1) It's 23 years old so the prop tax and insurance is super low.

2) I have so many parts laying around I rarely buy anything.

3) I know how to fix most everything.

4) Gas mileage really isn't that bad at approx 17mpg city/hwy combo.

5) It's one of the few cars that doesn't depreciate and has actually been appreciating the last few years.

I know this is a strange conclusion but it's also true and it's just one more reason I love the FD

 

I had a fetish about FDs when it came out and I still dig it after all these years. I am preaching to the choir but it is truly under, extremely under appreciated vehicle by the public.

Love every mile out of it!

 

Only issue is location since very few resources are avaliable in some States.

 

agreed. we always hear about how expensive the Rx7's are compared to other cars, but i find when you compare apples to apples the rotaries are quite the bargain.

 

I wish I knew how to fix most everything. Rat's nests and suspension bushings give me nightmares.
I heart my FD though. SO many comments..everytime I drive it at least one person asks about it. Just yesterday at the gas station, the attendant came out and asked about it. "Nice 7! Does it have an LS1?"
I told him, "Nope. Rotary. Soul:Intact."

 

I've had upwards of 20 Porsches and a smattering of other European cars - Maserati, AMG Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar, Saab, etc. You guys that complain about unreliability and parts costs have no idea how bad it can really get. Or your cars are simply stressed to the breaking point. $2k for an engine rebuild? That might get you a new set of Mahle pistons for your air cooled 911 engine rebuild, if you're lucky.....

 

2k for a rebuild sounds a little optimistic for me , but yeah I see your point. Once two new ignition coils for my CL600 did cost me around 3k. Pretty insane, isn't it? I got rid of the car later on. Although riding on N/A 12cyls was fun.

 

Definitely the coolest low expense supercar. (Of its day)

 

Yep the same thing happens to me all the time. Usually at the gas station.

Once simplified the rats nest is super easy. Eff replacing bushings I just keep good used arms laying around

Exactly. Oil change on my GT3 is 100 bucks. Front brake pads 400 etc...etc... God forbid you need an engine or trans.

Yep we need more rotary shops. If and when I quit the day job I'll open a small shop.

Yes you are and yes it is

If you pull it and put it back in 2k is easily doable.

come on man, it's still the coolest

 

This is a bit speculative, but I am eyeing the SkyActiv-R as a potential engine donor... and the way 3D printing is going, perhaps we'll be able to fabricate parts economically in the future as well.

I'm really glad the aftermarket is supporting the RX-7 with quality parts and new innovations, too.

 

I don't know if you could drive this car but my daily is a chevrolet aveo.

Talk about the cheapest car to get you from A to B.

36-38mpg, registration on the 2005 is super cheap, liability only insurance at $300/yr. I needed to install new suspension bushings, wheel bearings, shocks, top mounts for them, sway bar endlinks, knuckles, 1 half shaft, front brake pads, new brake rotors, etc. Basically a whole new suspension and brakes on the car. All parts were like $800....the brake pads were $7 for the front set, rotors $12/front a piece, I spent $100 on poly bushings as the rubber ones are garbage and don't hold alignment. Knuckles $35/ea, Wheel bearings were $35/ea for Timken, etc.

The rx7 is an awesome ride, just costs a lot more than the daily cheapo.

 

LOL......I can't compete with that but my wife's mercury mariner has been very economical.

I just fixed the ABS for the second time yesterday. The ABS light comes on because the tone ring expands and breaks due to rust accumulating under it. I replaced one years ago but this time I just glued it with silicone glue. Hopefully it will hold until we get it inspected. The blinker bulb was intermittent so I stuffed a match book cover in to tighten the plug and good as new LOL.

It has 160k miles and we've owned it since 2006 with 12k miles. Bought it at an auction in for 13k. Only time a real shop worked on it was to fix the AC.

It's been hit twice with small damage. The 1st time I plastic welded the head lights back together and zip tied the bumper back on. Received a check for 1700 from the insurance company. The 2nd time was a pretty hard hit so I attached a ratchet tie to my truck and pulled the front end brackets for the radiator and hood etc...to get those back into place, then jumped up and down on the hood to flatten that out and again zip tied the bumper back on. I did have to spurge for two new front HLs from ebay for no more than 150. Received about 3k from ins. Nice to own a car that actually pays its own way LOL.

