Hello everyone some of you may have read some of previous threads in months back. But to give everyone a background I have a 200k mile fd fresh paint, the usual reliability mods, id say the interior is 7.5/10 with some missing screws and some plastic tabs broken. Now a few months back I had a compression test and was advised to look into a rebuild. Now I am ready to pursue that but I wanted some insight, is it worth putting money toward a car with 200k miles on it? I saw someone do a complete up and down rebuild on a vehicle with 194k in the build threads, but I do not have the money or time to go nearly indepth as he did.

What do you guys think? Go toward the engine rebuild and continue to replace things as I go? Or maybe sell the car take the loss and start with a lower mileage platform?

Thank you

 

I know personally I am in it for the long haul, my 7 is my summer car and i love it. I would say for you to make an honest decision you might want to look at the project as something that might take a couple years to complete but in the end you still have your 7, or if it is not something that can wait or be funded then look for a low mileage car. Only thing I can see is a low mileage car is not going to be cheap either.

I guess you should decide if you want to be in it for the long haul with all its ups and downs ahh the joys of the RX7

 

Well the car is just my Saturday car, I have a motorcycle I ride 99% of the time. I guess the main thing I am concerned with engine/trans aside just the chassis and all the other pieces of the car showing age due to the mileage. I already know new suspension and pillowball joints are coming after the motor.
I plan on keeping the car for as long as I can just don't have much experience with high mileage vehicles

 

Depends...
You aren't necessarily guaranteed a better car if you sell and buy something else.
Then again, not easy to sell a 200k mile FD unless you have documentation of what's been done - i.e. receipts for parts and such and a compression test.

What were the actual numbers on the compression test?

The main wear components are the engine, turbos, wiring harness, solenoids and pillowballs. The trans and diff are pretty reliable and long lasting.


My car has 168k miles on it. I did fully refresh / restore the drivetrain 5 or so years ago and the pillow ***** 3 years ago. Some of that was done more b/c I wanted to than the car actually needing it.

 

It also depends on how those 200k miles were, if the car was taken care of I would keep and repair. You already have fresh paint and the reliability mods done and if the internals of the engine are in good shape the rebuild should not be too bad. I had a Lexus with 250k miles that drove like new it just all depends on the car and if it was taken car of.

 

yeah, i think you need to ask yourself....how often do you see 200k mi FD's for sale?

and after that consideration, 'would I personally ever buy a 200k mi fd? if so, how much would i pay?'

I think a low mile roller would get more than a 200k needing a rebuild soon.

that being said, if its in good condition, keep it. just because it wont sell doesnt mean its a bad car. people like good numbers, as we all know.

 

Hold up, maybe I'm the only one thinking this or missed your previous threads but you're clicking 200k miles on the original engine?

 

The chassis has 200k according to the odometer, the motor I have no idea how many miles are currently on it. The original owner used to own a rotary shop north of LA (Tri point engineering) the second owner only owned it for a couple years, I am the third owner of the vehicle and have put less than 4k miles since I bought it January 2014

I agree with the above post, this isn't a vehicle I planned on buying with the intention to flip. I want to keep whatever FD I end up with for a long time. I just wasn't sure if they held up (motor and turbos aside) at that high of a mileage. I do know pieces will need work along the way though.

 

Rebuilds on a rotary are usually pretty simple as long as you haven't had a catastrophic failure, which sounds like you are fine. With that said, I've never heard of an FD with so many miles so you're really in uncharted territory for long term reliability/maintenance trends.

I'd recommend replacing all the suspension bushings. If you don't know the mileage on the engine and you're not having any issues with starting it I'd say keep driving and enjoying the car.

 

Besides the aforementioned parts, the mechanicals hold up reasonably well if they are maintained well. I've seen two 200k FDs now. One was still on the original reman engine that was replaced at 30k miles when the car was still under warranty.

Tri Point is a very legit shop.

 

I have just over 100k on both of my FD's and I'm in it for the long haul with a rebuild in my future. I would personally rebuild the engine before it pops and causes serious damage to the major components, which will cost you more money in the end. If it's running strong, there's a better chance of performing a solid rebuild.

 

Think of having a high mileage car as an opportunity to drive it more and rack up an even more impressive number . Keeps the car from being a low mile garage queen in the name of resale value too

I wouldn't be worried too much by the number, just refresh anything that seems tired/worn, as suggested above. I've driven 300k mile cars that drive better than many 50k cars, mileage is really nothing more than a number if maintenance is kept up.