Be Honest
 

Hello I been trying to get RX7 for awhile now. Its really hard to find a good condition ones. Be honest and tell me, when you guys bought it used how was it? lots of problems like I hear all the time??? or actually not so bad? I am really thinking about getting one if I can find one for a good reasonable price. But I don't wanna spend lots of $ and have tons of problems afterwards. So let me know what you guys have experienced with used RX7s. thanks.

I haven't had any major problems with mine (knock on wood) the only things that have gone wrong so far have been a hose popped off of the boost controller (2 sec fix) and my damn battery connection loosens up frequently (i'm just going to replace it with a better clamp thing) You can't jump into getting the first one you see. be very picky. Don't only look at the car, but also inspect the owner (ok..let the jokes fly on that statement). jump to conclusions and stereotype people, sad to say but you can never be to picky about the RX.

-good luck

btw..mine is a 93 r1 about the 200th one off the line

To tell you the truth, I bought a bad 7 IMO. The body isn't that clean, I bought it at an auction. The motor started giving me problems with boost about 4 months after buying it. The motor problems just come with the territory, u know its going to break, but when is the question. I love my car and I get a lot of compliments everywhere I go 'cuse people don't know what it is most of the time. But I can't complain I paid $7500 for it 2 yrs ago with only 52000 original miles on it.

well, i feel like i got ripped. i traded my 99 dak r/t for mine. they were worth about the same in price so it came out even, but mine has been parked since i got it. i have had problem after problem. i feel like i finally got everything done and then one day when im filling my car up (i often inspect my car when i fill it up) i noticed a strange crack in the freaking body. . . . then another. . . and lo and behold i found a bondo patch. this just happenned this week. im so pissed. my car looks so good and now it has cracks in it. im pissed. hopefully i can get a good body man to take a look at it and get it fixed . . . right. T A K E Y O U R T I M E !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I bought mine almost exactly 1 year ago. 93 R1 with 38k miles. the 4k miles I have put on it have been 100% problem free. it took me several years and 20 cars to find the perfect FD. the FD is like any other car, if you take car of it, it will take car of you. shop around, find a good mechanic to test it and do the reliability mods after you get one. I can't think of a pure sports ar I would rather own short of a 355 or 360. and I don't feel like selling my house to drive a Ferrari. :)

I bought my car knowing it had oil leaks. The battery broke and leaked acid, causing some major corrosion. The cats ar emost likely clogged, and one of the rear shocks is bad. I knew all these prbolems existed when buying the car. Through sickness and health, to money do us part...

My 7 was excellent when I got it. It had 66k miles on it and I didnt have a problem until i got to about 95k.

Bought mine about 4 and a half years ago. I didn't know anything about the car. I immediately had problems with the car which Mazda insisted was normal for the car. Come to find out from another dealership, the coolant seals had already been toast when I bought it. So, after forking out money for the car, I needed to get a new engine.

Well, at the time, I didn't know anything about rebuilds, so I got raped by another dealership for about $10k for an engine and turbos (when the turbos were probably just fine).

Anyway, after that, I had too much money in the car to get rid of it even though I was extremely depressed about the situation.

I only last year found out about modifying the car. So, in a year, I've done a few things to the car and I have been really enjoying it.

Basically, do some research about the car (or any car) you want to purchase. Make sure to get the car inspected by a 3rd party (if it's at a dealership, take it somewhere else and have it checked out). Take a look through the forum and see what some of the problems are that people encounter with the car. If those problems seem like too much for you to deal with, then an FD might not be the car for you.

Some people have FD's with hardly any problems, and some people just can't ever get theirs running decent. I'll say this, when it's running fine, there's nothing like it. When it's not running, you want to push it off a cliff.

Treat it like you would a marraige. Would you marry the first pretty girl you meet, without getting to know her? Do plenty of tests to a car before buying it, and look it over completely.

Got mine a few years ago. Popped the motor about 4 Mo ago. My fault high boost on a cold night.

Now putting parts together for a single turbo ported monster.

Later, Jeff

Had mine 6 months. Bought it at 55,890 for 14.5k. Flawless. V/R Base. Before I even drove it, I did a Koyo Rad, aluminum AST, all new cooling hoses, thermostat, and downpipe. I then had the recalls done... they had been neglected. I didn't like the fan recall, so I did the mod. So about 700 bucks, and not a problem yet. Everyday driver, rain snow or shine. Currently close to turning 60k, with more mods... Exhaust, intake, y-pipe, ECU, etc.... LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!

