Hi, I'm sorta new to these forums and I have been looking at buying an Rx-7. I tried searching for this but I haven't found what I wanted to know.

Anyways, I have been thinking about '93 FD with 15k original miles on it for around 20k or one with 71k on the body and 800 miles on a new engine. The one with the new engine is about 13k. I am a bit concern about the new motor because my experience with cars so far is that something replaced doesn't ever run as well as the original. I was wondering which FD will probably last longer without needing to do any major maintanence on it? Will the new engine run as well as the original?

 

Please read the newbie sticky/FAQ please, it has a buyer's guide in it.

ANYTIME you buy an FD, you MUST have a compression test done to verify basic engine health. If the 15k mile FD is otherwise clean (good paint, good interior) with a good compression check and maintenance records, I would ****** that up in a second.

 

Buy the FD w/ 15K original. Nothing wrong at all w/ 15K on an engine assuming it's been taken care of, and that car will hold its value. A near mint, low mile car is what everybody wants. Can't undo high mileage on the odo, know what I mean?

Now, although the other car has a new motor, with 71K chassis miles, you'll be replacing *other* things due to wear and tear (suspension bushings, radiator, etc.). Not necessarily a bad buy, but personally I'd go w/ the former. Sweet find if you do get it.

 

Are there problems associated with having a car garaged for so long? And how well do you think the car will be able to hold its value if i only put 3-4k miles on it per year?

 

i say read up...theres a lot of stuff to know before and after you get the fd

 

If you keep the original car close to stock but replace the precat with a downpipe, do other reliability mods, standard maintenance and drive responsibly - 80,000 miles without a rebuild should be average, based on feedback from this forum. Rebuilt engines generally don't seem to last as long, probably because what originally killed them wasn't fixed in the first place (sometimes it's the knuckleheaded driver or tuner ... LOL). We seem to see a lot of rebuilds go up in smoke after 10,000 miles, again based on feedback here. So, if you want your best bet at longevity and living on a budget, buy a car with the original engine with fewer than 40,000 miles and keep your mods conservative. Drive less than 10,000 miles a year and you should be able to payoff your original loan and save for a rebuild at Petite before you face any sort of unexpected disaster.

 

Can someone give me an estimated average mileage on a rebuilt, kept stock, before it gets blown? I know rebuilts won't last as long but 10,000 miles seems to be insanely low. Also, the 15k mile FD only has been driven a few hundred miles per year over the past 9 years is what carfax reported. Any problems that might occur from sitting there for so long, like suspension?

 

If blowing a motor is going to be a problem, this is not the car for you.

There is no "average" mileage for these motors. Many things come into play (i.e. how good was the rebuild, maintenance of the car, driving habits, etc) which can/will change how long motors last for each individual.

 

MOST REBUILTS i see last 80-70K but it depends on what you've done to it & how much abuse its been given. More mods will have the rebuild come sooner. But when you get it make sure you keep an eye on your gauges. i didnt and had to rebuild within 6 months after getting it!



as far as which one ill choose. 15k one IMO