problems with the paint on the hood, so a paint job was negotiated into price reduction.
paint job: ~500 (cheap paint job )
time: None really, it was a good car from a dealer

things are going to cost more to go with an rx, for example, i've put a clutch in both cars, and the eclipse flywheel cost ~90 dollars.. the flywheel for the rx would have cost ~400!!!

Conclusion:
RX-7: Started with an unfair placement, i picked it up dirt cheap to be a fun project car, but it turned out to be my daily driver when i needed to work on the clutch area of the eclipse.. Fun car, needs a lot more work (like i said, poor condition).. It appears that if you keep the fuel injectors clean, a lot of oil in it, and nice gas, the engine stays happy for a long time. This is definatly the faster of the two cars off the line, it has a better sound to it.
Minuses: Two seats(?), very expensive parts, half the fuel efficeny (~230 miles per 15 gal tank), mine needs a lot of TLC
Pluses: Very fast, very responsive, decent interior with most thing where they're convient. Great price, fun to work with (lots of open room to get your hands dirty), apparently low maintinence).

Eclipse: Started with an unfair advantage, i've had this car for about a year and a half longer than the rex, and it was my daily driver till the clutch died, and i started using the rx. i find this car very responsive on the cornering, and decently quick, although slower than the rx on the take off, mine has a higher top-end.
Minuses: Lacks the power i would want from a real "sport proformance" machine. Regular Cylinder-class engine means regular amount of work although i've had good luck with my mitsu egine...
Pluses: Fun to drive. I love to drive this car easy to work on, just like the rex, this is a great car to get your feet wet, so to speak. Parts are cheaper, it's decently fast and it's about twice as fuel efficent.. ~450 miles per 15 gal tank.

Summery: Either car is great, don't go with a civic! If you want to go faster off the line, the rx has an eclipse beat hands down, but i can't make the rx do the cornering tricks i can pull off in the eclipse, maybe i'm just more used to it though. Either car is extremely moddable, so more proformance in the future is not much of a concern. Looks wise, i'm torn.. I love the lines on a rx, but my eclipse looks nice too, so you're on your own there... one forseeable problem is depending on your area, and your levl of techinical ability, you may have extreme difficulty finding a mechanic to help you with a rotory.. . whereas the eclipse has "Just another engine"...this is all i have to offer, i know there's no definate answer, but hey, i love both of my cars, what can i say?

PS - Sorry about the long post, i just wanted to say everything i could think of on both sides of the fence..

PPS - For looks, here's a link to my RX http://www.geocities.com/greatleper/rx7side.jpg and here's a link to my eclipse http://www.geocities.com/greatleper/lumin/finished1.jpg http://www.geocities.com/greatleper/lumin/finished2.jpg

 

Yeah, nobody here knows about rotaries...(i mean in denver colorado)..Im only worried about the fuel efficiency.i wish there were a way to fix this..one other thing..only one person needs to answer, because i still want the topic to be continued


"Ive heard of people putting a Pontiac Firebird V-8 in these cars..I know this is possible.."

How much would that cost..would tat be worth it?

Thanks

 

Jarod - For fuel efficeny, my eclipse is awesome and about the v8, there's a whole forum dedicated to it, although i don't think you'll have to worry about that pesky "fuel efficency" if you convert to a v8

damn, i can't find the link right now...

 

IM concerned about the earth..not so much as my wallet

 

FIRST CAR?!?!? Who said anything about a first car? I had a truck for my first vehicle(as I think every american teenager should). For a first car, I would not recommend ANYONE have an RX7 of any kind for their first car. New drivers are more likely to have accidents than experienced ones. I could care less if a 16 year old that got their license 3 hours earlier just died in a car wreck. If that certain 16 year old TOTALED a Rx7 I would have a giant void in my life knowing that a RX7 was destroyed due to an inexperienced driver(I would be satisfied that said inexperienced driver was dead as well).

I know a lot of you guys on the forum are young and have your Rx7 for your first car, and you take excellent care of your car and drive in a manner to protect your investment. I am referring to the stereotypical 16 year old american teenager that is branded "Worst driver" by all of the insurance companies. But deep down everyone knows that 16 year old FEMALE drivers are the worst ........


These cars are worth every penny, I never liked imports of any kind until I sat in my first FC and banged through all 5 gears, shifting at 8K. The combination of Power and handling in these cars is phenomenal, and there is no other car that can duplicate(or come close) to it.

