if you even have to ask then this car isnt for you.

 

I was referring to a 1993 being sold in 2000. Not a 95 Top-of-the-Line being sold in 2001. Was it a deal? Yes. Was is absolutely insane? No. I had many lined up in the $13-$15K rage with mileage ranging from 30K-50K. The one I chose fit my wants.

Additionally, a FD *topped out* at $40K. MSRP in 1993 was $32,900* BEFORE dealer incentives, which were not hard to come by (remember, in 1993 the RX7 was one of the biggest lemon'd car in the country... along with the 8Series BMW and Corrado - both of which I also still love).

As for "5 short years" - No. I'm saying 7 years. "Typically" most cars lose 45% of their value in the first three years, and another 25% in the next three years**. That would bring a 1993, sold at $32,900 to $13,500 in six years. Is the RX-7 typical? No, not by today's standards, but Im also referring to the market a decade ago. Back then, the 300ZX, Supra, 3000GT, MR2 and even FCs were all readily available to people craving Japanese Turbo Power.




Umm. That WAS the case. Check back to witness the influx of Veilside body kits, GT Spoilers, color matched everything. 2001-2003 was the high time for this. It was also the high time for selling exhausts, intercoolers and popping motors. That's why pre-2000 it was only Corksport, MazdaTrix, PFS, Pettit, KD Rotary and a handful of others in the country capable of touching an FD - after that we witnessed the rise of the Rotory Shop/Builders/Tuners.

Agreed the rise of China plays into this (what doesn't it play into?). No, there weren't the cheap eBay parts - but there were still the cheap (young) owners. I knew *plenty* of them myself.

Agreed on all these points. I myself am in the market for an unmolested 94-95 right now with low chassis miles. I think the car WILL be a collectors items, thanks largely in part to the people that abused/ruined them.

I hope you don't take my points as an assault - just a friendly debate of how I remember the "good ole days" vs. how you remember them. For the record, I've been a member since my FC days in the late 90's... Not that it gives me any clout, but I remember having to re-register after the forum got an overhaul in Feb 2001, but switched to this name when I went to work for Exedy in 2003.

* http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Specs-c5715-1993-RX-7.html
** http://editorial.autos.msn.com/artic...umentid=435466

 

...but yes. I have had both and the Evo was a wood burning stove compared to the flux capacitor of the RX7.

If you're even questioning it, get the Evo. Seriously.

 

If you just want a cool car to drive there are plenty of others out there. Everybody on this forum is obsessed. Whether it's reliable or not owning an RX-7 is a commitment. Don't make a decision based on what the RX-7 market might do.

Sounds like the car is really nice. The price is high because if you had to replace it the insurance company would not give you enough to replace it. On the other hand if you are going to keep it a long time and you really want it, than I wouldn't worry about 1-2k because in the long run you'll spend much more than that keeping it up to snuff and doing reliability mods like Montego has detailed.

For some perspective...I bought my 93 touring 5spd in Oct of 2009 for $12,500. The owner was a 50+ airline pilot who bought it in 95. It had just under 39k miles. Perfect interior, exterior is a 9 out of 10. He kept meticulous records, changed the oil every 1000 miles w/GTX, started it monthly during the winter in storage. No mods other than the fan switch mod. Drove it using the full rpm range. Only issues were a slow driver side window and non-working cruise control. I drove it 2000 miles home from Menome Falls Wisconsin to San Antonio. USAA said it was worth at least 14k and I would consider them an accurate and fair group for determining true vehicle value.

 

This question has just disqualified you from FD ownership.

Good luck with your search for another car.

 

Your 110k mile FD is 100% pure stock? I highly doubt that. I also highly doubt that you don't maintain the crap out of it. Even being an active member on this board and knowing a lot about rotary powered cars.. yours didn't last 110k?

The VAST majority (i'd guess in the 90+%) have had to replace the engine in the 70-80k range. And to accept that an engine must be replaced pre-150k miles and is still a reliable vehicle is crazy talk.

My FD is like everyone elses. It's not a lemon. It's an FD = unreliable.

 

My man, no question disqualifies me from anything. If i want i can go out right now, buy a 7 and trash it. you know why? my money. Ofcourse i know the evo is a more reliable car, no crap. its a honda. i meant reliable buy as in a better purchase for what IM looking for, and thats a car that works. From what it looks like, even rotary owners are doubting the reliability of these engines.