PS My 2005 ford f350 diesel on the other hand is not an easy keeper

 

Love my FD. I daily it everyday with no issues. The Silverado however...last year alone the power steering box blew up and lost all the fluid, a reduced power mode engaged and I changed he pedal position sensor and the throttle body (integrated TPS), kicked out a check engine light and it wanted new 02 sensors, "service charging system" resulted in a new battery and alternator, and finally it started heating up one day I was driving it. Ended up being low on coolant because the water pump started leaking

Pop the hood on that truck and daggone everything is brand new -.-

Matt

 

YEP I feel your pain my truck is always costing me time and money

 

If you keep the FD long enough, you will become a mechanic forcefully, given you give it a try, have common sense and tools.

 

^^^^ Man, isn't that the truth.

Yup, lots of complaints over the years about the reliability of these cars, but it's really only relative to typical Japanese "sporty" cars—you compare it to anything more sophisticated upscale, and it's par for the course—if you have owned, or know someone who's owned Porsches, Vipers, Lotuses, etc., or seen the cost of parts, mods, or service on those cars, you won't find anything that offers the driving experience these cars do for less money.

 

i find there is a double standard. if the same work gets done on a Mazda vs another enthusiast car, people complain about the Mazda, but are happy to work on the other car, its a bit weird.

its happened to us too, we used to race an FC that was a POS, and we switched to the honda which is "better" and if we put the same money into the Rx7 that we did in the honda, the Rx7 would have been like a museum piece

 

Fritz, My 91 Explorer Sport has over 300,000 miles and counting, and other than an alternator and A/C compressor, a fuel pump and FPR, and a transfer case shift motor, it's needed very little over it's 25 years.

My current DD is a Focus ZX3 2.3 Duratec. It's well over 200K and no problems to speak of, and I beat it pretty hard daily.

It all depends on maintenance.

 

No, that was $2k for just the PISTONS. For a full rebuild you still need cylinders, rods, bearings, rings, crank machine work, head machine work, potentially case machine work, and a host of other parts. Rebuilding an air cooled 911 engine is typically a $20k affair if you have to replace everything.

 

You got lucky with your rides. It seems with American cars the same problems occur with all of them. I own a g6 gxp I bought new and blew the trans with 65k miles. Did maintenance along the way and babied that car. Also have an escalade with 100k. 3 window regulators, air compressor, hvac actuators, everyday something new. At least I enjoy working on the fd. It's hard to work on something which gives no joy. Most American cars prior to 2009.

 

No the 2005 6.0 diesel has a bad rep for a reason

 

Seems to be a pattern here.
All of my Fords since the 90s have been largely trouble free.
I have many friends who own GM and Mopar products, and most of them can't say the same about their vehicles, at least not honestly.

 

I'm a glutton and that's why I've owned 3 FD's. Also British and Italian cars are always on my radar as well.
My Supercharged Range Rover Sport (510hp) needed a water pump and a new Supercharger at 36k miles. Sure it's covered under warranty and yes the road side assistance picked it up for the side of the road...
It goes thru a set of new tires in 10k miles. It went thru a set of brakes before any normal car would be half way thru.
Sometimes when I get in it and push the start button is doesn't recognize the key in my pocket. We play this game about once every 10 times I get in it lol.

My favorite is the electrical. When you have every system going it will sometimes click a relay out until there is enough current.

Last winter I had the heated seat and steering wheel on, heated glass elements front and rear, sat radio, headlights and fog lights, cell phone plugged in and charging. Was in the snow and as I took the corner the truck slid and the dynamic stability and all that kicked in. It decided to shut off my headlights for a couple seconds during the small slide.

I guess if given a choice I would rather the radio, heated seats or pretty much any of the other systems besides my headlights would shut off.
You can hear the relays click. I understand they prob don't engineer that every system will likely be on all at once but it's not completely I heard of. It doesn't blow any fuses. It's typical British electrics from what I'm told.
These vehicles have so many systems and electrical draw I'm not surprised. I even have a refrigerator in the arm rest.

Much like all luxury imports you probably don't want to own one out of warranty. I usually sell or trade in those cars before I'm out of warranty.

I will say that my BMW has been problem free for 35k miles. I know sometimes people have mixed results with BMW but the car has seriously been flawless for me.

I'm ordering an M2. Production starts in March. Should be a fun daily to replace the Range Rover Sport SC.

I've considered buying a 997 (911) Turbo, GT3 might be nice too but those are very spendy for a white boy like me.

 

Thruth....

I agree. Except that in my case, the cheapest car I own is my 71 ghia by far. But I will point out that is not a fair comparison because the VW runs on elmers glue, duct tape, and love....

 

LeMans and the uniqueness of the engine is what really dig

I'm left handed , most of my life I had to do things differently and I always felt the the black sheep of the group

Haha now I'm proud & happier than ever to be different , to have a different soul