EatRiceDontDriveIt

So months back I bought my car (a used 88 RX-7 turbo with 177k miles) and for about 4 months back now its had nothing but problems (un-drivable basically)... Taking it to 2 rotary specialists they found that the rear rotar had no compression and that the seal broke off and was garbled into the engine itself and furthur more they found that some of the cars components had been altered (a Knock censor that manages that engines main electrical switch was cracked somehow and a Fuel Resistor thats not supposed to be in an 88 was wired and installed <which initially caused the seal to break and mess up the engine in the first place most likely>)...

All in all I spent $3500 for a used car and am spending $5000 to have it fixed and brought back to its stock arrangement... A friend told me theres something called a Lemon Law that somehow gets some of the money back spent on the car because of all the repairs but he wasnt sure if it was for new or used cars... My uncles tellin me that the best I might be able to do is flat out tell the seller about this and ask for money back and at the very most take him to small claims court...

Any opinions on what I might be able to do to get some cash back or am I just screwed??

dr0x

Doubtful. The previous owner probably put low imp injectors into the car, requiring that.

Quote:

Any opinions on what I might be able to do to get some cash back or am I just screwed??

You probably bought the car under the terms "as-is". You are screwed.

Edit: I hope you didnt buy the car, blow the motor, now you're blaming the seller...

bingoboy

where'd you buy the car...i think the lemon laws only apply to dealerships. anyone know if that's the case?

dr0x

Pretty sure it is, bingoboy. When people sell cars they usually offer no warrenty of any kind, hence the term "as-is".

gotdatfiyah

yea, when u buy something as-is, its as-is, and you've waited too long to file a claim....you'll end up costing yourself more money in court costs and when the seller countersues you for making him miss work......$3500 was too much for the car to begin with

BLACK ROCKET

Hey eatRice, sorry to hear about your car problem. You can always part it out and make a decent profit. Then, get a good one .

EatRiceDontDriveIt

Well Im at the end stage of rebuilding the engine already anyways... The mechanic just called me today to let me know that there was another problem and that the fuel resistor was going to cause me to have to wait a little bit longer to get it back (no charge to get it out and rewire it thank god)...

This in no way was my fault as when I first got the car everything ran smooth for the first month, well atleast relatively enough with nothing too noticable... $3500 was a steep price but the interior of the car was so clean and most of its stock parts were as well it warranted the price... Of course now with these engine problems Im changing my opinion...

The mechanic looked at these problems and is baffled as to how these occured... Theres no way I could have driven the car long and hard enough to have done any of these things (like break the seal or crack the knock sensor) and its a bit odd at how these things came to be broken in the first place... Besides I dont have any kind of advanced car knowledge to know what most of this is without an explanation given to me each time I hear about it...

All in all the idea is that because of the 87 fuel resistor connecting to the smaller 88 fuel injectors its most likely that the engines rear rotars seal broke to which the seal was just eatin up by the engine itself leaving it in a mess...

Supposedly theres a contract to sign stating "You are buying this car as-is" but all I signed was the switching of ownership form from a private seller and that was it... I wonder if I could take the dude to small claims court....

gotdatfiyah

sure, can you PROVE the engine was blown when you got it? ....."i drove it for a month then it..."....you better hope the judge likes rotary engines

Mr. Gadget

Dude, your either in need of a new mechanic or you need to get into a Honda. Apex seals will blow on high mileage engines. I believe you said the car had 170K miles. Take time to read this board, you will find a theme or two:

1. The car is very reliable up to about 150K.
2. DO NOT take your car to anyone that is not experienced in Rotaries. THIS INCLUDES DEALERS!! After reading your comments about the car I find it hard to believe they are reasonable.

I also find it hard to believe you drove the car for a month and then the fuel issue popped up.

ilike2eatricers

Maybe you bought it when it was reaching the end of its life. 170k on stock engine and turbo is high mileage and after all those miles and all those years I think it would just about poop out on you. Hope you get your money back though. Good luck.

One question though? Are you trying to sue him for the cost of the car or the cost of the repairs of the car? Seems like a tough fight either way. Have you tried contacting the seller?

EatRiceDontDriveIt

Dude, your either in need of a new mechanic or you need to get into a Honda. Apex seals will blow on high mileage engines. I believe you said the car had 170K miles. Take time to read this board, you will find a theme or two:

1. The car is very reliable up to about 150K.
2. DO NOT take your car to anyone that is not experienced in Rotaries. THIS INCLUDES DEALERS!! After reading your comments about the car I find it hard to believe they are reasonable.

I also find it hard to believe you drove the car for a month and then the fuel issue popped up.

I bought the car with 173k on it and the only thing I noticed was that very very briefly the car would start to "choke" when I had the gas peddle pressed down at the same level for a period of time (Re-adjusting my foot and the peddles level would fix it) and that to start from stop I would have to get the rpms up to about 3 or else the car would choke and drag out... I took it to a Bay Area rotary specialist who was recommended by most everyone on these boards... They found out the engine had no cumbustion and sent me to another rotary specialist who repairs engines in his shop (and most board users recommended him as well) and hes the one who found all these problems... So the mechanics not the problem and neither was my driving... It was all the alterations and misuse the car went through before I bought it....



Maybe you bought it when it was reaching the end of its life. 170k on stock engine and turbo is high mileage and after all those miles and all those years I think it would just about poop out on you. Hope you get your money back though. Good luck.

