How to value your FD
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 4,001
Likes: 379
From: Aurora, Ontario, Canada
Whenever someone says they got a deal from Quebec, I expect that car to be far from original. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was 2 or 3 cars that were made into 1.
That's also good to know haha. For the one I was interested in the pictures looked pretty good, interior and exterior were mint. Canadian Carfax showed 2 owners, the guy took ownership in 2009 when the car only had 4000miles, he also has all the maintenance record and original window stickers.
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 30,804
Likes: 646
From: FL-->NJ/NYC again!
(she just lost a stat gear bearing in the garage I'm sure)
It's funny...... my 1200 mile FD has zero issues. Solid car, starts up runs and drives with literally zero issues. Change the coolant, change the oil, run the engine along with heat and a/c periodically, run her around the block or for a short blast on a nice side road. Nooooo problems.
(she just lost a stat gear bearing in the garage I'm sure)
(she just lost a stat gear bearing in the garage I'm sure)

Seeing the prices of super clean NA and NB Miatas jump, makes me think that if I ever wanted to jump back into my taproot car (an FC Turbo II), buying a super clean, stock one is going to go for big bucks. Theres a probably more old people like myself that reminisce of their FC days than there are nice, clean FCs on the market 

Yep. I grew up on TurboII's, would LOVE to have one if I had garage/storage space for one. Now prices are getting insane, saw a clean 88 turbo sell for $15k recently. That's IF you can find one, most all FC's are GONE at this point.
Also saw a mega low mileage 10th Anniversary (like 5,000 miles) at $30,000 and climbing recently. I had a 10th back in the day, LOVED that car.
Dale
Also saw a mega low mileage 10th Anniversary (like 5,000 miles) at $30,000 and climbing recently. I had a 10th back in the day, LOVED that car.
Dale
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 31,833
Likes: 3,232
From: https://www2.mazda.com/en/100th/
Does anyone else wonder whether the BaT results are really "market"? I see a lot of cars going for absurd money that makes no sense. BMW 2002's are $35-75,000, yet you can find very similar cars on eBay for $25-45,000. I see a Callaway Sledgehammer Corvette that's over $500,000 while a perfectly restored Aston Martin DB4 is $300,000. BaT seems to be a site for newbies with a lot of money who get into a bidding frenzy with some guys who really know their stuff coming in on the more interesting cars. Anybody else wondering?
Does anyone else wonder whether the BaT results are really "market"? I see a lot of cars going for absurd money that makes no sense. BMW 2002's are $35-75,000, yet you can find very similar cars on eBay for $25-45,000. I see a Callaway Sledgehammer Corvette that's over $500,000 while a perfectly restored Aston Martin DB4 is $300,000. BaT seems to be a site for newbies with a lot of money who get into a bidding frenzy with some guys who really know their stuff coming in on the more interesting cars. Anybody else wondering?
In general, I do think it caters to the crowd that likely has more money than they know what to do with, though.
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 31,833
Likes: 3,232
From: https://www2.mazda.com/en/100th/
Yep. I grew up on TurboII's, would LOVE to have one if I had garage/storage space for one. Now prices are getting insane, saw a clean 88 turbo sell for $15k recently. That's IF you can find one, most all FC's are GONE at this point.
Also saw a mega low mileage 10th Anniversary (like 5,000 miles) at $30,000 and climbing recently. I had a 10th back in the day, LOVED that car.
Dale
Also saw a mega low mileage 10th Anniversary (like 5,000 miles) at $30,000 and climbing recently. I had a 10th back in the day, LOVED that car.
Dale
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 31,833
Likes: 3,232
From: https://www2.mazda.com/en/100th/
Seeing the prices of super clean NA and NB Miatas jump, makes me think that if I ever wanted to jump back into my taproot car (an FC Turbo II), buying a super clean, stock one is going to go for big bucks. Theres a probably more old people like myself that reminisce of their FC days than there are nice, clean FCs on the market 

Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 31,833
Likes: 3,232
From: https://www2.mazda.com/en/100th/
Dumb question, with these FD's we prefer a 100% original car, but do some minor mods hurt the value, or is a nice FD a nice FD?
there is another thread where the guy is looking to build a car, and i was thinking to suggest a nice condition, but modified car might be the best value, but do bolt ons effect the price? obviously we're not talking in the cream of the crop here, but if you had 2 nice sub 100k mile cars, is the catback/wheels modded car going to be cheaper than the stock one?
there is another thread where the guy is looking to build a car, and i was thinking to suggest a nice condition, but modified car might be the best value, but do bolt ons effect the price? obviously we're not talking in the cream of the crop here, but if you had 2 nice sub 100k mile cars, is the catback/wheels modded car going to be cheaper than the stock one?
Dumb question, with these FD's we prefer a 100% original car, but do some minor mods hurt the value, or is a nice FD a nice FD?
there is another thread where the guy is looking to build a car, and i was thinking to suggest a nice condition, but modified car might be the best value, but do bolt ons effect the price? obviously we're not talking in the cream of the crop here, but if you had 2 nice sub 100k mile cars, is the catback/wheels modded car going to be cheaper than the stock one?
there is another thread where the guy is looking to build a car, and i was thinking to suggest a nice condition, but modified car might be the best value, but do bolt ons effect the price? obviously we're not talking in the cream of the crop here, but if you had 2 nice sub 100k mile cars, is the catback/wheels modded car going to be cheaper than the stock one?
They don't hurt the value for me. Because they're bolt-ons, they're easily removed and replaced with OEM parts if the new owner prefers that.
My FD was very tastefully modified when I bought it. It has everything a performance driver would want (including some reliability upgrades), since the previous owner was a time attack champion and track instructor, and no cosmetic mods at all.
For a "collector" who doesn't actually know that much about FDs, maybe. Some of the original stock parts are getting harder to find, but it's also starting to look like both Mazda and the aftermarket are coming up with more parts soon.
My FD was very tastefully modified when I bought it. It has everything a performance driver would want (including some reliability upgrades), since the previous owner was a time attack champion and track instructor, and no cosmetic mods at all.
For a "collector" who doesn't actually know that much about FDs, maybe. Some of the original stock parts are getting harder to find, but it's also starting to look like both Mazda and the aftermarket are coming up with more parts soon.
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 4,001
Likes: 379
From: Aurora, Ontario, Canada
Dumb question, with these FD's we prefer a 100% original car, but do some minor mods hurt the value, or is a nice FD a nice FD?
there is another thread where the guy is looking to build a car, and i was thinking to suggest a nice condition, but modified car might be the best value, but do bolt ons effect the price? obviously we're not talking in the cream of the crop here, but if you had 2 nice sub 100k mile cars, is the catback/wheels modded car going to be cheaper than the stock one?
there is another thread where the guy is looking to build a car, and i was thinking to suggest a nice condition, but modified car might be the best value, but do bolt ons effect the price? obviously we're not talking in the cream of the crop here, but if you had 2 nice sub 100k mile cars, is the catback/wheels modded car going to be cheaper than the stock one?
This being said, a well sorted modded FD will probably be a better vehicle to drive overall. Everyone knows the stock cooling system and the dreaded cats are a very fast way to kill a rotary.
This being said, if said modded vehicle is still relatively easy to convert back to stock if you choose too, it shouldn’t suffer from taking too much of a hit value wise.
I know I’ll never get rid of mine, and from its subtle external mods (of which all of them are from the factory either from later FD’s, if not from Mazdaspeed), everyone who sees it always ask if it’s factory. The main giveaway is the exhaust of course. No OEM manufacturer will sell a vehicle with the sound of an N1 duel Apexi exhaust.
This being said, if for whatever reason I do have to sell it (I’m basically taking this to my grave, mind you), anything less than $45g’s Cdn would be an insult to both me and the car. 
With the way things are going though, I wouldn’t be surprised if I’ll have to get the car re-appraised to cover its appreciation..
IMO, the FD is one of very few cars that can be genuinely improved through a handful of limited, carefully-selected modifications - things like a downpipe and metal AST are no brainer mods with very little downside. Also, an engine lifespan of less than half of what would be expected of an equivalent piston engine has resulted in a numbers matching engine not being as important for a collector-grade FD as it would be for other cars. I would like to see more cars with bone stock bodies (early bumpers FTW!) and interiors but with some engine reliability mods and bolt-ons, maybe wheels, but it seems most RX-7 owners are not of the same mindset.
As far as value goes, a stock FD is valuable not just because of its value as a collector item, but also valuable to anyone who wants a platform for a "build" since it's best to start with the nicest example you can, so I think these examples will continue to lead in value. Last I saw there were only around 3,000 LHD FDs registered in the US from the original ~14k imported, which is a massive attrition rate.
As far as value goes, a stock FD is valuable not just because of its value as a collector item, but also valuable to anyone who wants a platform for a "build" since it's best to start with the nicest example you can, so I think these examples will continue to lead in value. Last I saw there were only around 3,000 LHD FDs registered in the US from the original ~14k imported, which is a massive attrition rate.
Last edited by c0rbin9; May 22, 2021 at 03:58 PM.
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 31,833
Likes: 3,232
From: https://www2.mazda.com/en/100th/
are they? you can get Mazdaspeed stuff for the ND miata. we also have to make sure we're all talking about the same Mazdaspeed. Mazda USA has had a couple of cars, and a line of parts that had nothing to do with the guys in Japan ho used to go racing at lemans
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 4,001
Likes: 379
From: Aurora, Ontario, Canada
I think the Mazdaspeed stuff offered now for Japan is 3rd party stuff. Don’t think they’re doing anything in house anymore…
They don't have plan to continue the branding, so I'm assuming all the factory accessories add-on will stop as well, I could be wrong. The Competition Parts will still continue but the more public favor are probably the add-on stuff, and as mentioned the stuff for RX-7 are long gone so those should add value.
I hope you are right and think that is as it should be. I wonder if that will ultimately be how BaT bidders see things. While I sometimes see Rx7 guys commenting and maybe even a few bidding, many bidders seem to be wealthy dilettantes who value some overly pure form of originality far more than they should. That makes for a conundrum. People have always complained about rotaries running too hot and detonating, but if you modify the car to reduce heat and detonation, it is no longer as valuable.







