Value of a 1987 RX-7
 

Hi everyone, I'm pretty new to cars in general and have found an RX-7 i'm interested in buying, and was looking for help trying to evaluate the car. I have yet to see the car but I have found out some info over the phone.

It's a 1987 Mazda RX-7 GXL with just over 190000 kms

• The clutch is apparently going to be in need of replacement in a few months.
• It has minor rust on the passenger side skirt (frame just below the door, idk what you actually call this)
• It is on a set of steel wheels as the alloy wheels had damage to the aftermarket rims after a low speed ice related accident.
• The owner mentioned the car 'walks' (?) at around 100km/hr and suspects it is due to the steel wheels. They also mentioned that they have spare axles they could give me if that turns out to be an issue.
• There are a few minor dings and dents
• The owner used this car as a daily for 1.5 years and is selling it because they have another car and want to save up more money for that.

They are asking $2500 but said they are open to offers. I welcome any help and suggestions on what to offer, and what I should look for in a test drive and inspection.

What is your mechanical aptitude and access to tools/equipment?
Clutch replacement is not unusual nor are the parts exotic, it all depends on whether you're paying labor or not.

The "passenger side skirt" is commonly called the rocker and "minor rust" is too vague to assess the amount of appropriate concern. It's a sealed structural member, so there's no easy access from the back...again, depends on how severe the issue and who's doing the repair.

Sounds like the same "ice incident" that took out the wheels also took out the alignment at least, if not some hard parts as well, hence the dogwalking.

I have no idea about the market in your area nor how rabid your desire for a Rx7, so any financial advice would be useless but I can comment on the inspection/test drive.
Other than the deficiencies already noted, probably the two most troublesome spots in a normal FC ("Normal"=a complete, running car) will be the fragile/damaged interior plastics and the gee-whiz, heavily computerized- and very specific- electrical system.
The wiper switch for instance, costs about $400...so you'll definitely want to check all that stuff.

If you're going to actually drive the car, a cold start is most instructive. The FC, especially in NA form, is hardly a high strung exotic...it should start and drive from cold basically just like a Honda Accord. Before anything else the FC is just a car and should easily perform the same basic functions as the lowliest beigemobile.

I typically don't ask and give little credit as to why the car is being sold but for some reason I suspect this car was seriously curbed (that pesky "ice incident") and the owner didn't feel like dealing with the aftermath (or it's way more screwed up than you know or he's saying).
I am a pessimist.

Thanks for the reply, lots of good info!

I don't have too rabid of a desire, but i'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited at the prospect of driving home with this car. I've noted a couple things that would be dealbreakers for me, one of them being the wheel alignment, as i'm not comfortable trying to fix something like that on my own or paying loads of money trying to fix it.

Again, appreciate the reply, and I'll definitely keep my eye out for any defective electrical components.

Doesnt sound worth it. Id say keep your money in your pocket and keep an eye out for a better prospect.

why would an alignment be a deal breaker on a car? that's a commonly available service and not very expensive... rust on the other hand, it doesn't stop and just keeps getting worse without major repairs. and by major i mean in some cases stripping the whole car apart and reconditioning it back to bare metal.

a car that has several cancer spots that have deteriorated into holes in the body most certainly more than cut a cars value in half. a spot may not appear to be all the way through the metal, but if it is bubbling, it probably already is.

offer him 800 bucks and see what he says. If not, walk.

It's not so much the alignment itself as the potential for component damage that is causing the bad tracking.

The OP could clarify what it is he's looking for- i.e., a project to play with or a car to drive immediately and what skills/resources he has available.
I agree that rust is basically a deal breaker, it's just not worth it unless you can properly deal with it yourself or have a major in with someone who can.

offer him 6 bucks and a French kiss with Grandma.
tossing out numbers without even seeing the car is like buying a black car at night.
Go see the car ..Then you got him where you want him..
You got money,he wants to sell..it's in YOUR COURT..not his..
Remember he wants to Sell..you do NOT have to BUY..

Thanks for all the replies guys! Helps me understand what i'm getting into alot.

A little update about what I'm looking for, basically this is going to be my project car/drift car that i can take to local events. I have a daily driver which i don't even need to get to work so i'm all good there.

I'll definitely keep an eye out for that rust i mentioned, but i've heard that on an RX-7 is it common for rust to be in that spot so i dunno.

I talk to him on the phone today just to confirm before i came to see it that there was no frame damage. He also mentioned he could sell me a turbo for the FC for an extra 500.

I downloaded a big used car checklist and did tons of research on what to specifically look for when inspecting an RX-7, so trying to keep the ball in my court. Going to see this on saturday, so keep the tips coming until then.

Thanks again everyone!

in that case, find a junker and start with that. the car is probably going to get destroyed at some point anyways.

