i basically bought this rx-7 3rd gen at a dealership for 13,900, seemed like a sweet deal for a car that could kill almost anything on the road without being modded. Anyways i find out later from a rotary mechanic specialist who looked at this car before i bought it, that this car's second (larger) turbo isn't working, it has an oil-leak, and bad clutch. For 14 thou, did i get shafted?

 

yea

 

Second (not larger) turbo not working, or needs rebuild?

Not working can be a simple problem.

Oil leak may be a minor deal.

A new clutch should set you back about $800 if you have someone else replace it.

If the turbos need to be rebuilt or (gulp) replaced, you got shafted. Otherwise, I say not really...

 

How many miles?

 

really depends on the condition of the car...the exterior and interior is the most important...all the mechanic stuff like clutch, turbos, etc. can be fixed relatively easily compared to say a paint job or a bad interior.

 

yeah, I think you got shafted

 

The turbo issue is most likely not the turbos themselves. It is most probably a vacuum leak or a solenoid acting up. Not too expensive if you diagnose and fix it yourself. How bad is this oil leak? Everyone I know of has a small one. Hell, mine are leaking pretty badly and I was given an estimate of 15-20k miles left on them.

 

If the only things wrong are an oil spewing secondary, and a bad clutch, you didn't take it up the pooper too badly. They at least used lube

If the turbos just need a rebuild, you're looking at around $1500 (ballpark here, could be much more, or much less, depending on where you go) and the clutch isn't more than $500, assuming you do the work yourself. Labor for the clutch shouldn't be bad, but the turbos could be a few hours, I'm not sure as I haven't done it myself.

 

We need more details to really tell. How many miles for one. Also the turbo issure could just be a problem with the vacuum seals. If its an oil leak you will see plenty of blue smoke out the exhuast and if you didn't notice that before you bought it your a tard. 14 thousad isnt a bad deal if you can get it running good, easly. Get a Boost gauge and see what its boost pattern is.

 

heh, a vacuum leak would be less of an issue then a rebuild, but boy, you need to take one full day out to find which one is leaking. =)

 

At least...

 

I bought my FD for $9,000.....clutch went out 2 months later, engine had to be replaced 4 months later, tires, brakes, sound system all needed to be replaced, paint was bad and there were some scratches....plus it was a smoker's car. I put about $8,000 into it so far, upgraded the clutch, upgraded the sound, upgraded interior pieces that were falling apart, upgraded the exhaust, uprgaded the intake, and put in a new engine, and it still has some boost problems, but I still think it was worth it. I think you may have payed a little too much for it, but if the interior/exterior is in nice shape then I say it may have been worth it. The turbo problem gives you a reason to upgrade to BNRs or a single (make sure you research before upgrading anything past Downpipe, exhaust and intake - ECU needs upgrading past that). Just look at it as an investment.

 

Well I paid about 14500 for my r1.

Engine and Turbo's had about 35,000 miles on it, new clutch, new rims, aftermarket stereo. The only thing that annoys me right now is the fact that he cut out a circle in the driver door panel.

Sorry for hijacking your thread, but it seems like we were comparing how much we paid and the condition of the car when we bought it.

 

True, if car is pristine, the mechanical issues can be dealt with.

 

So are we still waiting on the miles or did he state it already?

 

Hey, did you get this car off of eBay? I remember seeing a car there on auction recently with the (speaker) cutout placed back in the panel and I thought to myself, "What kind of dumbass would do something like that?!" Hope the car is otherwise working out for you.

 

Yeah. But I didn't go through with ebay and just went to his house and just bought it there.

I hate going through ebay for cars due to bad experience.

Anywho, the car itself is perfect. Perfect boost pattern, etc... just a few minor defects like the sound system which I was going to replace anyway.

 

Sorry guys i didn't put too many details into the situation. The car claims to have 55 thou miles on it, the interior and exterior are almost mint. Thank you guys for all the reply's and i'm very glad to be part of the rx-7 family.

 

well, at that mileage, as long as the car has been babied, I believe it was a good deal. =)

 

That's pretty good mileage, maybe an OK deal.

 

14K isn't too bad for a car with 55K miles at all. Too many people put to high a value on the motor condition. It is easier to fix a motor than to fix a ragged out interior and a ragged out body.


Second turbo not working is a control issue. Do some reading, it is usually a simple problem.

Oil leak is likely the rear oil return tube gasket or the motor mounts leaking where they go through the pan. Both aren't hard to fix with basic tools and mechanical ability.

Bad clutch will cost ~$450 in parts. Labor is additional.

 

Before buying any car, some research should be done. You need to know how the car SHOULD perform when you drive it. Having a mechanic test it is always a good idea.

It sounds like you bought a nice car. I hope all goes well with it.

 

i basically bought this rx-7 3rd gen at a dealership for 13,900, seemed like a sweet deal for a car that could kill almost anything on the road without being modded. Anyways i find out later from a rotary mechanic specialist who looked at this car before i bought it, that this car's second (larger) turbo isn't working, it has an oil-leak, and bad clutch. For 14 thou, did i get shafted?

First off, find a better mechanic. The TWIN turbos on your RX-7 are the same size, and if your mechanic told you it was larger, he doesn't know squat. There is a very simple method of testing the normal operation of stock turbos, and entails simply accelerating from 3000-5000 RPM. If your car has a boost gauge installed, you should see 10 psi initially, then a slight dip between 3500-4000 RPM, followed by 10 psi until redline. If you are not getting 10 psi after the secondary comes in line, then you may have a problem with the turbo, or more likely simply a problem with the secondary control system. This could be simply a vacuum leak, an actuator not functioning properly, or a solenoid that got fried. All of these are cheap fixes, and any mechanic claiming "the second (larger) turbo isn't working" is just incompetent.

Any RX-7 owner who is willing to let go of their RX-7 for less than $18,000 either needs the money, or knows the car has problems. The money you saved I assume you have socked away for upgrades anyway, so this really isn't an issue. It's common to find RX-7s with salvaged titles going for around $12,000, so I think that the $14,000 you paid is reasonable.

 

Double Post (Why can't we delete our own freaking posts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

What the last guy said!!! Err, next to last

Find out where the good rotary mechanics are in your area from this board.

Look at the bad clutch as an opportunity to do fuel filter, light weight flywheel and clutch.

I hope you had a compression test done before you bought it.

If you are mechanically inclined, go to the mazdaformance link at the top of the page, click on RX-7 and technical documents and pick up the condensed print version for $55.