Airman

Hey guys!

I was wondering what will happen with the FD prices going up for a while now... I've wanted a FD for like 10 years now and I'm gonna get my license in a few months. Obviously, I'm not gonna get it as my first car because I'm broke and I don't want a whole on my wallet right now. I was planning on getting a FD in about 5-7 years, but with the prices going up lately I want to get it in about 4 years. My budget will be pretty tight, so I don't know if I'll even be able to get one. For peoples who have been watching the FD prices for awhile, what will happen to the price in the future? Will it go up or down? If it does goes up, how much will it cost in about 4 years?

Thanks a lot!

fendamonky

iTrader: (6)

The truth is that nobody really knows. People can speculate, but that's about it. Ultimately any forcast you get will be nothing but personal opinion, some more informed than others but all just opinion.

A safe bet is that the prices will continue to climb as they get rarer and rarer. Another safe bet is that the recent price increase is just a bubble that could pop as EPA requirements make ICE driven cars less and less relevant.

Nothing is certain.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

+1, and then these things usually don't go in a straight line either,

graph is just the Dow Jones index, from July 1st to today prices are up, but there are some bumps along the way.

Jatt

iTrader: (2)

If inflation that is currently going on, that has helped bump up prices even more than it *already would have anyways*, is corrected the trend will continue to rise normally. If not, it will continue to rise even more.

Either way I'd bet on the prices at the very least gradually going up. If I were you, and you have a job, would try to save as much as you can for a nice FD off the bat for your first FD. You may end up paying a little more upfront, but will get something manageable and enjoyable asap. Don't rush into it, and when you do have cash in hand, it's easier to sweep up one in a thousand deal that pops up on the forum, facebook market place, craigslist or from a friend of a friend. Get involved in the community locally if you can, for me that was always tough, so I got involved here.

bossbattleRX7

Unfortunately no one knows. All I can say is that prices have seen a net rise for the past ten years or so. Will that trend continue? Maybe, maybe not. Supply and demand almost guarantees that it will be a seller’s market for the foreseeable future. I used to see running FDs on Craigslist for $10k in 2013-2015. Those days are over.

I just saw a rolling chassis (no engine, trans) with essentially no paint or seats sell for $16,100.

Please keep in mind that buying an FD is just the beginning. These are old cars that require a lot of maintenance and attention. I would recommend reassessing once you get settled into a career.

Tommykaira

iTrader: (2)

Prices are absolutely going to increase on the best examples of these cars. It's the fastest sports car Mazda ever built and the last turbo rotary engine. Mazda isn't building another halo car.

When Barrett-Jackson and other car auctions decline, RX-7 prices will drop.

Airman

Well, I know that Fd's aren't a civic or a corolla, so maintenance will be something I'll need to look out for, but I don't know how much care it'll need. If you don't mind, can you tell me what type of maintenance I'll need to do on it once I get a FD? This is IF I get a FD. I always found FD pretty cool and all, but I don't know if I'll be able to afford one if the prices still rise up.

The safer choice would be to change my car taste and find something newer, but it's gonna be hard. I guess I'm gonna go with the flow... Well, I'm always gonna keep an eye on the price of the car and see what are my options.

Anyways, Thanks a lot everyone for answering my question!

Tommykaira

iTrader: (2)

All you have to do is change the oil. (And top if off from time to time if you put a lot of miles on it.) There are people on here who insist on rituals and other voodoo magic, but don't forget that you're on an enthusiast forum with people who love their cars.

The big maintenance items have nothing to do with RX-7's or rotary engines. You're looking at 25+ year old car. Alternators go bad, solenoids go bad, fluids should be changed, etc. You can teach yourself to diagnose and fix things if you need to.

This advice changes if you buy a modified car or a rough example. Cross that bridge when you get there.

fendamonky

iTrader: (6)

Honestly, I'd recommend looking at a 1st or 2nd gen Miata as your starter car. They're fun as hell, dead reliable, pretty cheap to maintain, and commonly raced.

