Hey guys im planning on buying my 1st FD, but its automatic, has been salvaged and has a rebuilt title. Also i did a carfax and the car has been to florida to cali and back. Only 56k on the motor and the guys selling it for 8k. Im going to stop by and inspect it maybe tomorrow or Friday. Anything i should be on the look out for?? Should i even bother gettin it??

heres the FD on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...ksid=p3907.m29

 

Automatics are worth several thousand less than a manual. A salvage title is worth a LOT less than a clear title. Given those two considerations, the car would have to be in really great shape to be worth $8k. OTOH, if the car is in really good shape, I don't think there is anything wrong with buying a salvage title car. Most of us aren't buying the cars for their resale value.

 

dont really care about the salvage title, if it repaird correctly with no frame damage then its fine. the thing is the auto, you will be truly dissapointed in the performance or lack of it.

 

Yea i know, i was planning on doing a transmission swap later down the road if I do get it.

 

price is probably about right for what it is

 

why not spend a few more grand and not have to deal with swap hassel?

 

Yea thats true but its the only stock FD thats really close to me, so i could drive there and pick it up. How much are tranny swaps btw?

 

I have seen this FD on ebay for awhile, it's been re listed a few times and I'm pretty sure the coolant seals are on their way out...

maybe $4k ... maybe.

 

I would'nt get it. I'd much rather find one that has a blown engine and have it rebuilt than doing the tranny swap. You'll save more money and less headaches.

Just look for something here...

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-rx-7-1993-2002-vehicles-107/

 

You serious? How do you know

 

Nice one here too...
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=761057

 

Man that is a good one, but its all the way in St. Louis

 

Don't buy into the 'automatics are slow' camp.
It simply isn't true. An automatic FD is still WAY faster than most other cars.
But I always say in these debates, get what you WANT, not something you will have to spend a bunch of bux and even more time on to get the way you want it.

And...salvage titled cars bear a certain stigma, for sure. Certainly some have been repaired or even often times "re-made" out of several cars to a level of high quality, but...at the same time, some are so fudged up they will never track right and leak and rattle, etc.

It's a real gamble.

 

Salvage titles are bad for the resale. So you have to figure, this car will need a lot of work and you will probably dump 5-10k into it between a MT swap and possibly a new motor eventually. So you have to figure you will lose more money in the end on a salvage title.

Keep waiting, another one will pop up with a clear title, and it will hold it's value better.

If you have your heart set on it get a compression test done and have a mechanic check it out at least.

 

Bajaman are you going to do a tranny swap?? Your right it is a real gamble, im having second thoughts on getting it. I think I'll make my final descision after I see the car in person.

 

whats does spending money putting in a tranny or new motor have to do with salvage title

 

^ Spending that kinda money on a car with a salvage title and then doing a rebuild and swapping out the tranny isn't going to make the car worth much more, if at all, than it already is. If he plans on keeping the car for several years then maybe it's worth it, but that salvage tag really hurts the value and even though he will spend all that money doing the swap it won't make the car that much more appealing to get high dollar for it when he wants to sell it. Being called a salvage will immediately turn off a lot of people.

 

My advise is do not deal with salvage titles, you have no idea what I hassle that is. u will spend more money getting that car fix and legit than you would getting a complete running clean fd.i got an automatic fd for $7500 running with 40K on the motor, so I suggest u just wait for the right deal to come through

 

Read the first sentence: Salvage titles are bad for the resale. So by putting money into the car, you are losing more money on the resale than you would if the title is clear.

 

Nope, never. I happen to LIKE the automatic, and have learned to DRIVE it to near-manual levels of performance, which is not all that hard to do. The ONLY place an auto plays second fiddle to the 5 speed is in the initial launch, there is no getting around that, but after a short roll/about .5 seconds, the car screams like only a car that never lets off the boost can do, and out pulls the manuals.

If you just LOVE the idea of revving the **** out of the car and dumping the clutch, don't get the auto...at all. If you can accept the fact that about 92% of the auto haters have never even been in an auto, truthfully and don't know anything about them personally, and let an auto trannied car stand on its own merits...(or more importantly be PROUD of driving it...lol!) then you should consider one.

 

not sure how it is where the buyer is from but here in california a salvage titled car doesn't mean it has any current problems. just because a car is salvage doesn't meant the engine or anything other things need fixing.

i'll have to disagree with your statement about disparity in adding value to clear vs salvage cars. it doesn't matter to me if im buying a salvage car with lets say.. jic coilovers or a clean title car with the coilovers. i'd be willing to pay the same 1k or so more for the with coilovers vs cars without. same case with engine or tranny? i agree u dont usually get the amount of $$ u put in for any upgrade or mod when sold, but being a salvage vehicle does not discount the value of the added parts.

 

I don't know your laws and regulations but I purchased my FD as an auto and I was able to do the conversion to manual for around the $800-$1000NZD mark and it was a straight bolt in procedure. I paid $3000 for the shell as the engine was missing and the car was a wreck (stolen recovered), I saved myself thousands by doing all of the work myself. The overall finished product has cost me thousands but still far cheaper than buying an already completed car in the same condition. So it's really up to you, if you are competent with mechanical and tools then you will be fine it just takes a bit of patience, money and time oh and the RX7club forum he he.

You will need a manual box, master and slave cyl with lines, pedal box, clutch, flywheel, driveshaft and diff unless you swap the rear yoke over. You will also need to trick the ecu to think it is still auto but I just replaced the entire loom to a manual one (not recommended) so I could run my Power FC.

 

Awesome, thats makes me feel better about gettin an automatic. I talked to the guy, he has his own shop and works on rx7's so i think hes pretty reliable. Im gunna check out the car tomorrow. Thanx for all your input guys

 

ah man its beautiful id buy it just to stare at it, call me a fool im in love with rx's haha

 

Plus keep in mind that Banzai Racing has their new ECU unit that allows the use of a PowerFC, which greatly expands your modding options.