Hello.
I have been interested in the rx7 since 1992. At that time on a test drive I broke traction at a stop light on accident during a test drive, and have loved it ever since. However, I could not afford it at that time and ended up purchasing a 1992 subaru svx. I have owned that car ever since. Now however, the transmission has gone out for the second time and I am considering other options.
In my town there is not a subaru dealership but there is a mazda dealership.and I am wondering if long term i could have better luck with. service and parts with a mazda
I have also owned a 1997 porsche carrera witch I enjoyed, but also had difficulty with service availability..
What is the parts availability for the 1993 rx7?.
I am having problems with the subaru finding parts and service . And porsche servicel.
Also, the roads in my town are poor, which make me worry about the robustness of the rx7
Thanks

 

Most LHD FD’s are coming up on 30 years old. Even a low mileage example will require occasional attention and most technicians at a dealership have never even seen under the hood of one, let alone worked on one. High labor rates aside, just because it’s a dealership doesn’t make them competent with the car. If you’re unable or unwilling to be hands-on with most issues, then imo there’s better choices.
Ive been in your area...Ft. Dodge, DM etc. with my car and found most of the two lane highways in pretty good nick.

 

Just gonna say if you think the Subaru labor/parts availability are bad, you may not have a good time trying to get parts or service on a RX7.

I wouldn't personally take a RX7 or RX8 to a Mazda dealership. In my experience they don't do a good job on rotaries.

If you want something from Mazda that you can mostly trust them to do all the parts/labor on, I'd look at the ND Miata.

 

Thanks for the replies.
Yes, parts availability is the primary concern. I can do much of the common repairs myself but it gets frustrating when parts are unavailable. I purchased and installed what I think was the last available drivers side window regulator for the svx in the USA out of a recycle yard. Also had to use a used abs unit and of course there are no remanufactured trannys available.
I'm not so worried about finding mechanical help if needed. I was thinking it would be nice to have factory support at the dealer if special diagnostics are needed.
In regard to the rough roads, I remember reading in Car and Driver about the spindly suspension parts and rough ride so that is somewhat of a concern.
If you think the roads in Monroe, LA are in good nick, I would hate to see your roads. Haha.

 

If you can find a low miles 94 or 95, it would not be reckless to buy that. I'm talking under 20K miles or a 50k mile that got great care. Either way if you are interested, get a compression tester first so when you go looking for a nice low mileage FD, you will have a great tool that could save you thousands. They cost around $300.
This forum is also a great tool to lead you through this ownership. It has been for me. Also finding the closest rotary expert that is proven is another big part. I am 3 hours away from my guy and I don't mind driving there knowing I'm getting great service. By the way, I am from Baton Rouge. Go Tigers!

 

It’s an OBD 1 car. Not a lot of need for specialized diagnostic equipment. But it does have a pretty comprehensive Factory Service Manual available free to download.
And the location next to your screen name reads Monroe Iowa, not Louisiana...hence my misunderstanding.
Regardless, the FD is a sports car that Mazda made few compromises with. Nothing spindly but it’s not a GT, and best enjoyed on an open, relative good road...like those in the area of Monroe Iowa.

 

Sgtblue, thanks for pointing that out. I always just saw it as lower case LA.
Thanks Red95fd. We miss Burrow. I hope he does you right in Cincy.

 

The internet is your friend when it comes to finding parts for this car.
Ray Crowe is the go to for OEM components at a discount price
For used parts Fritz is the man, our classified section comes in handy, so does ebay, and a few Japanese sites.
Lately the only non available parts that I've come across are interior pieces, but that's just in my experience

Given the FD3S age it should only be considered as a "fun/weekend car". With that said, being handy with tools really helps but be ready to trailer your car to rotary specific shops for jobs that are above your skill level. With regards to rotary shops, I'm not familiar with that part of the country but Rotary performance in Garland Tx comes to mind. Most people would balk at a 300 mile trip to a mechanic but incompetence can cost thousands with these cars. With that said, I have no issues taking my car to my mechanic who is located 140 miles from my house.

As far as the suspension being rough get yourself some koni yellows and set them to the softest setting. Granted this all depends on how bad is bad when it comes to roads. But I've driven in the streets of Tijuana and I've had much worse times in other cars.

 

To be honest it sounds like an Rx-7 is not the right car. I would stay away. It's not old Porsche or Ferrari level maintenance but it is not cheap to own, parts aren't easy to get, and service is not readily available outside of specialized shops of which there are few compared to say Mustang shops.


My local dealership did a few diagnoses on my last car and was able to do a few basic repairs, such as replace an IAT sensor and clutch hydraulics. They had two technicians who had been around a while and had experience with them. The car was almost completely unmodified. The dealership does not do any major engine out work. So even the competent ones, of which there are few, are going to send you to a specialist.

The stock suspension is on the stiff side if you are used to modern cars. I mean it beats you up compared to a modern Mustang, Challenger, Camaro, or say a BMW. If you have bad roads, you will find that the car gets unsettled compared to softer cars. If you have pretty well maintained roads isn't much of an issue.

