The day has come -- I may have to sell my FD! =(
 

Just last weekend, I had my car overheated while it was parked and while the car was off. Well, the coolant o-rings are shot for sure. The car runs and everything, but it has the usual symptoms of dying coolant o-rings (rough start/initial idle, consumption of coolant, forcing coolant out of overflow). I have the money to get a rebuild (and purchase another FD, I so desired), but I think I may have to part with her for the time being. There is a lot going on in my life (switching colleges and major, fulltime job, etc.), so I don't have too much time to have a toy car anymore. The 2+ years of ownership were great while it lasted.

After pricing a reman ~$3k along with at least $1k for the labor, I don't know if I am willing to dip the cash on it. I have enough saved as it is to purchase a second FD, but I think I might just sell mine and start a nice portfolio so that I have a nest egg when I am done with college. Since the motor wasn't blown, I was hoping to get somewhere around $8k for it. The quality of the car is very good, those who are local to me or have seen my FD will chime in. They will also be able to tell you that I took care of this car as if it were an actual child.

I think investing my money/time into something like a portfolio will probably be better for someone my age. What do you guys think? Below is a partial list of the stuff "done" to my car.

--------------
Performance Items:

-Rotary Power rebuilt turbos & motor w/ Mazda 3mm Apex Seals (~26k miles)

-M2 Stage III ECU

-HKS Down Pipe

-PFS Cat-Back

-Trust SMIC

-RB Intake Duct w/ K&N Panel Filter

-Manual Boost Controller @ 13PSI

-KG Differential Brace

-Aluminum 45mm Front STB

-B&M Short Throw Shifter

-PFS Column Mounted Boost Gauge

-PWR Radiator

-Hawk HPS Pads <8k miles

-Brembo Rotors w/ <8k miles

-Falken Azenis ST115s [235/40ZR17] (~20k on front, <6k on back)

-Speedy Mashie Silvers



Maintenance items:

-Replaced sequential check valves

-Replaced clutch w/ ~26k miles

-Replaced FPD w/ ~26k miles

-Hawk HPS Pads <8k miles

-Brembo Rotors w/ <8k miles

-Replaced coolant caps (<6k miles)

-Replaced fuel filter (<8k miles)

-Replaced the rear 6 pillowball bushings (<6k miles)

-Replaced outer tie rod end links (<100 miles)

-Replaced shifter bushing (<20k miles)

-Plugs replaced every 10k miles (these ones have <3k miles)

-Oil replaced with Valvoline 10w30 every 2k miles along w/ a Valvoline filter

-Tranny oil replaced w/ Neo Synthetics (still have a jug for topping off or for the diff.)

-Ail filter cleaned out every 3 oil changes



Highlights:

-Fully working sequential system (lightning quick response)

-Fully working Bose audio system w/ Sony “Ghost-face” head unit

-Car passes smog visual inspection easily(recently passed smog w/ flying colors)

-Mazda re-spray (looks wonderful)

-AC blows cold



The bad:

-Coolant o-rings are shot (will need rebuild – car starts and runs, though)

-Some minor door dings that can be removed for a minimal cost w/ paint less removal

-Driver seat has some wear on the bolsters (still in decent condition)

-Center console has a chip in it



Extra parts:

-R1 Lip

-Stock ECU

-Fram Oil Filter

-Bottom of the air box

-2 extra tan leather seats

-Intake elbow

-Mazdacomp differential bushings 40% stiffer than stock

-Aluminum differential tunnel cross brace

-Stock center channel Bose amplifier
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Mine is the one in front. This is an older pic, as it now has the R1 lip.
http://img26.echo.cx/img26/3640/p2020121large6mi.jpg

I'm sorry to hear you let her go.

This isn't the For Sale section.

I guess the question on the bottom is sort of hidden.

your idea for getting a portfolio started is a GREAT idea, but lets go ahead and throw everything in there. . . why not contact kevin landers for a rebuild? starting at $1k. . . thats not too bad. . . WITH a warranty. hes doing pretty well with his rebuilds too. just another option.

if you have enough money to buy another FD, then why not take some money out of that. . . put it toward a rebuild (do the removal/install labor yourself!!!), and take the rest of the money and throw THAT toward starting up a portfolio. :)

paul

How about I move the thread anyway, since you made an ad out of it, and then you can post again and stick to the portfolio question.

Dave

How did this happen?

Thanks for the offer, but, I don't have an asking price on it quite yet. What do you guys think? Doesn't $8,000 sound reasonable?

I am not 100% on that either, I think it might have dumped coolant out slowly on the way to In-N-Out (where it overheated). When I turned it on, the low coolant light came on and the car began to instantly overheat already.:(

Sports cars are hobbies not investments.

If you die tomorrow you'd be happy that you had a chance to have fun with a car like this.

If you don't die and invest the proceeds you will be better off in the future.

The choice is yours:).

$8k is way cheap. with a running motor, you could probably get $15k for it. i bought my 1st fd for $9k with a blown apex seal (barely ran), fresh paint, vented hood, konis, full exhaust, PFC, SMIC, Blitz intake, SSk etc etc.

if you are sick of spending money on the car, then yes sell it buy a Miata or non-turbo FC. it's always better to save money than piss it away on a car unless you're already a millionaire.

however, you can get it rebuilt for a reasonable amount if you are able to do the R&R yourself. don't spend money on mods and just drive it. and save your money.

you sound like you also have a lot to learn about a "portfolio". saving money is good. investing it is work and involves a lot of research. i've made and lost a fair chunk of change investing but have learned to make above average returns over time.

good luck.

