Originally Posted by Fritz Flynn (Post 12168964)

I'm not sure which ad is better. I know which car I'd buy though. The ssm hands down for about what that auction ended at :nod:

That dude is a complete trip :lol:

Originally Posted by FourtyOunce (Post 12168974)

It seems the seller ended the auction early. Perhaps the bidding was up to what he expected?

Originally Posted by FourtyOunce (Post 12168989)

There a multiple factors .... I think his ads are "too much", clearly laid on "thick". Reading them makes me think of that used car salesman with too much aftershave lathered on.

That 93 VR R1 is a nice buy. It even sounds like he sold it for less than asking price based on his response later in the thread.

Originally Posted by gmonsen (Post 12169014)

God, I wish I had more garage space. I would love to tuck away a nice bone stock R1 with 50,000 miles for $18,000 or so. More garage? My wife would kill me. Where do you keep all your cars, Fritz?

G

Originally Posted by cvzg77r (Post 12169480)

If I may interrupt a little with a quick question. Reading through this thread it seems like base models with no sunroofs end up with higher value then a touring with sunroof and bose and Im just curious why. Thanks

Originally Posted by Narfle (Post 12169491)

More rare, lighter weight, more headroom, cloth seats preferred over leather.
Bose system eats up trunk space, is ugly, breaks more, harder to repair/replace.
A little bit more race car.

If you like grand touring, like sunroofs, and don't have headroom issues then touring/peg/pep are great.

Originally Posted by cvzg77r (Post 12169480)

If I may interrupt a little with a quick question. Reading through this thread it seems like base models with no sunroofs end up with higher value then a touring with sunroof and bose and Im just curious why. Thanks

Originally Posted by c0rbin9 (Post 12173093)

What's sad is that when I was a freshman in college in 2009 'FD dreaming' the classifieds, at any given time there were 20-30 sub 50k miles, 1-2 owner clean stock FDs on Autotrader between $12-15k. Now those cars are $25k+ and they aren't easy to find. What happened to all the nice FDs in the last 8 years?

Originally Posted by FourtyOunce (Post 12173634)

1993 Mazda RX-7 | Bring a Trailer

Did anyone watch this auction?

Originally Posted by Fritz Flynn (Post 12173102)

That's a stretch but cars like this one listed below on ebay were certainly 12k at most.

1993 Mazda RX-7 very rare car, still stock, so much potential!!! | eBay

It's all about supply and demand. Supply has been moving down and demand has been moving up :nod:

I can't wait to get my MB with 31k miles up and running :egrin:

Originally Posted by arghx (Post 12173472)

I think a lot of those low prices 8 years ago came during the financial crisis when people just didn't have money (demand low) and others needed to sell to pay bills (supply high).

Originally Posted by FourtyOunce (Post 12173634)

1993 Mazda RX-7 | Bring a Trailer

Did anyone watch this auction?

Originally Posted by yagie (Post 12173747)

hey hey hey don't get too excited because I already told you I'm stealing it from you whether you like it or not! :jump:

on topic though it blows my mind on how expensive some people still think these cars should be. While in most of our opinions they're definitely the most attractive car from the 90's the rotary keeps the value low because so many people are just scared of them and clueless on how they work or how to maintain them. I saw a kid with a beat up 94 with 115k on FB asking 24k for it and he literally got laughed out of the group. He stuck to his guns and swore it was worth it, but no one agreed with him lol.

Originally Posted by Redbul (Post 12173782)

There are about 10~15 top level RHD up for auction in Japan over the next two days. With cars of such class going recently for about US$16~18,000, the auction results may be a good indicator of where prices are headed. It seems, to me, there is a strong "collector" feel to the prices being paid. Are people buying to hold for ten years until US market ready? Hoping to double or triple their money?


The actual sales price difference between what equivalent 1992 and 1995 models, say, have recently sold for, indicates a tripling is not necessarily far fetched.

Originally Posted by gmonsen (Post 12173912)

I don't think we're seeing much effect at all from what we would call "collectors". I think the majority of buyers paying up for FD's are people who want fast, great handling cars that look beautiful. If you look at the prices of new low-end sports cars, like the BRZ's, Fiats, Miatas, etc, they are all, say, $25-35,000 and they are not as fast or as good-looking as an FD. Buying any sports car or sports sedan with comparable speed and handling -- there aren't any with the looks -- you're talking $50-75,000. So, a low mile FD at $20-25,000 may be a real bargain.