 

i'm doing a fairly extensive rebuild of a car right now, its an FC Convertible with an FD engine in it. in my day job i work with a dealership and even though this car is not using many aftermarket parts i still have stuff coming from all over the place for it.

 

Hello Monroe! ULM 2004 grad here. Used to take my Millenia to Lee Edwards Mazda, good guys over there, Moffit Mazda in Bossier were a bunch of overcharging ********. Anyway, as far as parts go, they're available with relatively reasonable prices. With the exception of the actual engine. Housing prices have gotten considerably expensive as of late. You're gonna have a hard time with dealerships working on these, most won't know what to do. So you'll have to have a little technical knowledge. But this forum is a great resource. And aren't all roads in Louisiana shitty? Had to leave that state for a multitude of reasons, but I do sincerely miss it. My advice would be to get one with a recent rebuild, and well sorted throughout. My wife let me buy the cheapest FD I could find at the time, whereas had I spent a few thousand more, would have been a lot less headache and probably would have been worth a lot more than what mine is right now.

 

Thanks everyone.
Druggist, pharmacy major? Great program if so.
I appreciate all the comments. Yes, maybe not the best car for me, and I know it. But every few years I keep coming back to this car with a desire to own one, and maybe this is the time to try and scratch that itch and give it a try. The problem with all the cars I want is no support. Oh well.
We will see.

 

Buy the best car you can and try to get it for a price where it it doesn't work out for you or you just decide it's not the car for you you can sell it for what you paid for it or maybe lose a few bucks.

All things considered parts availability isn't bad. There's cars out there that have literally NOTHING available. The big one is interior plastics, if they are ruined or missing finding new ones or good used ones is a huge pain.

If you need serious work done on the car I would trailer it over to Rotary Performance in Dallas. That shouldn't be too far of a haul. They know these cars inside out and do great work. (I had to Google where Monroe LA is ). Looks like a straight shot west on I-20.

Be prepared to DRIVE to find the right car. A good one isn't going to show up at the car lot on the corner by you. Figure out what you can and can't live with - color, sunroof, leather or cloth, how modified, etc. Figure out what you can compromise on.

Dale

 

I bought my last one in California off Bring a Trailer. It had 49k miles and still needed a significant amount of work. You're going to need to spend in the 20's at least to get a decent one, and then a lot of hours doing work on it yourself.

 

I appreciate the advice and perspectives.
Thanks.

 

Bottom line: The FD is a car you're either going to love or hate. If you fall in love with it at first sight, get it. Don't hold back, figure out how to maintain it yourself and take care of it, but you'll always regret not getting one if you pass it up. If it doesn't tickle your fancy though, there are plenty of other good options you can go for (older Cayman S, FT86, Z-cars, etc.) that might make more sense from a purely numbers standpoint.

Long-winded advice: I've daily driven FDs for the last 6 years or so. I don't think they're particularly unreliable cars. The engines may need replacement sooner than on other cars, but you can usually chalk that up to poor maintenance by previous owners or overtuning without proper concern for reliability. Worst case, they only last 60-100k miles instead of 200k miles so you need to replace them twice as often. If you keep on top of things they're fine. Luckily you can rebuild the engine yourself in your garage much more easily than other cars.

As far as parts availability goes, it's a mixed bag. Parts to keep the cars running and on the road seem to be no problem. Sometimes you may have to search really hard if you want OEM or Japanese parts versus Chinese stuff, but for basic mechanical things I wouldn't worry. There are plenty of sites now that make buying internationally easy, so if there's a very specific part that you want that's not available from the dealer or on rockauto or ebay, you can usually find it on nengun, yahoo auctions japan, etc.

When it comes to cosmetic parts such as interior bits though, it gets a little harder and more expensive. This is luckily where the dealership can be helpful. Although I agree with most people's opinions that usually you want to find a specialty shop or do your own work, for cosmetic stuff such as weatherstripping, plastic interior bits, etc. the dealer can't really screw that up and they can get you OEM stuff. Compared to even a few years ago a lot of stuff has stopped being produced by Mazda, but luckily 3D printing is filling the void in a lot of ways. Chinese sellers on Alibaba also are able to produce things cheaply enough that you can always find an option to replace something that's broken (ie. window switches). That being said, if you want original OEM everything, then it can be pricey or difficult to find things sometimes. If you just want used replacements though Yahoo Auctions Japan via some middleman site or nengun are your friends. There's also a few different shops that make high quality replacement parts such as floor mats, aluminum trim pieces, and other odds and ends. Overall, if you're expecting Mazda prices you're going to be disappointed. If you plan on Porsche prices and consider these cars are coming up on 30 years old then you won't be shocked.

Finally, buy the cleanest car you can find at your desired price point. The mechanical bits are always an unknown and I prefer refreshing everything anyway. But trim, body panels, etc. will cost you just as much as an engine rebuild and they're easy for anyone to spot defects on.