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How to value your FD

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Old Jun 5, 2023 | 07:53 AM
  #5826  
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The compression numbers thing has gotten so far out of hand. Take a look through some of the recent "warped seals" threads. Some of them go pretty in-depth on the topic. Hot starting and pulling vacuum is key. A compression test should be used as a baseline to check your engine health over time.
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Old Jun 5, 2023 | 08:29 AM
  #5827  
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Originally Posted by aplscrambles
The compression numbers thing has gotten so far out of hand. Take a look through some of the recent "warped seals" threads. Some of them go pretty in-depth on the topic. Hot starting and pulling vacuum is key. A compression test should be used as a baseline to check your engine health over time.
More importantly this car is going to sell for 100k plus so if you are concerned about a 5k engine you aren't bidding......., the BAT fee will be 5k LOL


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Old Jun 5, 2023 | 12:43 PM
  #5828  
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If it goes for $100,000 plus. Throw in a crate short block in the deal.. Issue resolved.
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Old Jun 5, 2023 | 01:02 PM
  #5829  
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Is it a myth though?

Or established wisdom?

Almost every mainstream car mag that deems to write up the FD can not seem but help to mention concerns about the engine.
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Old Jun 5, 2023 | 01:24 PM
  #5830  
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Originally Posted by Redbul
Is it a myth though?

Or established wisdom?

Almost every mainstream car mag that deems to write up the FD can not seem but help to mention concerns about the engine.
It's a myth. Most of it is dated anecdotal BS that people hold onto in their journalism for attention.

Many people lost engines in the late 90's and early 2000's due to a lack of proper fueling or tuning, their experiences stigmatized the 13B-REW. Failures happen now but are fewer and are usually a result of a build issue or a fault in setup, this forum serves as evidence.

The next time someone starts to talk about an unreliable/problematic rotary ask them what their direct experience has been.
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Old Jun 5, 2023 | 02:04 PM
  #5831  
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Time for a new poll!
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Old Jun 5, 2023 | 02:21 PM
  #5832  
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Based on this limited poll (see below) , engine condition only ranks fourth among valuation criteria.

If the criteria were further weighted by considerations of recent commentary and auction results,

low mileage may have mutiples of importance of ranking over engine condition.

The recent "failed to met reserve" CYM may support this.

Although it seems to have a recent rebuild by a known shop, it failed to sell.

Was the somewhat higher than recent average mileage a leading factor?


https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...tions-1160648/

Last edited by Redbul; Jun 5, 2023 at 02:24 PM.
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Old Jun 8, 2023 | 10:11 AM
  #5833  
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Originally Posted by Redbul
Based on this limited poll (see below) , engine condition only ranks fourth among valuation criteria.

If the criteria were further weighted by considerations of recent commentary and auction results,

low mileage may have mutiples of importance of ranking over engine condition.

The recent "failed to met reserve" CYM may support this.

Although it seems to have a recent rebuild by a known shop, it failed to sell.

Was the somewhat higher than recent average mileage a leading factor?


https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...tions-1160648/
Yep, cym too many miles and not in great shape.

The buyers of these super low mileage cars are willing to pay a huge amount for how bolts, couplers, exhaust, bottom seam, etc....look, in other words it's the minutiae that matters the most. The 93 black touring that sold for 137k was soooo much cleaner overall than this car which is why we may not see a record despite it being a rare SSM R2.
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Old Jun 8, 2023 | 11:00 AM
  #5834  
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BC

I wonder if any of the actual museum FD (like in Hiroshima) would be concours ready?

We had a Japan import class at out local concours (Crescent Beach) a few years back.

No local FD was deemed good enough. Class was won by an FB.

Top honors went to a $30 million Ferrari.

The cars stood about 20 feet apart on the greens.

Good exposure, but that concours has not been revived post Covid.

(My insurer (Pellings) has been the sponsor. I am trying to get on the volunteer committee.)

Meanwhile, we have a lot of exciting and expensive winter builds slated for debut at our Sevens Day.

https://westcoastrotary.com/

Last edited by Redbul; Jun 8, 2023 at 11:26 AM.
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Old Jun 8, 2023 | 09:07 PM
  #5835  
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Originally Posted by Fritz Flynn
More importantly this car is going to sell for 100k plus so if you are concerned about a 5k engine you aren't bidding......., the BAT fee will be 5k LOL
Exactly. What is jim thompson selling crate rew's for? $7500 Installed iirc. How much is a clutch and rear main seal job on a 911 of the same vintage, or god forbid an IMS failure? Sorry, but fd's aren't any more expensive to maintain or much more unreliable than your average foreign sports car, especially from that era.
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Old Jun 8, 2023 | 11:34 PM
  #5836  
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Originally Posted by aplscrambles
Exactly. What is jim thompson selling crate rew's for? $7500 Installed iirc. How much is a clutch and rear main seal job on a 911 of the same vintage, or god forbid an IMS failure? Sorry, but fd's aren't any more expensive to maintain or much more unreliable than your average foreign sports car, especially from that era.
Yup. Pineapple Racing is currently selling a brand new factory engine for $6.4k shipped (https://www.pineappleracing.com/bran...yinclship.aspx). Try pricing new S54 or S85 BMW engines - from cars that sell for a lot less than FDs.