 

it's not the reliability of the motors, 95% of the time its the owners, I know thats the reason my motor went. Go check out the stickies, there's a lot of info on reliability modifications, you may want to leave it stock, but doing the things that montego pointed out in the last post on the previous page are VERY good ideas, hell you may even end up deciding to go a bit further.

looks great doesn't it? relatively stock.

 

"Ofcourse i know the evo is a more reliable car, no crap. its a honda."

Sounds like you're an Evo expert, you should just stick with those.

There are things that money can't buy.

 

lololol...what a jackass(me)..anyways , im just always hearing rotary owners defending there cars when people jump on the reliability case so i figured they cant be that bad.

 

they're more reliable than most people give them credit for, and the NA and well setup turbo cars can last a long long time if maintained properly.

 

Rotary owners defend their cars because they love them. Murderer's parents defend their children because they love them.

The RX7 is not a reliable car. The Evo is. Stock vs Stock and Modded vs Modded.

I speak from first hand experience, owning them both in stock and modded forms.


For the record... The Evo was also faster.

But the RX7 I *loved* - and looked 1000x better.


-M

 

Ofcourse the 7 looks better, and can be made to perform better. But when i say defend i mean defend in terms of reliability. They get so offended that people say their cars are unreliable and claim that they are.

 

Can't agree with 'poor maintenance' as being the Achilles heel of the FD (although poor maintenance can be the reason for ANYTHING to fail... from your teeth to coffee machine). That doesn't explain the amount of lemons (http://www.fd3s.net/lemon_site/others.htm) nor the fact that OEM systems fail or are not adequate (AST, Rats Nest under the UIM, Heat Generation/Cooling).


Dollar for Dollar - not including price of the car - an Evo will be faster and more reliable.

If you agree with the premise of reliability mods as a first, that puts the RX-7 at a disadvantage from the get go.

Full exhaust ($1000), cams ($500) and flash ($500) will put an Evo in the 11s, even with an average driver. Let's put another $1000 for Clutch/FW and we're all in at $3000.


An RX-7 will require Radiator ($300), AST ($100), Hose Job ($300), Downpipe ($200), Intake ($200) for reliability. Now, for the remaining $1900, how do you get your RX-7 in the 11s and keep it running? To be fair, let's use $1000 for Clutch/FW and you have $900 left.


Again, I *love* the RX-7, love-love-love it. But reality is reality. Love it or leave it.

-M

 

First lets clear up something:

My car is not a 110K FD.... I PUT 110K ON IT. My car has almost 170K miles.

But it was bone stock up until the engine died at 108K miles due to carbon buildup circa 2002. It was 100% STOCK even down to the AST . It had to be, it was under a service contract . Luckily for the service people my engine died a few thousands miles after the warranty ran out

Once I got my rebuild that's when the modding began. I have the paperwork to prove it and I'll be happy to have you eat your doubts if you like.

Well I tell you one thing: I don’t cheap out, whenever the car needed something I got it fixed. I don’t do the well let’s see how long I can go with this. Have I had issues? hell yes!!! But none of those issues have ever had me worry about my car not getting me to my destination and back. Ever…

Issues that I have dealt with that are truly factory related:

5th gear synchro (this one is caused by the driver when 3rd gear is missed)
Stock turbos smoking (Old turbos need to be thrown away)
Engine seized at 108K (Design issue)
Motor mounts (rubber tends to go)
Pillow ***** (yup design issue as well luckily problem gets resolved with getting some trailing arms)
Tach not working (**** get’s old I suppose)
Radiator (design issue stupid plastic)
Driver’s side windows switch (The switch worked but the damn plastic piece broke)
Passenger’s oh **** handle (damn plastic thing again)
OEM vacuum hoses (damn those things—either go non sequential or silicone)
My rear end leaked oil.

Issues I brought on myself:
Rebuilt turbos (suck, just by new. my service contract kept replacing them and those things kept going bad)
Aftermarket AST (quality control sucks on those things my wasn’t sealing properly)
Exhaust leak from aftermarket single turbo manifold.
Runing too rich (HKS ECU)
Not passing smog
Boost creeps and boost spikes
Ride quality: colovers and being lowered will do that
Stinky exhaust
Just overall loudness
Current issue: No boost control brought on by external wastegate or boost controller.

Issues that qualify on the **** happens category:
Wastegate line came loose and over boosted to 23 psi and blew my perfectly good 50K mile rebuild. Note that if I would have had the stock ecu it would have cut fuel and my engine would have lived… So technically I’m responsible for that outcome as well. Also it was an oversight that the PFC was not set to cut fuel… all fall upon my decisions to steer away from stock.
Right after that rebuild my irons were not up to par and caused coolant issues. My mechanic made good on that BTW as it should had been done right.

