b_met

I got this info from a seller of a local 7. I wanted to see what y'all made of it, and if I should leave this car alone. Is there anything in this info that really scares you off from the deal? Thanks.

In reply to my asking what was needed to make this a good daily driver,
they wrote:


for the car to be good for a daily driver my car needs a couple of
things.
i've had the car for about a year, and the a/c compressor does not
work. i
go to school in miami and i had no a/c but i was ok. to be right you
would
probably want to have it fixed. also the engine has a bad timing case
gasket. this makes the engine leak some oil, however, the car is still
very
much driveable, i still drive it and it runs fine, i just monitor the
oil
level. i was quoted about $700 to get it fixed. the turbos need a
rebuild,
however, for daily driving they are just fine. they boost and hold
boost,
just not the full 10 lbs they would if it perfect condition. they only
boost
6 or 7 lbs, but in my driving it daily, that didn't affect the driving
of
the car. the engine in the car is a Mazda Remanufactured, which means
its a
rebuilt engine directly from Mazda themselves. the transmission is also
rebuilt. they will help alot if you intend on the car being a daily
driver.
i had a compression test done and the front rotor got an 8 and the rear
rotor got an 8.5. this pretty much just means aside from the problems i
just
mentioned says the engine is in very very good condition. the rebuilt
transmission and engine only have 17k miles on them. really once you
fix the
gasket and a/c, it would be a good daily driver. any other questions
feel
free to ask. thanks.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

This guy doesn't really understand some of the details, but I don't see any intended dishonesty.

The turbos probably do not need rebuilt. He probably has a boost leak, which can usually be fixed by about anyone for under $50. Turbos need rebuilt when they leak enough oil into the engine/exhaust to produce smoke when you're hard on the gas.

Rebuilt tranny and engine are not uncommon, but you will want to test drive it and get a compression test done. 8-8.5 are decent numbers, but you want an up-to-date test and the complete results, which is actually 6 numbers.

Fixing the front cover oil leak is no picnic. I don't know what an estimated cost will be.

Fixing the A/C could be quite costly, since 93s and some 94s are charged with the old R-12 refrigerant. In many states and shops the only thing they will be able to do is rebuilt the system for the newer R134a refrigerant, and the cost will go well beyond a simple A/C compressor. It's very easy to exceed $1000 for A/C repair, so get an estimate.

I would not hesitate to consider this car, but I'd leave at least $3k for the initial repairs. Plus, you should expect even more that needs done that the seller didn't know about (I mean seriously, what kind of cheapass would drive in Miami w/o A/C and say it's ok?!?!).

You should also be aware that by some people, an FD is simply never a 'good daily driver'. If you can live with the impracticalities of a 2 seater sports car, do all the maintenance, and pay for all the gas it burns, then yes it can be a good daily driver.

You need to see the car in person and get it checked out by a good rotary shop before signing any checks. This may be decent project car if everything else is in excellent shape, but I personally wouldn't touch it unless the price was right. So, say if the mileage was at 60k and the interior and exterior are excellent, I'd consider paying $11k. For a more normal FD with 100k and so-so overal condition, 7k-8k max.

Dave

b_met

Thanks for the post. The chassis has ~110k on it. The reman and tranny rebuild were at ~100k. The car looks pretty cleean for that mileage. I appreciate your help.


Anything else guys?

I have an FB and want an FD so badly! I just want to watch out for lemons at this pricerange.

Thanks.