When these cars were selling for the low teens to broke teenagers it made sense to worry about a $7k bill for an engine replacement. That was a decade ago. Only armchair, non-bidding idiots are fake-concerned about that now.
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Old Jun 9, 2023 | 03:23 AM
  #5837  
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Calling people names is not going to help.

People are going to continue to ask for compression figures, and sellers are going to be sideswipped by that

. Spend the $100 for a compression test before you list. If the figures are bad, sell somewhere else.

Each auction that goes off the rails hurts everyone's values.

Having a compression test in their back pocket could help sellers as well.

You know there are going to be guys that do Italian tune-ups on the way home from the pick-up point and will come limping back on one rotor to the seller raising cain.


Last edited by Redbul; Jun 9, 2023 at 03:43 AM.
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Old Jun 9, 2023 | 08:33 AM
  #5838  
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Ah yes.. compression tests.. I'm not sure why this is even relevant on a vintage piece of kit such as our cars. I would be concerned with the esthetics of the vehicle at this point. If you can see it's lived a hard life, it won't matter what the compression numbers are going to say. You'll end up rebuilding the engine sooner than later.
I also worry about vehicles that have sat around hardly driven. You can pick up a hardly used FD, but you know perfectly well you'll be going into the project replacing almost everything mechanical. Cars cant sit around not being driven for long. Things seize up and don't lubricate the way they should. Seeing as how the vast majority of FD's are now 30yrs old, if the odo doesn't show at least 70-90k km's on the clock, I'd be really worried about everything on the vehicle.

As a reference point, when I picked up mine in 98, she had 48k km's on the clock. I bought it with hardly any mechanical knowledge. I knew the absolute basics. Never asked for compression test. She lived for the first 2-3yrs as a "daily" (with exception for winters of course). Managed to put an additional 50-60k in that short period of time. Around the 120-130k interval, she let go since I was fooling around with power output and didn't do any of the cooling mods that are absolutely necessary for the vehicle. The OEM rad broke and the engine overheated. That was that. Rebuild time. She was heavily reinforced since then since I was running a single turbo and when the rebuilder saw that, they threw everything at the engine to help withstand that type of abuse. It's been over 18yrs now since that's happened. Odo now reads 164k km's. Everything runs like a dream.

Another point, I picked up my RX8 R3 5yrs ago. She's a 2010 and when I picked her up, she had 53k km's on the clock. Did I ask for a compression test? Nope. Had them bring it into their lifts so I can take a look underneath. Looked under the hood. Made sure things checked out. She was all original with the exception of some BHR ignition coils and a Racing Beat cat back. You can tell she had a relatively easy life. 8yrs and only 53k km's on the clock. Pretty gentle life. However, I knew right away if I wanted the engine to last longer, I had to get rid of anything that would block or impede it. Otherwise, the car looked completely intact and rather mint. It's been 5yrs and she's now showing 103k km's on it. Runs like a dream..

Overall state of the vehicle is more critical than the "compression test".
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Old Jun 9, 2023 | 08:44 AM
  #5839  
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From: https://www2.mazda.com/en/100th/
Originally Posted by Redbul
Is it a myth though?

Or established wisdom?

Almost every mainstream car mag that deems to write up the FD can not seem but help to mention concerns about the engine.
yeah its like saying an Italian car has soul, the rotary has no low end torque, the corvette interior sucks, something something BMW and Teutonic etc its just something that every writer puts in a review (contractually?)
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Old Jun 9, 2023 | 10:07 AM
  #5840  
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Originally Posted by Redbul
Calling people names is not going to help.

People are going to continue to ask for compression figures, and sellers are going to be sideswipped by that

. Spend the $100 for a compression test before you list. If the figures are bad, sell somewhere else.

Each auction that goes off the rails hurts everyone's values.

Having a compression test in their back pocket could help sellers as well.

You know there are going to be guys that do Italian tune-ups on the way home from the pick-up point and will come limping back on one rotor to the seller raising cain.
YEP, give as much good news as possible; paint meter, compression, super clean with great pics blah blah blah and it will literally be worth thousands of dollars to the seller.
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Old Jun 9, 2023 | 10:07 AM
  #5841  
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Other than the compression test debate.. there's some discussion about the R models that could or should carry a "premium".

be interesting to see where this ends up compared to the BB FD that set the record. Timing obviously plays a part ( especially in an auction) but all other criteria considered.. its pretty much apples to apples - condition, mileage, original etc...