Agreed, sports cars are not wise investments. I am not certain I want to sell it just yet, as I am still weighing all of my options. The two years of owning this car have indeed been a great chapter in my life.:)

why not just have it rebuilt?

That's a hard call. I would wait a bit - making a decision immediately after the motor blows usually isn't a good idea. You have to let the emotion run its course, then make a sound decision.

You can put a motor in the car relatively inexpensively, especially if you do your own work and don't add a bunch of "while I'm in there's" (such as "while I'm in there I'll go single turbo :)).

I hear you on money for the future - my wife and I have been working with a financial planner recently getting a plan going for the future. But, our financial advisor has stressed paying yourself as well as saving for the future, and with good planning you can maximize your cashflow and make your money work a bit harder for you.

Anyhow, I'd keep cool on selling the car for a bit. Heck, if nothing else you could likely get more value for the car with a new motor in it.

Good luck,
Dale

sell it. like you said, you have a lot going on right now. an extra 8k in your account has got to sound appealing to you, no? you had it for 2yrs so you've gotten a fair amount of usage out of the car. sell it and save for a house is what i would do. do you want to live in an apartment or a house in the next few years. that fd is your down payment for the house, let that money grow not depreciate. you can always get another.

i would sell it now while the car is still running. the condition will only get worse and if it is running right now you will get more money than if the engine is completely gone.

I am still weighing my options. The engine died (or is dying) at less than 30k miles. I just don't want to have to sink more money in if this were to happen again and have this turn into more of a money pit than it already is. I'm still weighing my options, so we'll see.

seriously dude, this is an fd. it will be an endless money pit, you will be spending more and more money on it in the future. even the hardcore rx7 lovers acknowledge this. it's just a matter of whether it's worth spending all this money on the car. if youre loaded then its a fairly easy decision to make. if this was a car like an s2000 or similar then id probably keep it, because i know i can continue to enjoy it AND set aside money for investing in my future. but this isn't a honda, it's a twin turbo 12 yr old rx7. the rx7 is a GREAT car, but be sure you recognize that it isn't the most friendly car to own when it comes to your finances.

Let me know if you're selling, I am very interested. I might even be able to come by and pick it up this weekend if we can agree on a price.

KEEP THE FD.. And if you do sell, the Mods you have had done and care you have
taken on your car.. You certainly can fetch more than 8K.

IMO:

8K in your portfolio is chump change. and at the end of the day/life.. That 8K
won't mean jack. Not sure what your situation is.. But it NEVER HURTS to have
a nice ride while you are in college. So while you are walking to your class's
and you see spoiled kids in their new bimmers, 350z's supras and etc etc etc.
You gonna think to yourself.. " WHY did I sell my FD" . Once you sell your FD
are you going to go carless??? What you gonna do ?? buy a 97 Civic??? for 5K?

To put things into perspective. You probably can rebuild your motor for 1-2K.
I drove my FD with bad Orings for like 3 years. Was never stranded, and still
made good power, enough to spank alot of people. Anyways back to the
perspective. a Rebuild on my M5 cost almost 15K.. I have two Vanos's.
Each side cost 8K. New motor cost 20K. These newer engines with all
the technology will cost 2-5 Times what a new 13b/rebuild would cost.

Goodluck on what ever decision you make. But just remember.
you only live once, might as well enjoy the journey..

I still have my 2000 Explorer Sport and 1997 Tbird to drive around, though none of the cars are of any comparison to the FD. I was thinking of possibly selling two cars, and just picking up something affordable and fun (like a NA/NB Miata). I didn't realize that my "blown" FD was worth more than $8k (I figured that a proper rebuild would cost ~$4k). I guess I may have to reconsider the price. Thanks for the heads up, you guys.

Dont sell it. Have Kevin Landers get you a rebuild! Got mine all said and done, with porting, and shipping for like $2100.00. Just do the work yourself. Thats easy too if you have other cars for transportation...

Emotions getting the best of you??? Take some time to consider options. Sure, its a hassle to fix it. So what!! Fix it, and be done with it.

No way you are going to sell it :D

Wow, that sounds like a cheap deal IMO. Pretty sad to see that your thinking of letting it go.

$8000 in your portfolio is an excellent start. I started with almost nothing 8 years ago, and its grown to, well... ALOT more now - even after the hiccup a few years ago.

Hopefully you've enjoyed the FD through at least some of college (leverage it for all it was worth), now start thinking about the future with a Porsche, Viper, custom house, or what ever floats your boat. Believe me, your priorities/dreams WILL change with time. Put yourself in a position to realize them. ;)

building equity has never been a bad thing to do. cars come and go, and the FD is no exception. so sell it, make your portfolio, hope to earn a possible higher return and get another one :)

Yeah, I am still trying to make sense of the whole situation. I'll give it some time so that I can come to a reasonable conclusion on what to do. It has already been a horrible few weeks, this was just the icing on the shit flavored cake.:uhh: