Hey fellow enthusiasts

Needed some opinions.

I have a 2000 model FD. Had it for about 2 years. No problems with it so far (touch wood).

But i came across someone who wants to buy it for about 2k less than i paid for it. He wants it asap, and i really dont know if i should sell it or not.

So many ppl tend to say how unreliable FDs can be. But i always change my oil every 2000 kms and giv it regular services. The only thing i dont want, is to be hit up with a bill to rebuild the engine, or seals, etc.

Taking such matters into account, how reliable do u think they can be if treated well? Do u guys think its worth keeping, or will it hit me hard in the pockets if it hasnt already done so? Is it true that after 80000 it'll need new seals?

The car has no mods. standard boost, 74000 kms on d clock.

Any feedback would be great.

Thanks in advance

 

take care of it and do regular maintenance and reliability mods and you'll be fine.
and why would you be hit with the bill? once it's his car, it's his problem, hands down, at least that's how it is in the states.

edit: you should post pics of yours too. But I honestly wouldn't let it go for 2k less than what I paid for it so soon after purchasing it, sounds like he might just be trying to flip it for a profit.

 

driving an RX7 for two year and ONLY losing 2k is awesome!...

If I sold mine now I would be out like $20k lol...

 

not

 

hmm. ok. reliability mods such as what?

so if i do these reliability mods, my seals will remain intact?

oh, when i said hit with the bill, i meant that if i decide to keep the car, i dont wanna be hit with the bill of the seals. i really wanna avoid. is it inevitable though?

 

why you scared??

 

if you want to make sure 100% u wont get hit with a bill ... sell it now ..in fact dotn even start it after reading this .. just sell it

things happen ... u deal with it in 2 ways .. either u are ready for them .. or not ..
u can be ready in a few ways :
have lots of cash and know a good rotary service place
have some cash and do it yurself ..

or .. just sell it if the price makes sense to you

and get an s2000 ... which in my opinion is just .. a slower .. convertible version of the FD... for the street ... and for pple that get easily excited .. but still a great car




they are fantastic cars .. but u will run into some trouble despite your best intentions /preventive measures ..... plastic is plastic and rubber is rubber .. no mater how often u change yur oil and kiss your car good night .. thigs can happen

 

thats beautiful

 

Hey, I though cars were supposed to be an investment?

In what parallel universe do mass produced cars not lose value? Most cars lose $2k in the 30 seconds it takes to drive off the lot.

 

FD's are as reliable as you make them (there are so many threads about reliability modifications). That being said planning for the possibility of a rebuild after it hits 100.000 km is wise, if it happens you'll be prepared and if it does not, you're all good.

It all comes down to how much you love the car. But don't make any decision in a rush, think about what you want after all.

Good luck, I vote for the "keep it" option :o)

 

I drive my car everyday almost. I've got 103,xxx miles and counting. I'm doing the opposite, and that is rack up miles i guess as opposed to keeping them low. My car is fine, though i'm on my second motor, had to replace the original at about 86,xxx due to coolant seals (that's what happens when you buy a low mileage FD from an original owner who barely drives it). It had 58,xxx when I bought it in 05`.

 

I recommend owning an FC or three as a prerequisite for owning an FD, but on a more important note, read the FAQ and you should be ok. You cannot neglect the car, it will come back on you.

 

I daily drove my FD for years, from bone stock to single turbo+streetport(ect.)...as long as you take care of it and know what your doing, its perfectly fine. I had 2 different stock motors last over 100k, one lost compression on the rear rotor at just over 100k, the other lost a water seal at 109k.

 

hahahah

You've received alot of good advice here. Expect the best and prepare for the worst!

 

Yea so true.

Thanks for the feedback guys

Im still a bit unsure as to which way i'm going to go... but i know parting with it is going to be a tough one.

Actually, i came across another option only today, here's the scenario:

Since i'm concerned as to the whole 'seals' issue and the expense of going thru a rebuild (since im still only a student), there is one on the market with no compression in rear the rotor, which is being sold at a reasonable price.
Now what i could do is sell mine, purchase that, get the motor rebuilt with fresh seals (which will hopefully keep going till i graduate in a few years) and i'll still have about 2k left over.

What i have been told about is that its possible that the car would also need rotor housing, maybe even a rotor, and worst case scenario, another set of turbos.
Is there anything else which i should consider before i make a move?

