Well, i figured i would introduce myself and say hi.. Now, i dont as of yet have an RX-7 but after looking at some options its my #1 choice right now.. I just joined the military and i am waiting till i get out of basic and get settled in Pennsicola until i buy one.. but, i joined the forum hopefully to go ahead and get up to speed on them. i have loved cars since i can remeber but i never touched a rotary motor.. but firstly i have a few questions about buying one.. #1 i want a RHD and preferably TT.. now if i ship one from japan are they like the skylines and you have to pay like 25k to get it and wait 2 years. or is it a fairly cheap and fast process? i hope i can find one already in america.. and with what i have said.. is there any certain model RX-7 that anyone suggests? OH! and i want a 3rd Gen. i love the lookes on those cars..

 

First off welcome to the board, there is a FAQ section that will help with a lot of your questions.

Second why would you want a RHD and drive it in a LHD world, I know that the that it may be cool but in the end it wil just be a hassle to drive around on the wrong side of the seat.

 

Well, other than being cool and all lol. a freind of mine when i used to live in lower florida had an RHD Type-R Civic. an i drove it and i dunno why but, i loved it.. it actually seemed more comfortable to me to drive on the right side.. and plus its different. it isnt something you see everyday.. and yea i have been tearing throught the FAQ section lol..

 

+1 to that.

But anyways, it's easier to get one from japan and ship it over. I've seen a place called "Garage R" where they have a line of TT RHD FD's going for around $4000-7000USD. Where as if you bought an FD here would cost you ATLEAST $10,000+ especially if you want RHD a lot more. The process of getting it shipped over and legalized or whatever isn't that hard anymore. You gotta just research it. I've seen a lot of people doing what you wanna do it and selling their FD on the forum. Just do some research on it, it's not that hard anymore. But yea, RHD is no fun here! How are you gonna pull up to a drive through fast food place and pay for your food? Get out of the car? haha.

 

ok now.. i have seen FD alot.. what does that mean? and as far as drive thues i know that will be a hassle. but, im not to big on fast food anyway..but, since ppl are trying to talk me out of an RHD what are options in a LHD?

 

there are 2 options for every FD in every country. Sunroof or no sunroof. Everything else is completely swapable. There were NO ENGINE OPTIONS. No single turbo, no n/a. All FDs are twin turbos.

also, you need to study more and stop asking questions for now. Go read the FAQ. Search importing and see why you don't want to roll the dice on buying a Japanese car(other than the ricer factor). Trust me, this forum has been up for 7 years. All this nonsense you're "just curious about" has been covered ad nauseum. If you somehow manage to find anything we haven't covered in depth, then ask.

Also, if your biggest concerns are "having a TT" and "having RHD" then the FD isn't for you. It's a needy car and it needs an owner who isn't a dumb ****.

 

Welcome. Like everyone else pointed out, just do your research. Back when I decided to buy an FD, I researched almost everyday for a few months before I finally set out to purchase one. With this newfound knowledge, I knew exactly what to look for, and what I wanted. You will find everything you need to know on this forum (at least go through all of the FAQs). Good luck with your search...

 

You posted this thread in the 3rd gen section, FD refers to 3rd generation RX7.

 

OP,

Search tool is your friend. I browsed this site for quite awhile before I even signed up (1.5 years). IMHO, you're just about to get out of basic (how are you typing this in basic btw? We never had computer access!), so learning your job/rate and becoming an asset is #1. Any car that gets from A to B is your best bet. But, if you like walking to work, then go for it. At least you won't have to trudge around in snow like I did when I first joined.

Stay safe-

 

OH NO! im not in basic yet.. i leave in 30 days.. and im not really in a hurry to get a car.. i have a 94' accord that i drive now.. if i did any rx7 it would probably garage kept alot anyway.. becouse my recruiter has my same job and he told me that 80% of my time will be either on water or in the air.. and the good thing about that.. i will have like 4-6 months of pay saved up when i get back off a tour or something lol..

 

OK, i have been looking around and i ran into 2 things that kinda got a lil confusing.. now alot of ppl say that these cars are pricey becouse of maintanance.. now what do they mean by that? as like changing the oil and new spark plugs? or like having to have the car constantly on a lift?.. and the 2nd thing i saw a few ppl say that 40-50k miles on these cars is engine rebuild territory? are these cars REALLY that bad....

 

Ive owned my car for a while now and you have to understand that the miles dont neccesarily mean a rebuild. For some they do, mainly because of the previous owners who may have ratbagged the hell out of the car. For me the maintenence costs that im getting into now are quite expensive as most 13-15 years cars are. These also are notorious for running hot which means the things under the hood that are most susceptible to heat damage are coming up for replacement. things like the wiring harness which will run about $1000.00 and the vacuum lines another $100. even suspension bushings. Turbos, which if they are original do seem to age quite quickly, so while the engine may still be in good condition most people don't do the required maintenance on the supporting underhood systems. That mean that hoses, wires, suspension, even interior are sometimes left to rot or just go uncared for by some owners. you as a buyer get the unfavorable job of paying to replace all the things left by them. which on these cars can add up to quite a bundle in a hurry.

I agree with most people on here that regular maintenance will keep the motor strong but with these cars there is a lot to maintain and to add on, to get that reliability, i have voiced my frustration on the car here in several thread and i work on the car myself. I need to stress that most Mazda dealerships should not even be considered as support for you. so unless you love to learn and work on it yourself or are near a reputable RX7 specialty shop you are going to be up Sh*T creek fixing it. there is this forum but if you expect someone else to ever fix your car when something goes wrong you are indeed in for a surprise.

This should not discourage you at all because they are beautiful cars and will reward you for caring for them. but you need to realize that you got about 15 years of maintenance to catch up on. if you do have to go through the unfortunate case of rebuilding the motor expect to shell out another $4-5K to have a reputable shop do it for you or another $2k to do it yourself (this is assuming you do it right the first time and dont have to end up having someone do it for you as well)

OEM replacement parts are getting harder to find and good used ones are getting pricier as they become rarer too so keep that in mind when you look for your first FD.

My advise on buying one is buy the best condition one you can possibly afford and then immediately count on spending an additional 10-15% of that price on replacing as many of the original vital components you can. obviously doing things in order of most dire to least. that way you will have a heads up on most guys who purchase these cars with their entire savings and can no longer afford to repair them or replace things which will inevitably need to be. Ive see this happen all too often as owners cant afford to fix them or get them back in running condition and all to often the car ends up sitting as salvage or going to scrap.

Good luck but realize that like i said before unless you live near a rotary shop you will be on your own almost completely. for a list of reputable shop in north america this forum has a lot of information.

 

well, then these cars sound like WAY to much to keep up with anyway.. they look nice but im looking for decent power and reliability lol.. i guess im out lol. bye

 

 

this thread is completely pointless and redundant. please go read the FAQ.

 

I don't agree. its a lot of fun driving backwards in a drive thru and seeing the casier with a "wtf is going on???!?" look on his face