The main rotary maintenance differences is more frequent oil changes. Mod differences is that you'll be punished, severely, for thoughless mods and sloppy tuning. Knock essentially equals a rebuild.

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

As someone who's torn down hundreds of 13B-REWs at this point...... it's even more important to change the coolant. Ideally every two years, at most every three years. I've seen situations where an engine with old stagnant coolant survives, but as you lose the anti corrosive properties in the coolant (most engines have a mix of half water half coolant) you're risking internal engine damage. You have a mix of iron plates and aluminum rotor housings and this doesn't play well with old stale coolant. The engine is prone to coolant seal issues (they're fragile little suckers) and pitting in the AL rotor housing areas as well as weakening of the coolant seal retaining walls in the iron plates.

If I'm looking to buy an FD or am performing a PPI for a client, I'll use the test strips that tell you the PH as well as the percent of coolant in the mixture. Dip it into the coolant filler neck on a cold car and that'll tell you a lot about the condition of the coolant in the block. Everyone stresses a compression test and while this is important, stellar sealing compression only matters if your coolant o-rings still have integrity

pd_day

iTrader: (6)

At this point, I don't worry about the prices of FDs.
My worry is the cost of FD replacement parts (engine harness going from $799 to $1000 in 2 yrs) and the availability of those parts. There are lots of parts NLA; and while there are aftermarket replacements available; the quality and reliability is not up to OEM standards.

Eg, replacing the interior dash plastics is now around $1000 for the gauge hood, ac panel and the shifter panel from Mazda and they are getting low in inventory.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

in the before times Mazda USA would only stock a few of a given part, and compared to like 10 years ago, it looks like they are running out. then they order more from Japan.
so the quantity Mazda USA has does not matter too much. i'll give you an example, the 81-85 Rx7 fenders, they are not in the catalog anymore, so you can't look up the part number you just need to know it, the cars are OLD. Mazda USA had like 14, then 10, 7, 5, and i bought a couple, and they were down to 1, guess how many they have today? 17. Mazda Japan is STILL MAKING THEM. which is nuts. the rotary engine parts make more sense, Mazda has a whole rotary engine factory tooled up to build FD and Rx8 engines, so that is what they are doing.

~10 years ago, things were different. Mazda USA would buy a ton of rotary parts in the spring (these cars were seasonal), which was great. the downside though, and the old guys will remember this, they would run out of stuff at the end of summer, and be out for months. also when they made this big buy, they would run out of air filters and oil filters for the regular cars, so it made the dealership life hard!

so things are better today, although they seem to be missing a boat to put the parts in this year....

pd_day

iTrader: (6)

This is great news! Are you saying even NLA parts can be ordered from Japan?

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

The big question mark with maintenance and upkeep is really the car's history. VERY VERY VERY few FD's are totally "untouched" - hell, many of them had dealer service departments swapping engines and turbos in the '90s with poorly trained techs. I remember a ton of stories of "I blew my engine, now it won't boost right and the dealer doesn't know how to fix it so the put on new turbos and it still won't boost right". Now that's from a dealer, imagine the years of some dude who owns the car fixing it himself.

You have to remember, these cars are now nearing 30 years old and they possibly have been owned by MANY people and been messed with in one way or another.

All that to say it's impossible to say what maintenance and upkeep will be. What held true when these cars were a few years old doesn't any more. Every car is going to be unique. You just have to find one that's within your comfort level with what it will need. Even so, be prepared for large unforeseen expense - seen many cases of people getting their dream car then realize the motor's shot or drinking coolant.

The FD is fortunately a very good car to work on yourself. No crazy computers that need special scan tools, everything is VERY well documented. But, it's also a car that will bite you HARD if your workmanship is poor, use cheap parts, try and rig something up, etc.

Get an older Miata or RX-8 that needs some TLC, fix it up, get comfortable wrenching on it, and also have a blast driving it in the meantime. Save up your money, read the forum front and back, and eventually you'll be there.