OH yeah. BMW can suck my left nut.
Driven several of them, what the hell is all the praise about?

 

you damn tree hugging hippie!!!!!! im gonna go polute some air and kill nature just for that. I dont care about jack **** other than a T04e pumping 14lbs and killing wildlife. Look into the honda insight if that is what you want

 

OT: Not to defend BMW at all, but i thought the reason for most of them was because they don't die?

 

BMW's suck. mainly the engine is what im talking about. To be specific:
in the straight 6 motors(ALL current production) there is this spare cavity right behind the water pump and directly in front of the no 1 cylinder(forgot the exact term) basically it is like a 7th cylinder that does not go all the way through the block, have a piston or is even honed. it is a hole, a waste of space. what happens is that when the water pump goes out, or the timing belt needs to be replaced, generally the car will start burning coolant for some odd reason. it is not actually burning. What happens is that the head gasket will leak only on that empty hole(well call this the 7th cylinder, because I forgot the technical term) coolant is leaking into the 7th cylinder and is heated by the block temp and just consumes coolant and smells terrible. there is no coolant or oil leaking through the valve guides or onto the pistons for that matter, its just in this useless cavity they have. It has to be the absolute STUPIDEST design ever! Anyways, the fix is to pull the head, replace the head gasket(and whatever else you were replacing to begin with) and wait another 40K for it to happen again. Fun

 

You forget the Datsun 240Z, one, if not the original, of the Z-cars. And if I recall correctly, manufactured first to compete in the World Rally circuit. Though a bit heavy it does have some speed and there are some pretty good mods out there for both the 240 and 280! A friend stuck a nissan straight 6, turbo'd into his 240 and we pulled low 14's with both of us in it (extra 500 lbs, hehe)
and high 13's with just him in it. Nice car. Only one I've seen without a cracked dash.

Also, I've seen mods for the Daytona to get that little 2.2l engine kickin' out 300hp with just stock parts!

Dodge Stealth? Can you say Mitsubishi(sp?) 3000GT?
Same car, different body panels.

Anyways, just had to through in my 2 cents. I have an 82 RX-7 GSL that I just bought with the tax refund and absolutely love it. Been searching for one for 5 years about but never had the money until now. Thinking bout picking up two more here in the area that are just sitting, probably make good parts cars...

 

well, my only complaint about my RX is it's consumption. it consumes fuel, and it consumes oil...other than that, it's a happy car! You won't regret it for the fun you have and the joy it brings! God Bless!!

<>< Matt ><>

 

You forget the Datsun 240Z, one, if not the original, of the Z-cars. And if I recall correctly, manufactured first to compete in the World Rally circuit. Though a bit heavy it does have some speed and there are some pretty good mods out there for both the 240 and 280! A friend stuck a nissan straight 6, turbo'd into his 240 and we pulled low 14's with both of us in it (extra 500 lbs, hehe)
and high 13's with just him in it. Nice car. Only one I've seen without a cracked dash.

Also, I've seen mods for the Daytona to get that little 2.2l engine kickin' out 300hp with just stock parts!

Dodge Stealth? Can you say Mitsubishi(sp?) 3000GT?
Same car, different body panels.

Anyways, just had to through in my 2 cents. I have an 82 RX-7 GSL that I just bought with the tax refund and absolutely love it. Been searching for one for 5 years about but never had the money until now. Thinking bout picking up two more here in the area that are just sitting, probably make good parts cars...

 

Thanks guys....I will be driving a truck as my first car, don't worry. Second, I didnt ask bout BMW's..

 

I just thank God daily that I am alive, young, healthy, and found the most amazing sports car ever mass produced. TII RX7's are my G-spot

 

Alright, youve all ben wonderfully helpful.

 

Three cheers for the rotary engine! Hip hip horay!

 

Remember, very few people ever post saying "My car's running fine today". Mostly, as with any automotive list, people are here looking for solutions to problems. Odds are you would find the same thing on the Geo Metro list.

 

lol you guys are funny

 

Yeah...my band teacher drives a Geo, I think i might dump a sprite on its paint b/c he is such a jerk to me..

 

I bought mine in a junkyard, for 900. 161K. A new battery, gas, and an oil change later, I drove it out of there. I've put 500 miles on it, and it runs great. So, I guess my opinion is you'll get out exactly what you put in, to ANY car!

PhotoTJ

 

mmmmm......rotary engine.....mmmmmm......8K redline......mmmmmm