well im 17 and im bout to get my first rx7. Now i dont no anything about rotary engines, and right now i drive a 99 bmw 323i. Well anyways i wanted to get ur guy's opinion on this car. Its a 93 rx7 twin turbo, with automatic tranny , it has 97k miles on it and the guys asking 10.6k for the car. But he also says its only the body and the tranny with the 97k miles on it, and about 2k miles ago, he put in a brand new engine and turbos. Now when i go to test drive this car, what should i look for?? Also in all honesty how reliable is a rotary engine? Do window regulators go out easily in here? Any subframe problems? How about the transmission, Can i expect it to last me a long time? thanks for all ur help

 

Window regulators are the least of your concerns, read the FAQ at the top of the forum, coming from a new rx7 owner, these cars are fun money pits.

 

An RX-7 is a bad car to get while you're so young because you don't want to start your life in debt to a car.

You've got more important things to worry about. Keep the Bimmer, get the 7 in another 7 years.

 

I would keep the bimmer and take it out autocrossing.

FDs just break all the time.

Dave

 

Window regulators ...thats made my night.if only it were that simple..listen to sloasfk..

 

ya i no what u guys mean, haha ill prolly hold off on the rx7 then. The only reason i even considered it, is because of the price. But i no this is the wrong forum, but what about the rx8? My friend bought one in April 06, and his is fine. I fould a 6spd, with 47k miles for 14 grand.

 

haha yea with the window regulators, mine havnt gone out yet on the sedan, but the 325 vert just went out last week at 60k miles

 

8s are nice and seem to be holding up pretty well so far. Keep in mind, the oldest 8 is only 4 years old(early 04 model), so it still remains to be seen if they will be plagued with the same issues RX-7s were.

As far as it goes, 8s seem to get decent gas mileage, look great, have a nice interior and make good autox cars that you can take your wife grocery shopping in.

With an RX-7 or an RX-8, I'd reccomend getting the manual tranny, too. Mazda seems to make really slow auto trans cars.

 

i wish the regulators would go out,.. then I think I could say that i've replaced everything on the car. Probably not true but sometimes it feels that way with a 7.

 

Most people go through 3 engines before they wear a set of tires out.


I have basically accepted the fact that even though I am optimistic about finally finishing my car in the next month or two.....it will probably be on jack stands for the rest of my life.

 

There are no 6 speeds.

Dave

 

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffwor...zda-rx-8-4.htm

 

are all 8s n/a??

 

Yes, all RX-8s are N/A, even the Mazdaspeed model.

automatics are detuned.

 

7's no, 8's yes.

As far as I know, from the factory, yes. Last week I drove my friend's 04' RX-8 with GReddy turbo kit at 5psi and it was pretty nice. Now I'm thinking about trading in my Prelude on one and having an all rotary family, haha. The FD has been down since March but when I get back from the desert (that's right OP, you need desert money to maintain an FD haha), it should be back up and running again too.

 

LOL! I'm getting a Datalogit, Wideband-O2 sensor and upgrading my drivetrain thanks to a tour to Afghanistan.

... Damn those military types, they got all that "free money" to throw into their cars

 

^It's almost bad enough to need oil money that these guys over here have, haha. Leaving a Lambo on the side of the road cause it ran out of gas just to buy a new one, haha. Yeah, "free money", I like that, haha. For some reason it doesn't FEEL free, haha.

At least this OP sounds like he's got a good head on his shoulders, unlike alot of these young guys just wanting a "mad tyte drift rx-7 yo!", coming in asking for advice and getting all pissed off when we paint the picture for them, haha. Good luck rotary93rx7, if you're even reading this anymore.

 

yea i decided a big no on the rx7 haha. Maybe when im a little older ill get one imported from asia. maybe. haha right now i think i will just stick to my bimmer, mod that for a while, and nxt year ill try to get a rx8 or the new 135i :drool

 

You do know that you can LEGALLY only get a 93-95 JDM RX-7 imported right? And even then it would have to be brought up to US specs, which would cost quite a bit more as well. And with anything newer you'd have to have one crash tested first, at least that's what the word has been for a while now. I remember some in the club talking about pooling some cash to buy one to get crash tested here so we could start importing them legally, which would be KICKASS. If I ever hit the lotto I'd do it myself, just so we'd all have the option. Just some food for thought.

Have fun with the bimmer in the meantime though. I've also thought about trading in my Prelude for an RX-8 when I get back stateside in a few months.

 

Don't let people scare you! If you're willing to sacrifice a lot of time and money to own a car that you know you'll love then it do it!

I personally don't think owning a rotary engined car is that much different than a 2-stroke engined motorcycle. Both are a blast but require a firm commitment in keeping them mechanically sound. But if you really are just trying to get a general consensus, it is SAFER for you not to get one, similar to how it's safer not to go skydiving or stick your head in a lion's mouth.

 

I am 19 years old and own a 2003 Acura RSX and a 93 Rx7. I purchased the 7 soon after I turned 18 and I have loved owning the car, but it has been the biggest financial mistake I have ever made. I drooled over the rx7 for many years before getting mine and when I was a senior in highschool I 'had' to have one, BIG mistake.

I had no previous car experience and let me tell you I learned damn fast. Lucky I have had no major problems, but even the accumulation of minor problems has left a MAJOR dent in my wallet.

I would say stay away from the 7 until you are out of college and in the meantime get something more reliable and easier to maintain like a WRX or if you are dead set on a 7 get a 2nd gen.

If you ignore what I say and get a 3rd gen anyway, buckle down and fork out the money for a NICE near stock FD, and only perform reliability mods on it. Trust me, I know where your coming from, but buying an FD is probably a desicion you will regret, and may be forced to sell the car once more important things come along like owning a home.

Edit: Just saw you decided not to get one yet, good choice. Glad you are smarter than I was. Oh and sorry for the run-ons, typing this in a hurry at work.