So here I am, finally got back in school, am a full time student with a full time job and i'm saving up to buy a new car. I really want an rx-7 but I'm looking for some advice as far as what I'd be getting myself in to. I hear a lot of negativity about the reliability issues, but is there a way around this? I found a clean 94 rx7 with 91k miles on it, but that's right at the point where the engine would typically blow isn't it? I guess what I'm wondering is what kinda of money would I be looking at spending on regular maintenance aside from the performance mods that I'd be doing. I'm fairly mechanically inclined and feel I could do most of the work myself, but rotaries, then again, are a whole nother world than piston pushing engines. Any realistic advice/help on this would be greatly appreciated before I jump head first into something I'm not prepared for and disrespect a car that may need an owner more capable than I.

 

i wouldn't go as far and say the stock engine is ticking bomb at 90k miles but i will say this, i replaced the OEM apex seals with 2-piece seals.

I think the 70's model rx7 had a different type of apex seal and those were (afaik) lasting a lot longer (engine). One Ratary dork pointed out this trivia to me a few years back.... and he simply said "older (1970 era) rotary engines used a different type of apex seal which lasted a lot long than mazdas current oem junk [speaking in terms of FD seals]".

my last FD was sold with 190k miles on the clock and a two piece 3mm seal job. did it cure the engine from blowing up again? no - but i did drive that car a little easier than i would a typical 'sports car'. so for whats its worth - should the engine blow, my car ran WAY past the "90k" mile point without killing over.

side note: i personally haven't had too many issues i couldn't handle on my own... when in doubt "rx7club.com -> search" ;]
and to be honest - swapping engines in the last FD was actually really simple for me to do with the tranny intact.

 

Well yes there are reliability issues but those are mainly based on new owners purchasing a car with pre-existing problems and then being ignorant to all the maintenance and recommended mods for these unique automobiles. Yes, with these cars even with low mileage you should budget for a possible rebuild in the near future ($5000) just in case the previous owner didn't know beans about taking care of it. The good news is that once you solve any pre-existing problems, if you read the stickies and do what they say (involves a little more cash) then you can have a fairly reliable vehicle that is lots of fun to own. So although these cars are pretty inexpensive to purchase, they can be a little expensive to own and maintain. If you buy one, be sure to find a good rotary specialist in your area and take it to them for a complete check up (better if you do this B4 you finalize your purchase). I have my own set of pet upgrades that you can observe in my signature. Best of luck!

 

Keep your Integra and get through school with as little debt as possible. The FD will still be there and you'll appreciate it a lot more when you don't have to stress about paying for expensive parts or working on it to get it running when you have work/exams to worry about.

And we have a lovely FAQ thread to read through, as well as the search function. The forum may be running a little crappy right now, but we get threads like this REGULARLY.

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