which year to get?
 

Hey all, I am pretty new to the world of the Rx7 and pretty much cars in general. I was looking into buying a 2nd gen Rx7, but was wondering which year you all would suggest to get. Sorry if this is pretty damn lame, but what can I say? I'm a n00b. Thanks in advance.

how much money do you have to spend?

Money is not the issue really. When it comes down to it, I can get the money if I need it. I am simply looking for some guidance. I have been trying to read up as much as I can, but a lot of it seems confusing being that I really don't know SHIT about cars.

Well if you are looking for more speed /low end torque etc... then a Turbo model might be for you. They are more maintance, (as are any turbo cars...) It comes down to a preference thing... You might ask yourself a couple questions being:

1. How inclined are you to learn the ways of the rotary?
2. Can you have downtime with the car?
3. Are there any mechanics in the area that know how to work on rotaries if you cant?
4. Do you love boost? ;)

From what I have been reading both turbo and non turbo cars can be made relieable, it call somes down to maintance.

Rotaries are much more sensative to the maintance that is preformed on them... I personally have an 88 Turbo II, but it doesnt seem like one FC is better than another in its stock form... Maybe the 89+ models's might have a couple of better things going for them. As they are Series 5... I think those newer models had some things changed with the fuel rails/pulse dampaners but im not 100% as I am new to the world of the RX's myself....

If you don't have a place around you that can work on the car, and you don't feel inclined to work on the car yourself. I don't recommend you picking one up as much as you would like to. Its not a car you can just take to the local shop down the street, unless you are lucky enough to be next to a rotary shop. :)

Hope this might help a little bit otherwise someone else will post im sure.

I'd say start off with something simple and cheap like a Base or Sport.

Anyone new to Rotary engines shoudl get an NA first.

It will last longer and can take a beating more than a TII can.

When something breaks it's usually easier to fix on the NA ones.

Once you know your way around the engine bay then I would say either convert the car to turbo or buy a TII.

Buying one will be the cheaper route usually instead of converting.

As for models.
For Naturally Aspirated I recommend for
86-88 models
Get a 88 GTU or GXL. The GTU is more of a race version while the GXL is more luxury.
These will have the upgraded brakes and suspension.

89-91
Get a GXL or GTUs.
the GTU of this series became the base model and lost it's cool additions like brakes.

If you get a turbo model then 89-91 will have a bit more horse but it is harder and usually more expensive to find parts if it breaks.
87-88 turbo's are a little easier to find.
Get the 10th Anniversary edition if you can.

All TII's have pretty much the same stuff.

Oh yeah.
If it's NA then they usually go until around 150k-200k miles.
Turbo's becomes unreliable around 100k-120k miles bu there are still a few people running around fine in that range or higher.

Re: which year to get?
 

Given all of the above advice, You should get a S5, NA, that's an RX-7, model year 89-91(this is the best looking version of a 2 Gen) , with no turbo charger. Look for a car with a good body and interior. Don't expect a pristine, showroom specimen; you are going to buy a 13+ year old car so it will have some problems and some blemishes but you do not want to pay for any major problems.

The people on this website will give you all the help you need to evaluate the cars you find and can help you get the one you buy in good running condition. Just remember you will entering a long term relationship with a devious machine that you will fall in love with. She will give you many years of pleasure if you treat her right and don't abuse her.

You can apply most of this advice to the car you select, to the girls you date, and to the woman you marry.

Bert

Yeah, these are old cars and the majority of the people on this board do their own work and maintenance on the car. I have a TII but started out with an NA. Once you become accustomed, you can move up. When I had my NA, it was already plenty fast enough.

Hey, thanks for all the help. Now, to answer the question of "will there be a rotary shop near me?". I hope to me moving to florida here in just a couple months, and would be relatively close to the "petit racing" shop that I have seen pop up a few times in my Rx7 studies. Also, I really do want to learn as much as I can about rotary engines. The more I read, the more it just seems stupid to own a car with a normal v6 or something like that. Anyways, thanks again.

I'm from NC but if you will go to the Southeast RX7 forum you will find lots of discussions about Florida shops and mechanics. Those guys seem to be very good at sharing information about what is going on down there. You should have no trouble getting help and finding someone to bring you along with your 7.