JHChin

Sorry if there have already been posts regarding this subject... I'm basically a newbie lookin to buy an FD.

(Tired of my 4-banger Integra... Actually, tired of pistons engines in general. And I'm even MORE tired of hearin people say that the Supra is the top dog in the Japanese sports car world. )

Basically, I'm interested in a realistic and reasonable ball park figure for purchasing a 93 or 94 FD3S. I'm lookin for a manual (of course), red/black exterior, any trim level, with around 88k miles or less. I'm not necessarily looking for one that has already been modified.

According to KBB, this would put a 93 at around $13.5k, and a 94 around $15k retail. However, on Autotrader, the going costs have been more around $16-17k for both 93's and 94's.... So I'm wondering, is $13.5k for decent shape 1993 RX-7 realistic? Should a red flag be going off in my head if I see one at $13k? Additional buying advice not already included in most FAQ's I've seen will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks...

ImportFanatic

iTrader: (1)

Its a small world apparently...I am too currently driving an Integra shopping for an FD. Now my reasons are much different that yours and I currently have a rotary in the driveway too, however, the integra is faster so the 87 Rx will sit. Now, realistically people have found very decent FDs around the 13k price (yes I am in canada but almost all of my FD shopping has been in the US) There is however alot of crap at the 13k price as well. But you can't also think that every FD that costs 18k is perfect either. You really can't judge the quality of the car by the price, if a 13k FD does pop up, go take a look, you might be pleasantly surprised. Also, if you are looking at around the 88k milage range, you should budget in a rebuild over the winter if the car hasn't seen one yet, and it would be very wise to budget in a few of the reliability mods that I'm sure you've seen listed around. Finding the perfect FD is no easy task, many people have spent upwards of a year to find the FD of their dreams. In my case I want one that will survive the summer so I can work on it all winter. This should make it a little easier than usual to find an FD but, it really all depends on what your plans for the car are. I hope this makes sense.

meddle

Shop around. I looked for months at cars form 10k to 19k. I ended up fingding a 93 for $12,500 in greta shape with 48k. Looking around is key.

JHChin

ImportFanatic,
Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, I can't quite "take a look" at every RX-7 that comes up as an interesting find. Most RX-7s I've found in Autotrader are well over 250-350 miles a way... So if I'm going to drive or fly out that far, I want to make sure that the car I'm looking at seems reasonable well in advance. Thanks again!

Keep the advice coming.

NeoTuri

iTrader: (2)

Hello, I'm going to purchase a '93 FD this week for about $13K. I only wanted to spend about $10K-$12K for that year car, but the owner put a significant amount of money on upgrades and kept good care of the vehicle.

Looking around is always best, and try to find sellers who absolutely need to get rid of the car vs. wanting to sell it as an investment.

JHChin

I've been considering to buy an FD with its engine already shot... And eventually get my own 13B or 20B. However, with no way to test drive the car, it would be difficult to tell if there were anything else wrong with the rest of the vehicle...

Anyone else have experience with that as well? Buying RX-7's with dead engines in them? Thanks.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

13B or 20B: first off, once you start reading up on putting 20Bs in 3rd Gens you'll find out most of the cost is fitting it, because it doesn't fit. Unless you've got $40k and a couple of months to let the car sit in Pettit's garage, you're not doing a 20B.

Now, back on topic. You need to test drive some cars - autotrader.com will put you in touch with many sellers, but they generally know how to sell for the best buck (hey, they did find autotrader, right?). To get a great deal, you'll need to find a seller that isn't finding buyers, or find someone who needs to sell real quick. The second one is potluck, but the first option can be pursued by using local classifieds and want ads to find a car for sale. Lots of sellers don't consider the Internet when selling, and usually they don't know that the going rate for a good FD is above blue book. If you're patient you may get a great catch. I've noticed that good FDs are not common on the east coast, so you will probably pay a higher price than some lucky buyers out west.

The other challenge you'll have is not knowing the car. You sort of need to have one sitting in front of you to really get to know it at all, and drive many of them to understand the 'normal' characteristics of an FD. Find the local RX-7s and test drive them even if they're not one you'll be interested (well don't waste their time, but you know).

Buying with a car with a blown engine is a reasonable idea, but it does help to have worked on one before to really know what you're getting into.

Good luck.

Dave

RHS

I just purchased my FD out of your area. It was in much better shape than I had anitcipated. The car had 94k on it. It had a new turbo's, the mods were just installed, along with lots of extra stuff. I also found the motor was replaced and tranny gone through. I paid 12.5 for it (desperate to sell). It is a very clean, good looking car. I figured it would be a nice project this winter, turned out much better than I had thought. Still want to do some things to it soon, but overall I am very happy with it. Keep looking around, I found this one on autotrader, look for adds that have been up for a long time. They are usually willing to negotiate more. I too thought about the blown motor route, but not driving it first turned me off, you never know what else is wrong. Plus they still sell for around 10k. Good luck...

JHChin

Has anyone explored the idea of buying an automatic FD3S and replacing it with manual transmission? I see that there's a bunch of auto's out there that go for relatively cheap.

DavidDeco

I just bought one for $5k and it had a clear title and working engine (in theory...at least it's not blown).

You will have to change the entire drivetrain, including driveshaft and diffential.

Mine made sense because I had a wrecked car with tons of great parts but a forever destroyed frame. The fact that the engine wasw not blown was bonus but the car stalls incessantly. I wasn't planning on using the engine either but it's a sellable itema and I got sick of seeing mediocre FDs on Ebay going for $10k plus so I grabbed the opportunity. Shitty camel interior but my old car had black so it wasn't a huge issue.

David