Thanks again

 

i was ready for my rebuild way before i ever got my FD. i have known of a guy with a s2000 who is on his second motor and trans, 2 neon srt4 guys that are on there second motors, 2 Subaru guy that spun rod barrings, and a countless number of civic guys with blown heads, blocks, cracked pistons. u could live forever and i could die tomorrow there is never a set mileage, just enjoy the ride.
p.s. i would rebuild my FD one million times

 

Only bad thing about buying a blown RX-7, is that it may end up being something needs only a rebuild kit, or it could be something that needs an entirely new motor. I don't know if David does international shipping, but you could still check out his site, www.rotaryrebuildstore.com to get an idea, of probably the best deal (not knowing prices in Australia) around.

I say keep it. Look under the Sticky's at the top of the 3rd gen section, and go through all the reliability mods. Keep an eye on any and everything you do, and tell dude to go buy the blown one. Let him hold the headaches of the motor rebuild and all. That way you can see what happens during a rebuild, without having to foot the bill.

 

Unless you get one of those super clean well maintained low mileage cars (and a roller in unknown shape doesn't count in that category), DO NOT buy an FD without a place to work on it. If you are in school and live in the typical college apartment complex or ratty old house you are going to find yourself in trouble. You cannot do good quality work on a car that you must drive every day (no other dependable transportation) and must keep in a parking lot. There'll be a lot of panic and rushed work when something goes wrong, and/or a lot of repair bills. Assume it's going to need regular tinkering, even though there's a chance that it won't. If you have a thorough "worst case scenario" back up plan you'll be fine.

Now... that general above advice applies to busted *** USDM FD's. Right now you have a pretty new car by FD standards (2000 model), and the series 8's were at least mildly more reliable due to vacuum line simplification. I would just keep the nice one you have now. Just keep driving it and maintaining it and don't worry about it until it blows. You don't want some POS JDM roller, **** that. That's a potential nightmare.

 

All engines have a limit. On an FD it's a lower mileage than other cars because parts of the engine run so hot.

An all stock engine treated well might last 50-100k miles before the coolant seals or apex seals give up. This assumes that there are no sudden failures that lead to an overheat condition caused by a broken radiator, broken AST, etc.

A lightly modded engine with reliability mods installed will run somewhat cooler and last longer. It's hard to put a number on how long your engine will last if you put them on now, but it will help and most reliability mods will also will help prevent a breakdown. But the engine still runs quite hot and it's fair to expect the seals will again need replaced within the life of the car.

Many rotary owners are experimenting with auxiliary injection with excellent results. Most of them are using it on high hp rotary engines and they see lower temps and lower knock readings than a stock engine. Some are experimenting with AI on stock engines, but I've not heard much feedback on this configuration. AI properly running on a stock engine with reliability mods could make the engine last a very long time, "solving" the reliability problem.

Feel free to research and invest in reliability and AI mods. They will only improve your car's performance and reliability. But at the moment I'd say it's unrealistic to assume the engine will never need rebuilt. It just doesn't work out like that.

David

 

If you search Howard Coleman's posts about AI, he recently mentioned he's gone the last 5 years RACING his car, and with his meth setup he hasn't had to rebuild it, once, that's a pretty good track record from a hard core racer.

I encourage you to keep it, love it, and deal with the issues as they arrive. If you have a steady income (and don't live in a house with an attached garage to work in) I suggest renting a unit in a garage complex, 50-100 dollars a month (in the US) and it's a good place to work and store the car. I'm also in college, but I'm living in a house with some friends and a garage and a daily are the two best investments and FD owner can make in my opinion. Plus it tends to snow here and I don't want my baby getting rusty from salt and chemicals.

 

Wow, getting and keeping a 2000 FD seems like a big undertaking for a student with little experience.
But selling a fine running stock FD that needs regular maintenance (and water injection, IMO) and getting a blown FD simply for the benefit of $2000 would be asking for a much larger headache.
Then again, there isnt anything wrong with selling your car to someone who really wants it and has the means to take care of it.

 

telling him he needs water injection on a stock car is just overkill guys, and I know I'm going to get flamed for saying that. It would just devalue the car having the extra crap in there. It's a stock car, I doubt he's beating the **** out of it everywhere he goes.

if you're concerned about the engine running hot, install an FC thermoswitch and leave everything else alone besides oil and coolant changes. The car probably doesn't have a factory precat or the AWS being a series 8, so that's not even an issue. I know a guy who got 110k out of his 94 original motor and he overheated the crap out of the thing. If it's as stock as it sounds I'm sure it'll be fine.

 

Hey, my original motor just crapped out on me at 186,039 miles! (dp,catback, reliability mods)
so yeah his car can definitely last if he doesnt beat it down all the time.
But i would have installed WI years ago as cheap insurance had I known about it.
Sounds like he needs a little peace of mind though

 

If they check emissions there, that's the first thing that will get you. Failed smog.

 

i hope mine last me a while