Best Place/Way to buy an RX-7?
02-06-19, 10:35 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Best Place/Way to buy an RX-7?
Looking into buying my own FD RX-7, as it has and always will be my dream car! There are definitely many different avenues to use when buying one (eBay, craigslist, even from a dealership) but I was wondering what the community thought was the best way to buy one? Like even taking condition into consideration (like a salvage, or buying one that's clean but needs an engine rebuild)
If you could maybe link me to some websites or even some good examples that would be awesome! Thank you for reading
If you could maybe link me to some websites or even some good examples that would be awesome! Thank you for reading
02-07-19, 12:41 AM
#2
FD's are pretty rare, but people still list them on craiglist. I think there's a way to create a search alert so it will email you when a new listing is posted, but I don't buy cars often enough to know how that works. There's also a for sale section here on rx7club, although you might need more time and/or posts before your new account can view that section. bringatrailer.com is another good site, some of the comments and questions from other users might be useful.
With a car this old, it's possible to find them in all sorts of conditions. Some were maintained and modified very well, others might have issues from poorly performed modifications or improper maintenance. Some of the interior parts are no longer available from Mazda, FYI. If you haven't already seen this thread, check it out:
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-gen-gene...-more-1111539/
Some of the info in the 3rd Gen FAQ is old, but there is a lot of good info in there:
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...l-links-68640/
Hopefully you have a garage to store it in, and a daily driver so the RX7 isn't your only means of transportation.
With a car this old, it's possible to find them in all sorts of conditions. Some were maintained and modified very well, others might have issues from poorly performed modifications or improper maintenance. Some of the interior parts are no longer available from Mazda, FYI. If you haven't already seen this thread, check it out:
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-gen-gene...-more-1111539/
Some of the info in the 3rd Gen FAQ is old, but there is a lot of good info in there:
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...l-links-68640/
Hopefully you have a garage to store it in, and a daily driver so the RX7 isn't your only means of transportation.
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orijyn (02-07-19)
02-07-19, 09:03 AM
#3
RX-7 Bad Ass
iTrader: (55)
The best answer on where to find a car is "all of them". This is a rare car, becoming rarer by the day, and it's going to be tricky to find one for you.
First off, figure out your budget and have MONEY IN HAND. Don't waste seller's time by looking at a car then realizing you can't get financed or you can only scrape together a few grand.
Next, figure out what car you want. All-in wide body single turbo? Super low mileage stock collector? Mildly modded daily driver? Rolling chassis with no engine? RHD Japanese import?
Plan on putting some money into the car when you get it. That low-mileage collector sure looks great but it's going to need 20 year old dry rotted tires replaced. That single turbo wide body is amazing but the compression is weak and it's going to need a motor sooner than later. You get the idea.
Finally, you're not going to find it for sale at a local used car lot or in your city's Craigslist. You will need to cast a wide net to find a good car for a good price, and finding the right one may take some time. When you do find the right one be ready to put down a deposit and head out to go see it. These cars are in demand - you snooze, you lose.
Dale
First off, figure out your budget and have MONEY IN HAND. Don't waste seller's time by looking at a car then realizing you can't get financed or you can only scrape together a few grand.
Next, figure out what car you want. All-in wide body single turbo? Super low mileage stock collector? Mildly modded daily driver? Rolling chassis with no engine? RHD Japanese import?
Plan on putting some money into the car when you get it. That low-mileage collector sure looks great but it's going to need 20 year old dry rotted tires replaced. That single turbo wide body is amazing but the compression is weak and it's going to need a motor sooner than later. You get the idea.
Finally, you're not going to find it for sale at a local used car lot or in your city's Craigslist. You will need to cast a wide net to find a good car for a good price, and finding the right one may take some time. When you do find the right one be ready to put down a deposit and head out to go see it. These cars are in demand - you snooze, you lose.
Dale
02-07-19, 09:58 AM
#4
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Thanks for the response man! And yeah I'm definitely going to be buying a commuter car to use every day, something cheap and good on gas and really keep the rx7 for the weekend and nice weather. I need more posts to check out the ones for sale on here, but i really wanted to buy one from within this community in order to buy one that was better-taken care of. If I could find one with maybe some reliability mods that'd be even better, looking for one thats mainly stock maybe that i could mod my self, to learn more about the car.
02-07-19, 10:00 AM
#5
Junior Member
Thread Starter
thanks for the reply man. I was thinking about maybe importing one from canada? since it would be right hand drive (which i honestly would prefer), and the conversion rate would work in my favor.
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orijyn (02-07-19)
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02-18-19, 09:39 PM
#8
My 2 cents: buy one as close to ready to drive as possible or have a big wallet like Dale said. I got “a steal” on my FD for $5500 with 44k miles (but salvage title). It sat in a field for 5 years with a great condition interior. I stupidly thought I might to put $7-10k at most to get it running and back to OEM look. I’m like $18k in and not done. For what I’ve put into it plus the costs, I should have bought one ready to go. Every project is an excercise in throwing money away. Right now it drives good, but looks like crap. When all is said and done, I bet I’ll be close to $30k in. I cannot stress enough that if you want to own this car, be prepared to pay and be patient when looking for parts. It’s been fun but frustrating at the same time.I love the car, but if I could go back in time, I’d tell myself to pass for my own sanity.
02-27-19, 02:25 PM
#11
Mazda driver since '88
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Ottawa, Canada
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+1 to AutoTempest. Great site for searching all sites. My only beef with AutoTempest is that it doesn't search Kijiji, which is used more widely in Canada than CraigsList. (I suggested to the good folks at AutoTempest that they include Kijiji too. They said they'd consider it.)
Don't by shy about searching for cars in Québec and Ontario, Orijyn. Nice drive from Mass. to Canada. I did the reverse, bought my FD in Boston and imported it into Ontario.
Don't by shy about searching for cars in Québec and Ontario, Orijyn. Nice drive from Mass. to Canada. I did the reverse, bought my FD in Boston and imported it into Ontario.
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