I've had my 93 VR Touring for almost 2 years. It was bone stock with 57k on it when I got it in September of 2000. I've done all the reliability mods (DP, Intake, Radiator, AST, Gauges, Hoses, Hi-Flow Cat), and have not had a single problem. I put 16K miles on it the frst year as a daily driver, and loved every one of them! Now it is a 2nd car, only driven on beautiful days. I am planning additional mods later this year, and can't wait to have a 300rwhp, 2800 pound canyon carving, f-Body eating, Mustang spanking, rotary rocket!!

Bought mine about 1.5 years ago and began modifying it almost right away with a few of the "safety" mods including a downpipe, cat-back exhaust, and zip tie mods. Switched to synthetic (Royal Purple) everywhere including the tranny/diff, eliminated the AST, etc..and did TONS of research before hand. I even bought the shop manual before I had the car.

I got lucky. Purchased a 9K miles car, 95, right in my home town. Doesn't get much better than that. Bone stock too. I'm now at 48K making 340rwhp with no signs of trouble. Runs great as a daily driver and a weekend racer. And I do quite a bit of that.

What it all boils down to is two things: how educated the buyer is, and what kind of condition the car is in to start with. If major problems exist, it's a complicated car to work on and it'll take time to solve nagging issues. For someone with 3rd gen "experience", it's often best to just purchase a blown-motor car, swap in a built motor and single turbo, eliminating the sometimes problematic sequential setup.

If kept up, most third gens will perform without any major issues. One must be dilligent with maintenance however and keep on top of things. I change my oil every 3K, run a bit of premix, fuel filter every 15K, and a regular inspection of things. Oh, I change the tranny/diff and coolant fluids once a year as well.

I think most will attest, that if your car is running well, the rewards of ownership FAR outweigh the maintenance requirements.

Damn That sucks!
 

Mahjik's story is a sad one...

For the used FD buyer: I just have one major piece of advice. INVEST IN AN EXTENDED WARRANTY!!! Mine saved my Ass over $12K in repairs.

I bought my 93 Touring 5 years ago with 15,800 miles on it for $24,500. The car was in mint condition. Eventually, I started to have bunch of problems: over the years(2 water pumps, synchros, 2 radiators, and needed a new engine and turbos...) My extended warranty covered most the repairs...

I recently discovered this Forum and now I'm starting to go crazy with modding my car. Damn this is FUN!

Bought my 93 R1 brand new in 93.

Have yet to have any Major issues with the car.
Other than basic maintence stuff like
clutch and brake pads. I tell you this Much..

I would never buy another american car. for sure.
My FD3S, compared to my Buick Regal Grand National
was like Night and Day...

Just recently started Modding my car,, with the help of
some Local Rotor head RIKKI"s LOL...

Car runs great and strong going on 125K miles....

And still get asked " is that a 2002" and with my
beat up paint, that i actually painted with spray paint..
haha.. What other car onthe road with as much
sex appeal?? with potential to run 9's and carve curvy roads like butter..?

Bottom line is. FD3S is a great car.. .. And if you are worried.. you might as well buy a Type S Corrolla..


LOL

bought mine a year ago for 10.5 with 60k miles on it. Thats a very good price near me. It had some dings and the oil looked like it wasn't changed for a year. Now I run 14.7 lbs of boost and the engine and turbos still going strong...Guess I just got lucky.

93 vr FD 1993 for 13000 with 61k miles. this was a good deal so it didnt' surprise me when i had a few little problems, A/C ran out of freon and some other stuff with a/c, leaky oil, and some brake problems. but honestly how can you expect so mcuh out of a 9 year old car? this isn't a new car man, you cna't expect everything to be perfect

i agree if you are worried about spending money on fixing minor problems, then get a Corrolla Type S. i bet they are reliable.

I bought mine 1.8 months ago with 35 k on it,just hit 51k its my daily driver. no major probs, i had to replace those rubber sleeves that connect some plastic piping. changed thermostat, battery, coolant flush, I drive down to fla once a month ,smoooth ride .

The "Perfect" Sports Car!
 

Got mine about 14 months ago 85kmi $7700. It had a blown engine so I new what I was getting and used it to get the purchase price down. The car had been keyed also with a bit of body work needed, not much though. Pulled and stripped the engine to the core, shipped it to RX7 specialties in Calgary for a rebuild to 3mm's and Hayes water seals and HKS downpipe $2000. Built it back up with new clutch, silicon hoses, relocated gas filter KN and added KN drop in air filter $650. New front crossdrilled rotors and disk pads around $260. Body shop and Repaint original Silverstone $2250 (last week). Total to now $12860 and 8000mi.

Only mechanical problem was a blown clutch hydraulic hose. The car looks great and runs the same! My only advice is do the work yourself or learn to do it yourself.