Originally Posted by Fritz Flynn (Post 12174020)

Folks spending 22k for FDs with 115k miles are not collectors that's for certain.

I'd guess half the people spending 30k plus for low mileage stock examples are thinking limited miles/collector.

Once the low mileage cars starts costing 40k plus (and they will hehe) then most of those buyers will be collectors.

40k today buys low mileage:
Cayman
V8 m3
corvette
new mustang with 8k left over to mod it
etc....

Speaking of the E92 I may buy one of those soon :nod:

Originally Posted by Redbul (Post 12174110)

The current pattern at Japanese auctions, as I see it, is that bidders are paying outsized premiums for limited edition Spirit R or Bathhurst (and RZ) . If people were just going for performance the later model Type RBs only have 20 hp less and are substantially the same cars except for more plain seats, standard suspension, and not too much else different. The Type RB are selling for about $8000 less (except for some rare examples).

Originally Posted by Fritz Flynn (Post 12160276)

I know we've all talked endlessly about the value of these cars but a practical perspective is ripe or timely because the majority of the high priced FDs (prices north of 25k) I see for sale are not selling.

I've bought and sold hundreds of these cars so it's really easy for me to wax on and on about it.

The biggest reason I see for the prices hitting a wall is the availability of good cars priced 20k and below. When I say good I just mean they are straight, no rust, decent interior etc...

Follow that up with the cost of refurbishing the above car and this is where the wall is created.

Now add in the fact that most irons in these cars are 25 plus years old (most 93s built in 92) and have seen better days and they will eventually fail because of rust etc....or in other words the engine will need to be rebuilt on even the lowest mileage FD unless the maintenance was stellar. This usually isn't the case. Most low mileage FDs just sit in someones storage facility which is a great way to create internal engine rust.

So the elephant in the room is obvious to me. Why would I spend 35k for an FD with 20k miles that's mint when I can still buy a good one for 17? When the price was 25k it made sense to get the expensive FD (low mileage FD) but 17k goes a long way and rust never sleeps so the older these cars get the less reliable the original engine will be.

Example below of a decent FD I'd buy long before buying a 30k plus priced FD. The one below may already be sold or will sell soon where as all the ones listed for 30k plus will sit on autotrader for years (until the market catches up to the price) unless the sellers wake up or decide to take that cough cough low ball offer.

Cars for Sale: Used 1994 Mazda RX-7 Turbo for sale in Gainesville, GA 30501: Hatchback Details - 424192926 - Autotrader

Lets talk money and what that extra 17k you have in the bank will buy you. With some cars like the 993 911 for example the 17k will only rebuild your engine, BUT with the FD you get significantly more.

Engine 5k (NEW ENGINE)
Paint 7k (above car doesn't need paint)
Misc interior parts 2k (above car doesn't need interior work)
Used low mileage JDM trans 750 to 1k (every FD with 50k plus miles could use some trans work)
Labor to put said parts in 2k

So once the engine blows on the fairly priced FD you purchased you go through everything in the engine and you'll be out 7500 max BUT your engine should be solid for another 50k miles or more.

Over the winter you have it painted and put in some new weather stripping etc... 7k

Once the trans dies you either rebuild or replace 1500

etc...etc...

And it's not a matter of if on the original engine but when. So add 5k to your 35k total and it's starts to become pretty damn clear the FD isn't a good value at 30 or event 29k if you can still find them in good shape for 17k or anywhere below 20.

Anyway that's why you can't sell your FD for 30k if it has more than 30k miles on it. If someone decides to buy it well good for you (there is an ass for every seat), but if you want it to sell (and not waste money on taxes, storage fees, ins and or risk damage/mechanical loss), you may want to reconsider your price at this time.

There are clearly lots of FDs listed for 30k by owners who don't care if they sell and I am also sometimes in that camp so I understand the reason to keep it versus sell for anything less but if that's true then your car really isn't for sale, you are simply testing the market and your test failed LOL.