You have the choice between 2 FDs for sale. Their are all the same models, same years, all manual transmission, paint is nice on the 2, same price, same mods...

FD #1: low mileage (55 k), no rebuilt engine, no rebuilt turbo

FD #2: higher mileage (80 k), with rebuilt engine and turbo

Tell me which one would you choose and why.

Thanks

 

depends on who put the engine in on number 2.. and what colors they are.

Ideally, you would want to buy a car WITHOUT any mods.

 

Tough call. There must be distinguishing factors between the two cars other than what you have said. Get a compression check on both of them. Are they both for sale by owner? If so, if one of the owners sounds like he doesn't know what the hell he's doing and the other is doing everything possible to maintain the car that would be important. See who will come down in price more. Have a thorough inspection and a VIN look up done to see if either has ever been damaged. There are hundereds of things to consider when buying an FD. I don't think the information you've given is adequet to make a decision between the two.

 

I will re-explain my question. If you have 2 identical FD, same owner, same color, same everything...

The only difference is that one has more mileage (roughly 80k)and a rebuilt engine and turbo. The others has less mileage (roughly 55 k) and haven't been rebuilt.

The question is: Would you prefer the one with the rebuilt engine and more mileage on is body or the one with less mileage on is body and don't have a rebuilt engine.

You all know the one with less mileage will need a rebuilt eventually.

I don't know if it's more clear...

 

i was faced with the same situation:

94 touring black with 90K, rebuilt motor, $15.5
95 touring black with 34K $22

i went with the 94 and still had to put money into because the person who rebuilt it used rubber hoses for oil lines. i had the motor checked before purchase and it was strong. i spent an additional 2 grand to get the car perfect, no oil leak, and now i'm upgrading it. i was afraid the 95 would crap out and after spending $22 on it i might not be able to afford a rebuilt or a new motor. i am happy with my decesion. the only thing i thik about is if would have gotten someone to check the compression on the 95 what it would have turned out to be. i paid $100 to have the compression check for me at the dealer for the 94. the 95 was out of the state and i don't know how much that would have run me.

tell you the truth i regret the color, i always end up with black cars, i wanted white or silver, dammit man.

luigi

 

You cannot go simply by mileage. Even if they have the same owner, it does not mean the cars experienced the exact same conditions.

What if one cracked an AST and overheated, if only for a short while?

What if the other developed a oil leak around the oil pan, and lost a significant amount of oil at one time?

What if the water pump went out on one of them, again the same situation?

What if the rebuild was not assembled/torque within specs, due to sloppiness/laziness/etc? May not become a problem 5k miles - or even 25K miles. There is one rebuilder that many have had nightmares with - ask around the RX7 community.

What if the other was in a minor (or major) accident and has bondo under the shiny paint? Don't take a sellers word for it - take it to have appraised professionally.

These are not scenarios that are made up - they have happened to more then a few 3rd gen owners.

The bottom line is - while you may not be 100% sure of how much more life you can get out of a car/car components, the best way to get a reasonable idea is to have it inspected by a rotary specialist.

Best of luck, and hope you have a shiny 3rd gen in your possesion soon!

 

Look and drive both of the cars. Like dclin was saying, there are many other problems that can arise. I have a rebuilt in mine, I thought it would be pretty reliable... yeah well.. I haven't had more than 5 psi off the second turbo since I bought it. The engine was just thrown in there because it was being sold... so when I got it I had to break it in and couldn't test it right off the bat. I'm not saying a rebuilt is bad, just check out the whole car, both of your options sound nice.

Goodluck,
Chris