That turbo is useless without all the supporting equipment.

not to mention, if its a stocker turbo, its worth $75-150-ish, unless it was just rebuilt(even then i sell them for $475 including core, when i feel like building them). if it's a aftermarket turbo, then $500 doesn't sound like a steal unless its a ball bearing turbo or new BW S36x. turboing an n/a isn't a cheap or easy process, there's MUCH more than just slapping on a turbo involved.

methinks you are in over your head with this one, you want a car too much and haven't done your homework. most every owner's drift car i have seen/worked on has been wrecked and patched together with zip ties, so going all in at a starting point isn't wise.

I definitely feel in over my head. I don't have anything to lose by going to check it out, and at the very least I can learn from the experience. I really appreciate you giving it to me straight though. Been sortof a wake up slap, but much needed, haha.

LMFAO :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

I bought a rough '91 TII with a blown rear rotor (but ran, on the one) for 300 bucks, passed on a NA '88 for the same price that "supposedly" ran and on both rotors.

Keep looking, unless they are in short supply where you live. That brings up a whole 'nother topic as to how far would you drive to buy a car?

those deals don't pop up anymore, if you find one consider buying a lottery ticket.

i bought my TII 15 years ago with a known bad engine for $1000 and that was a steal even when they were plentiful to find, now there's probably maybe a dozen TIIs in varying condition for sale at a given moment on craigslist all across the whole US, which isn't a large number by any means. if one popped up for sale complete for $300, you could bet it would be gone in about .2 seconds.

not trying to dissuade him, but that example is pretty much unrealistic unless he has an inside lead or is extremely lucky. most of us have never even seen that sort of deal and never will, and we know people who know people from being in the community for so long.

For me, it was happenstance. I'll admit to about ten years ago. Pretty close actually on the average.

.

I bought my Turbo2 less than 2 years ago for 4200. It has a rebuilt large streetported engine with around 6k on it. Also has other odds and ends. I got it for a steal.

Anyhow, wait around. 2500 bucks for an N/A that you are going to beat the shit out of is pointless. Find a roller N/A or TII and start from there.

I'll have to disagree with you about the roller, unless it has the full drivetrain in it already with like a blown engine or something. Probably spent 4-5k on mine until it was drivable.

if you spent that much on an n/a then you went overboard 5 fold to get it to running condition. n/a engine parts are rather cheap.

tii

There is almost no such thing as non-serious rocker panel rust - it is a critical area for the structural rigidity of any unit-body car, and it is a very difficult area to do proper repairs, because it's a boxed-section, with no access from behind, as Clokker noted. If there is rust showing on the outside, it's an excellent chance it has rotted from the inside. Look carefully at the underside, as well as near the bottom of the wheel wells adjoining the rocker area (in front of the back tire, behind the front). Insurers will routinely write off cars just a few years old for what might appear to be minor damage in the rockers, because proper repairs are expensive and hard to do, and the rockers are a key structural elements of the passenger compartment (as well as the overall rigidity of the vehicle, which is especially important to the handling of sports cars). The insurer doesn't want to get their @$$ sued off because in a subsequent accident, the car folded up like tissue because of a sketchy previous repair.

I would also be concerned about the alignment issue - if it hit a curb hard enough to ruin the wheels, it probably hit it hard enough to bend suspension components and/or the chassis itself - and in either case, the cost of parts (and labour, if you're not doing it yourself) could quickly add up and exceed the value of the car even if it were in good shape. If the car doesn't send you running on your initial inspection, the car should be mechanically inspected by a reputable shop at the very least (which you will pay for) - check with AAA in your area if you don't know a good shop for pre-purchase inspections.

As others have also noted, make sure everything works. These cars aren't especially exotic, but the switchgear does tend to wear out, and can be expensive and/or hard to replace - headlights/running lights, signals, wiper/washers, power windows (if equipped), as well as the climate controls. It doesn't sound like you have a lot of automotive experience, and getting yourself in for an expensive and time-consuming project (especially rust/body repairs or fixing electrical problems) is not a great place to start for most.

Went to check out the car today. Here's what I found.

rust was pretty as in a few spots, like causing holes in the rocker panel and in some body panels.

there was a brake fluid leak cause the owner to have to fill up the fluid every 2-3 weeks. Test drive, brakes had to be slammed, and didn't activate much.

as for the dog walking in the back, test drive proved to show that quite a bit. The frame didn't appear to be damaged, but unsure about what was actually causing it.

learneda bunch but I'm gonna pass

You saved your ass on that one then.
Try the Regional section(Canada) and look at some cars near you.Guys that post cars on here know what they got and are pretty easy to work with.
You can get some leads off the shops sections at the top of the CDN main section or just
Google: Rx7 in BC and see what pops up.