Hi guys, this is my first post.

My father is willing to sell my ES300 so i can get something that is 12K.

I suggested the 3rd gen RX7 to him and he told me that it wasnt a good idea because:

1)it is a rotary engine and wastes a lot of gas
2)it is unreliable
3) repairs


Is this all true? How many miles to the fill-up do you guys get? Is it reliable?

Thanks for the help guys

 

The short answer is that your dad is right on all three points. There are literally *tons* of threads on this subject. Try searching.

 

Mileage is about like a large SUV, maybe even a little worse....

PLUS you need to use premium all the time, so its even worse.

Repairs, mods, anything... Get you cards out $$$

J

 

http://www.rx7turboturbo.com/robrobinette/buyaused.htm

Do whatever you want

 

Read the ARCHIVE.

also look up this site
http://www.rx7turboturbo.com/robrobinette/
hope it helps

 

ha look how rotor-rooter and i posted at the same time and some how posted the same website? Maybe because its good? well yea!

 

Hell yeah, that site was great for me during my pre-forum days.. I also went here:
http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/
but it was a lot drier with no pics/color

 

Yup, your dad is right.
They do suck alot of gas, They are unreliable (generally speaking about Fd's)
Also not everyone is compitent enough to work on them.
There are a few shops here and there or you have to learn it yourself.

 

I average 15Mpg around town, around 22Mpg highway.

 

If dad is gonna be paying the bills who cares. Get the FD.

 

your dad is correct on all 3 points... these cars can be very expensive if you don't work on them yourself and even then can still cost a pretty penny.

 

I'm an "older" guy, so YMMV. My car is mod'd to 337 rwhp (stock is 225 rwhp). I get 18 mpg normal driving, 25 mpg on trips between San Francisco and Los Angeles. I get about 10 mpg on the track, but that's running WOT a lot.

I disagree that it is unreliable. Most are very reliable. Mine did lose the o-rings at 78K miles, and required a rebuild. But the cost of the rebuild was about 1/2 what it would cost to rebuild a V8.

Other repairs can cost a bit more than a piston engined car, but that has more to do with parts cost than anything else. There aren't that many of them, so no economies of scale production of parts.

Consider that if you buy a used one that has been taken care of, any and all "normal" problems will probably already been taken care of. As noted above, check out the "Robinette" site for guidance.

$ for $, the best sports car value available. Without considering the $, IMHO, the best looking sports car out there.

 

Your dad is correct on all three points i wouldnt recommend to anyone buying an FD if they dont have another car that they drive most of the time. When i comes to reliability, if the engine has already been replaced, rebuild etc, then you should be fine as for major expenses, but if you buy one that hasnt had a new engine installed, expect to dish out a lot of money on a rebuild or replacement. As for gas, unless your someone that can hold yourself from pushing that gas hard and activating your turbos ( its so tempting), then your can expect to put a lot of gas in it. I average about 24 miles on the highway with no turbo use, and about 10 - 14 miles in the city with modest turbo use. If you do end up deciding that you want one, i suggest you research a lot about them, there is so much to learn. Do not i repeat, do not jump on the first FD you see. It takes the average FD buyer a 3 months to a year to find an FD in good shape and worth buying.