Dale

Jatt

iTrader: (2)

The RX-8 actually sounds like an amazing idea for a cheap car to learn on. Definitely want to figure out the best way to learn how to completely work on this car on my own after I finish this build

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

most of them had the fuel recall which had the tech pull the thing apart to change fuel lines, and then the hose blows off the white solenoid, and then they can't figure it out so they change turbos, and then change turbos and then change turbos, and then it goes somewhere else and they put the hose back on, and then the water pump fails, and then the oil pan starts leaking, and then the intake gasket blows, so it all needs to come apart again, then it needs another set of turbos, and another set of turbos, and a precat, and then its there you might as well do the 30k service....

some of the FD files from the dealerships were like phone books, from the 80's, where its ~6" thick

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

sometimes, plenty of parts are NLA in the US, but available in Japan.

Tommykaira

iTrader: (2)

I have only love for you old forum guys, but you guys are crazy. PH strips?? I'm imagining you walking up to an FD with a lab kit.

twinturborx7pete

iTrader: (3)

Hopefully Mazda will ramp up this heritage program they've started/promised with more parts. Whether that only applies to RHD examples is to be seen on some items.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

the list has grown, https://www.mazda.co.jp/globalassets...tslist_rx7.pdf

its nothing too exciting, but you have to remember most of the car has been available the whole time. for instance, 81-85 Rx7 fenders are not on that list because they have been available the whole time, which is pretty crazy

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

I bought an RX-8 with a blown engine last year for $800 and towed it home. Rebuilt the engine myself, fixed anything that needed fixing, and it's now my daily driver. It's a blast to drive.

It's a pretty easy car to work on and damn near everything about it is super well documented.

It can also be a good candidate to learn building an engine on. You just have to accept that you may have to pull out and fix what you screwed up, but if you can get over that and have the time to put in you are good.

They are getting a bit harder to find now, so many have gone to the junkyard, but they are out there.

Dale

SwappedNA

iTrader: (1)

This. I imported my 1995 for a hefty price. Then again, it had 40,000~ odd miles on it, and is a grade 4 car. That being said, I still have had to do minor repairs here and there because at the end of the day, it is still a 26 year old car, and things will require replacement with age. I'm currently in the process of finishing up overhauling the entire sequential twin turbo system, which has cost me a few thousand in brand new parts already. Again, not the cars fault, but it is 26 years old, and things age and require maintenance, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

Regardless of young or old, I have love for those who give proper advice on a public forum..... and saying 'all you need to do is change the oil' on an FD RX-7 is just about 180 degrees from correct. Buy an FD with 10 year old coolant in it and then foot the bill for replacing the engine a week later and see how you feel about it. This has happened more than once to poor guys in the past who didn't know any better

Airman

I was planning on giving up the dream of owning a FD since I thought that I couldn't afford the maintenance and might mess something up. Obviously, I won't be able to afford maintenance since most FD have been owned by lots of people. Also, I don't know if it's even gonna be worth buying the car for around 35k-40k since I'll be a broke boy at that time. I could buy a something waaaaaay reliable for 40k. But then I remembered that I rly won't need a car to daily at that time since I'll be in uni (Public transport system is pretty good here). So mayyyybe I'm not gonna let my dreams flop now.

I got a question (I know I'm stupid for asking this but): Is the RX8 a good first car? I won't be dailying the car since, like I said, the public transport is pretty good here. Since the car is pretty well documented, is it a good car for a beginner? Miata's literally cost more then the RX8 for some reason and they are more rusted then the RX8 here (They cost 2k more). That is why I'm more inclining on directly working on the RX8.
I'm willing to work on my car with care and put quality parts on it.

Thanks again everyone for answering my question!

Airman

Jatt

iTrader: (2)

I’m going to pick one up if I can find it at that price. Only problem is I live in central Cali where the summers are 100+ and my FD occupies 1/3 garage spots. Will have to get a cover or something to do this.