I didn’t know jack **** back then. If I could go back in time I would perform periodical steam cleaning to get rid of carbon buildup in the rotor housings.

Ahh see your definition of reliable is skewed…

By your own account you couldn’t depend on your FD at any given day, that is definition of unreliable. Now given that the average engine dies at 70K it automatically does not fit the definition of being unreliable. Because at anytime before that, FD owners had taken TENS OF THOUSANDS of engine dying free trips.


You have a GT35R FD with an automatic transmission. At a minimum you changed the CFM, injectors, fuel pump, ECU, AFR’s, spark plugs, and timing which all steer you away from factory settings and factory dependability (as it depends on the quality of the parts and the work). Not only that, you are still on an automatic transmission which it has been proven to be much weaker than it’s 5 gear counter part. In other words, expect it to break. If it holds up seriously great! If it breaks don’t blame the car, as you are the one to blame on that one.

Now I’m curious:
When did you buy your car? Who did you buy it from? What condition was it in? What were your issues that gave you fear in driving it everyday?

 

I can say that I pretty much disagreed with 90% of your post. But honestly this was 9 years ago and we are dicussing opinions on how it was back then which given the shelf life of threads in the forum: It's impossible to prove therefore it's a moot point

 

One thing though and not directed at anyone in particular.

If you are afraid to drive your FD everyday because of reliability: YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG!!!

Now I am also a fan of having a daily driver and that's only because when the FD breaks it's typically not cheap. I have always had multiple cars but I drove the FD the most because I just loved it... Finally I got wise and stopped driving it as much as driving to work miles are relatively wasted away and just take a toll on the car.

 

You have people like you, who claim the FD is reliable and can be driven daily no worries. Then you have people, even those who own an fd saying they are horribly unreliable...Whats the deal?

 

Well listen to who ever you want. I can only speak from a second owner's perspective who bought a pristine 100% stock FD (and I mean 100% all the way down to the bolts) from a mazda dealership 12 years ago, warranty included. Gordon, well what can I tell you other than he has the most experience with FDs on this thread.

My definition of reliable is: can the car get me where I want to go? The FD has only failed me twice in 110K miles. that's rather reliable in my book. The biggest headache IMO is the 72 vacuum hoses that over time and extreme heat cause them to get brittle and break. The end result is low boost performance... that's it... wow. Yeah I know call AAA .

You have to stop and analyze who is indeed posting. In what condition did they purchase it? who owned it before them? Was it abused? is the current owner performing intelligent mods? Do they abuse the car themselves? All unknowns.

If you want a car that is problem free get yourself something else. Not only are the newest FD's already 15 years old, they are finicky bitches to begin with. Your average mechanic has zero clue on how to fix these babies so treat her wrong and she will let you know instantly. I listed the problems out for you and it's fixes. But like I said stock = slow by today's standards. Uncork the bitch and look out, but be prepared to deal with the Consequences of your decisions.

But I'll be honest this car isn't for you. Go with the evo.

 

Atleast your being honest. I wasnt looking for a fast car, i was looking for a unique car. I know the 7 when modded is very hard to beat, but i had no plans on doing so. I just was hoping that this car was reliable enough to a point where i dont always have to wonder is it going to break on me. I guess maybe the evo is a better car for me. thanks.

 

if you want unique and reliable, uh... spend more money and get an nsx or a pupra?

 

Pupra?? hater

 

The RX-7 will be the most unique, most capable and least expensive (to purchase) car you can find. If you're looking at a nice one then reliability is just something to worry about but not necessarily something that will be a problem. You just have to make a hobby out of it and not use it as a daily driver, and do the reliability mods. There is enough information and help on this website to make ownership much easier if you have some mechanical skills and tools.

One thing I've learned about automobile internet forums. Generally the members are outspoken, somewhat intense and passionate. The RX-7 is sort of a cult car to begin with. "newbies" pop up all the time and we all hate to see somebody get a bad car, or get a good car and treat it bad or have unrealistic expectations.

On a side note, I would never suggest that anybody buy a mitsubishi . The lancer is an amazing car but it's just a matter of time till they're smoking like all the other mitsubishi cars out there. AWD is just another thing to have to fix in the future. They will never be soughtafter classics.

 

Thanks for the positive response.

 

Your a bit late bud, i already realized i made a typo..But your not a "moron" so that never happens to you, you must never accidently type something or say something without thinking. You must be perfect, correct?...Tool bag