Thats exactly what happened really... But in retrospect it was because of the alterations like the Fuel Resistor with the stock Fuel Injectors and the misuse causing the knock sensor to crack in half and the pure rust I found in the radiator...

One question though? Are you trying to sue him for the cost of the car or the cost of the repairs of the car? Seems like a tough fight either way. Have you tried contacting the seller?

Im not tring to outright sue him... Im just kinda miffed that I spent $3500 for the car... All Id want back is $1000-$2000 to help curb the cost of repairs but if I were in the sellers shoes I wouldnt even reply to the email that Id have to send...

Im just really seeing what options I have at curbing the repair cost which came because of previous owners misuse...

dr0x

So you bought the car as is with a blown motor? Sounds like you are up **** creek buddy. If I was the seller Id probably tell you to go **** yourself. You bought the car with these problems, its not his fault you didnt get it checked out before purchasing. And you dont have to bag on a rotary to kill it. Quite a few motors will just lose a seal driving down the highway at 2000rpm. Comes with old age.

incendui

If you buy a car with 170k miles on it, things like a corroded radiator or bad sensor should just be expected. These are 15 year old performance cars, you have to go into it expecting things to break. I'm sorry to hear you're having problems, but if anything, 170k miles shows the engine was well taken care of.

Chances are the seller took reasonable care of the car, and sold it thinking it was in good shape. I don't know what the resistor was for, but I doubt its what caused the problems.

twistedriver

I don't know about the fuel problem. But one month of time is enought to use up a quart of oil. If it was low to start with than you might have blown the engine because of lack of oil. Just a thought.............

EatRiceDontDriveIt

I changed the fluids within a months time of purchase... The radiator had literall liquid rust in it, the oil was burnt and hadnt been changed in some time, and the transmission fluid was discolored... I trust the mechanics assumption that because of the resistor choking the filters that it caused the engine to work a bit harder and therefor the seal to break a little faster than it would have... I guess the engine swallowing up that seal and garbling it up was just luck on my part... Considering this is my first car purchase ever I guess leniancies have to be taken on all acounts from the buying to the selling... Oh well if theres nothing I can do theres nothing I can do

dr0x

A resistor choking the filters?

I have a feeling you mean injectors. Take a dmm and check the imp rating. I doubt that had anything at all to do with dropping an apex seal. You just need to realize the car had 170 000 miles on it and **** breaks when it gets old.

twistedriver

Althought i didn't spend alot of money on a car like you did but i feel you buddy. I brough a 87 toyota supra for 1000 thinking that i can make it run good again so i spend like 300 on top of the car. But after spending alot of my time i still couldn't make it run good and things started to mess up left and right. My brakes fell off and my radiator hose blow off. I might have not spend as much money as you but i felt that the money and time that i have spend was wasted. But unlike you my time and money didn't pay off. I will have to sell the car for like 700 just to get rid of it now because other things are starting to go wrong with it too....... As for you, you got a nice looking car with nice interior and a rebuild engine. THe price maybe steep but it wont give you much trouble for a while.

twistedriver

Althought i didn't spend alot of money on a car like you did but i feel you buddy. I brough a 87 toyota supra for 1000 thinking that i can make it run good again so i spend like 300 on top of the car. But after spending alot of my time i still couldn't make it run good and things started to mess up left and right. My brakes fell off and my radiator hose blow off. I might have not spend as much money as you but i felt that the money and time that i have spend was wasted. But unlike you my time and money didn't pay off. I will have to sell the car for like 700 just to get rid of it now because other things are starting to go wrong with it too....... As for you, you got a nice looking car with nice interior and a rebuild engine. THe price maybe steep but it wont give you much trouble for a while.

EatRiceDontDriveIt

A resistor choking the filters?

I have a feeling you mean injectors

My bad.. Yah I meant the injectors...

My gramps gave me the best advice when the mechanic told me that the seal had broken for the first time... He said "If youre gonna fix it do and dont look back in regret..." So far its been 6 weeks and $5k and I cant be all too happy cuz its been 4 months since Ive even seen my car run... Hopefully by the end of this week my mechanic will get the resistor done with and Ill have my car back again...

Youre right though, I shouldnt have a problem with this car for awhile... Thats the only positive Im seeing at the moment...

Now the busted Kenwood cd player and receiver... Thats a downer I gotta get fixed sometime...

AlmostRice

So where are you having it repaired?

amused

think of it this way - 170k on a TII engine isnt too bad, and if it hadn't blown when it did you would have been facing this headache down the road a little ways when you might have not had the same resources to fix it.

in comparison, my 13BT threw a seal at 73k, but it was the previous owners car at that point.

Mr. Gadget

Then take gramps advise and quit looking for reasons to hold someone else responsible for a bad decision - buying a performance car with 170K and not understanding all of what could go wrong.

And I stand by my earlier comments, your mechanic is not doing you justice - 5K for a motor and diagnosis of your fuel problem. Seems WAY out of line.

jaredcolletti

hey rice, why dont you put a used j-spec in there from like http://www.nippon-motors.com/ and save like 3500 bucks and dump it if you still want, I wish I had done that and I know a shop that has got a few from here and has been well pleased with the results. just my 2 cents.

jaredcolletti

just found this on website:
13B-T 87-89 Mazda Performance Engine, Rotary, mechanical oil sending unit $750


sweet

Angel Guard Racing Team

The car broke in your hands months later?