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Old Jun 9, 2023 | 11:58 AM
  #5842  
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From: https://www2.mazda.com/en/100th/
Originally Posted by MarcZ55
Other than the compression test debate.. there's some discussion about the R models that could or should carry a "premium".

be interesting to see where this ends up compared to the BB FD that set the record. Timing obviously plays a part ( especially in an auction) but all other criteria considered.. its pretty much apples to apples - condition, mileage, original etc...
the FD is pretty neat, because you can have either personality. the CYM R1, which is like the shark amongst the fish, they see it, they know what it is.
or you can have a MB or black touring which is still very much the apex predator, but it blends in more

i like the CYM myself, but there is absolutely everything right with having something more subtle as well
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Old Jun 9, 2023 | 12:47 PM
  #5843  
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Two hours and fifteen minutes until "needle drop". Hope everyone's expectations are met! SSM rules!
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Old Jun 9, 2023 | 03:34 PM
  #5844  
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As I'm sure everyone here already knows, it sold for $148,000. Tbh I was bit disappointed because I was rooting for $160,000+

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1994-mazda-rx-7-99/

Originally Posted by Fritz Flynn
. The 93 black touring that sold for 137k was soooo much cleaner overall than this car which is why we may not see a record despite it being a rare SSM R2.
​​​​​​I think you nailed it. IMO it should had gone much higher at the very least because of the interior color and that it's a 94.

Time to go drive my FD!

Last edited by Montego; Jun 9, 2023 at 03:58 PM.
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Old Jun 9, 2023 | 06:55 PM
  #5845  
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@redbul there's your explaination.
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Old Jun 9, 2023 | 07:18 PM
  #5846  
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Some mistakes we make are bigger than others...................like selling Apple at $4.





Based on today's results, what do you figure these two halfs are worth (come with intact doors).

Last edited by Redbul; Jun 9, 2023 at 07:24 PM.
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Old Jun 9, 2023 | 09:40 PM
  #5847  
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It’s insane how much these cars are selling for now. I should have held onto my SSM. The appreciation would have far outweighed the carry cost.

My biggest regret was not buying goodfellas’ black 93 (I think?) when it was up for sale around 2013. I got spooked by the mileage but ended up spending so much more on bringing my ~38k stock up to 100% DD.
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Old Jun 10, 2023 | 09:48 AM
  #5848  
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Originally Posted by mljs54
It’s insane how much these cars are selling for now. I should have held onto my SSM. The appreciation would have far outweighed the carry cost.

My biggest regret was not buying goodfellas’ black 93 (I think?) when it was up for sale around 2013. I got spooked by the mileage but ended up spending so much more on bringing my ~38k stock up to 100% DD.
Not really when you think about it. The FD is a frikken cool *** (yes it has a very sexy ***) car so if you can afford one, you'll own one and there just aren't that many left in great shape. In my opinion it's way cooler than most old P cars and they sell for even more.

It's insane what houses, stocks, meat etc.... are selling for

As long as governments/central banks keep expanding balance sheets the value of everything we own will continue to rise. CRAZY WORLD!!!!!

If you have money/own things, you grow rich and powerful if not you go broke and weak. Unfortunately, all those in power want more, more and more.

I suspect this madness will end in hitting the reset button or world war. I just hope the can is kicked down the road a little longer so my daughter can live in peace but from where I'm standing it's not looking good. The human cycle is truly a cycle and we will never change it's just what we are.

So, in the near term live, love and enjoy your best life, and keep your FD (and effin drive it, life is short), your house and whatever else you can get your hands on as long as you don't support it with debt because unlike the government you don't run a central bank, LOL!







Old Jun 10, 2023 | 09:50 AM
  #5849  
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Originally Posted by Montego


As I'm sure everyone here already knows, it sold for $148,000. Tbh I was bit disappointed because I was rooting for $160,000+

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1994-mazda-rx-7-99/



​​​​​​I think you nailed it. IMO it should had gone much higher at the very least because of the interior color and that it's a 94.

Time to go drive my FD!
If this car had 4k miles and was super clean it literally may have sold for 200k!

The market has spoken.
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Old Jun 10, 2023 | 09:55 AM
  #5850  
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Originally Posted by Fritz Flynn
Not really when you think about it. The FD is a frikken cool *** (yes it has a very sexy ***) car so if you can afford one, you'll own one and there just aren't that many left in great shape. In my opinion it's way cooler than most old P cars and they sell for even more.

It's insane what houses, stocks, meat etc.... are selling for

As long as governments/central banks keep expanding balance sheets the value of everything we own will continue to rise. CRAZY WORLD!!!!!

If you have money/own things, you grow rich and powerful if not you go broke and weak. Unfortunately, all those in power want more, more and more.

I suspect this madness will end in hitting the reset button or world war. I just hope the can is kicked down the road a little longer so my daughter can live in peace but from where I'm standing it's not looking good. The human cycle is truly a cycle and we will never change it's just what we are.

So, in the near term live, love and enjoy your best life, and keep your FD (and effin drive it, life is short), your house and whatever else you can get your hands on as long as you don't support it with debt because unlike the government you don't run a central bank, LOL!






Fritz is on the money again. Let's hope that can is kicked and kicked some more.
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