I'm in the market for an RX7 and am having a very hard time determining realistic market values. The usual blue book type sources (NADA, KBB, Edmunds) don't seem to gel with the reality of the marketplace and obviously don't take into account aftermarket additions.

For example, I am looking for a 1993 with 60k miles or so. KBB tells me than I can find a stock one for $14k but this has not been my experience.

I'm not averse to the standard mods (shocks, springs, intercooler, downpipe, etc.) but prices for modified cars are all over the place, with many on Autotrader or on this site asking well over $20k for 60k ish 1993s with high quality modifications.

I know from experience that there are a lot of dreamers out there (there are still ads for 2000 Honda S2000s asking for $32k, when a more realistic market value is $22k, for example) so one cannot judge the market price of a car by asking prices.

I have no problem paying over $20k if I thought that it represented a fair market value, but on EBay, for example, I rarely see even very nice 1993s with $10k+ worth of mods sell for more than $17k or so.

I tend to be unsentimental about anything costing over $10, so 'pay what you think it is worth' arguments don't grab me. When I buy something costing around $20k I'd like to know that I could sell it for that price in the same market. I guess one way of saying what I mean is if I had a 1993 Rx7 with $10k of high quality modifications with 60k or so miles, would anybody really pay me $20k plus. Would the reality be more like a gradual price decrease to EBay's $17k before I got a sale?

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

NO, $20k for a '93 is extremely high. 60K miles = water seals could go any moment = $3-5K for new motor = $25k for '93 seven = nobody's is happy (except the guy who sold his car on the break of o-ring failure for $20k and whoever you bought the motor from)

 

Be patient, keep looking! I just baught mine for $8,500 with 55,000 miles and clean title. The transmission and stereo are the only things that are wrong. There are good deals out there, just be patient!

 

In the bay area, you can expect to pay 15-16k for a typical 93. Perhaps more with tasteful mods or if it's really, really clean. 94-95s will be more, like high teens. Like everything else in the bay area, FDs cost more here than in other parts of the country.

I paid $19k for my 95 with 54k miles in the bay area. It was stock except for a downpipe and AST, with a new clutch. This was 20 months ago.

 

I also bought my 93 R1 in the Bay Area and it was priced at $17900 at the dealer. It had 73K miles but it was well taken care of, and it had intake, BOV, Apexi N1 exhaust, and 99+ front end.

 

Yes, The engine may have already been built and ported ($5000-5500.) If the car is very clean and has loads of mods the car can easily go for more than 20,000 .

 

It took me 6 months to find mine. A 94 pep with 41k. I paid 16,200. It had no problems, and a $2500 stereo. The guy was about to trade it in on a new M5, and was running out of time to sell it. Of course, it was nearly 1000 miles away. I had it checked over, then took a risk, and bought a plane ticket. I liked what I saw, paid him, and drove it home.

Be patient, nice cars at good prices are out there.

 

my experience with kbb,nada, etc is that they estimate 'market values' but not calculate popularity, demand, rarity-number produced, appeal, etc. into the price.

i can pop in my completely stock vr 93 r1 manual transmission with 38k original miles into kbb or nada and they will estimate $13k-$14k max for it.

like obliqueFD said be patient and you'll find the right one. i've been researching this forum for 6 months before i actually got my first FD about a month ago to find the right one.

chris

 

Thanks for the helpful replies.

Sadly enough, a few weeks ago I found a stock 1993 with 60k miles and a $3k audio/navigation system that had been maintained by a rotary specialist. The asking price was $11k. I had no idea at the time if that was a good price or not so beyond asking a few questions of the seller via email, I did not push on it. Needless to say it sold fairly quickly and I only realized later what a deal it was.

The car I am currently considering is here. Asking price is $21k, which based on EBay reaearch, seems high. For example, the closest recent EBay car I could find to it is this, which got a highest offer of $16.6k.

A full recent search of EBay (here) suggests that 1993s very rarely get above $16k, irrespective of mileage or modifications.

I will take a look at the car and see how flexible the seller is. Thanks again for the input.

 

I'm pretty sure I've checked out that car ($21k silver 93) in person a few months back. It's a repaint -- the original color is red and the engine bay is still red. The car seemed pretty clean but I really don't care for the Mazdaspeed body pieces and large wing.

That's a lot of money for a 93......I wouldn't pay that much unless I REALLY liked the body work....

 

Get one as close to stock as possible, modifications do NOTHING to bump the price, and usually detract from it.

Prices on totally original OEM muscle cars from the 70's are STILL stratospheric.

If you're thinking collectable you're on the right track - there are damn few cars (and NO Japanese) that are currently 10+ years old and worth roughly 50% of what they sold for new. (OK, maybe Supra Turbos...)

Mazda has already quit making parts for the 1st and 2nd gens: the streetable 3rd gen will be a rare bird in another 10 years - and look every bit as good as it does today. I have a crated, fogged and shrink wrapped Mazda reman motor sitting in the back of my garage as insurance, and at $2K it's a screaming deal to know that I'll be driving my FD3S many years from now.

But then again I have a little different "vision" than most of the guys here.

 

I would only do this if i was VERY sure that I was going to keep it stock.

The way I look at it, if you are planning to mod it anyway, find a "rotary enthusiast" (read: someone who takes care of thier car and mods it correctly) that has already taken the hit on the parts that you would probably buy anyway.

 

ahhhh so your the one that bought that red FD (i think it was is marin). i was wondering who bought that

 

It was actually at a dealer in San Bruno or was it El Cerritos? I saw it on autotrader, but they didn't show a very good pic of it, once I saw it person I was pleasantly surprised. First thing I saw was the exhaust, then the white rims, then I went around front and saw the 99+ front end...by that time I was drooling uncontrollably.