As a reality check you are looking more like $6K to $7K to fix this car:

Power plant frame is cracked in two places....
Transmission 5th is out.
Even the radiator wasn't mounted worth a damn.

No doubt:
Complete engine rebuild / replacement
Transmission rebuild
New PPF and drive train component replacement / rebuild.
New flywheel and clutch
Motor mounts and diff bushings
All new hoses and softgoods
injector clean and flow
Wire harness??
misc. sensors and solenoids.
If the turbos are leaking oil they will probably need attention.
Probably the suspension bushings are questionable
And last but not least the brakes....


Still - with this investment I think you are still within the value range for the car if the body and interior is in good shape. I paid $17K for mine five years ago and have invested easly another $9K and did all work myself - no complaints and still think the car is the best bang for the buck.

 

I was shocked someone posted that one had 95k on it, I mean every single one ever posted for sale on this forum or ebay magically has "30-35k miles".

 

Hahahaha! ^^^^^

 

I went to small claims a few years ago becuase of a roommate in college who wanted to stay there rent free. I went to court and won the case. However he still didn't write a check. Luckily for me, my bank system saved a copy of one of his checks I deposited prevoiusly. I was able to go back to court, and they garnished his wages. The court took the money out of his checking account and wrote me a check. Then the roomate had the nerve to blame me for when he bounced a check to his current landlord.

 

I was waiting for this response... Key word "Research"! I love my time bomb...

 

I know that you probably very upset but like I said $8600 for a FD in decent condition with a blown engine is a decent deal.

I think that is a bad move. Remember you took the car to JER to have it checked out. Since that mechanic gave it the green light you are giving the seller "undisputable proof" that the car was fine. He WILL use that against you.


Good luck. Like I said the price you paid is very fair for that Rx-7.

 

Can you take some pics of the cars body and interior and post it...

$8600 is really a good deal. I got mine for $12,000 12yrs ago with 55,000 on motor and body.

 

The Japanese tend to only keep a car for 2-3 years then get a new one, so it's not uncommon for these cars to be broken down and sold for parts with very low mileage. They have a very large used car export business.

Also, the driving distances in Japan are very short, most people use trains to commute and only drive their cars fairly close to where they live.

I've got a 96 CRV with only about 35k miles on it and thats considered a pretty old car here.

 

Thank you.

 

There's definitely been some good advice given here. FWIW, I bought my 93 Silverstone Metallic FD in April of '07 with blown coolant seals (didn't know they were going bad when I bought it) and paid $14,000. Of course this was before the economy tanked, but still...The price you paid was not bad, all things considered.

 

Thanks everybody for the comments and suggestions, djseven, i'm sorry for the method of taking the guy to small claims, I guess it'll just makes me feel better if I confront him in court. I just feel like I'm incline to try something before I go for rebuilt. With everybody comments, I feel that I'm okay to have paid 8600 for a chassis, plus $250 for smog, plus w/e it is for registration sometimes next week.
Anyhow, an update on the car, I took the car to Neptune Speed in Huntington Beach, CA to have Yoshiya-san take a look. Yoshiya-san is currently doing a compression test, water coolant air pressure test, and diagnost the check engine light, Total of $80.
It rain lightly today, which explain why the car turn on even after I drove it and turn it off. Due to cold weather, I think the engine cool down faster, that is why I was able to start it at Neptune Speed. Yoshiya-san speculate that it might not be the coolant seal issue RRR noted a few days ago. It might be the engine harness, since the engine harness is old and all the rubber protection all gone. The reason the water gauge did not work was because it is not connected to the engine harness (which yoshiya-san notice). I will pick the car up in 2 hrs, will posted an update of what Yoshiya-san said and the pictures of car exterior and interior.

 

Unfortunately, I came back at 5pm, a little early, so Yoshiya-san has not done the compression test , water coolant air pressure test, nor diagnose the check engine light. Since I have school tomorrow in another city, so I've decide to pick up the car on Weds. Below are some of the pictures i've snap before I leave and some I've snap before.

 

Good buy for $8600 IMHO. Lots of aftermarket.

 

I've torn apart 5-6 of them with only one resembling an engine with close to 30k miles and even that one had blown apexseals and was supposed to be a gauranteed engine. There are some reputable engine sellers out there but they are few and far between.

 

Yeah I guess that probably has more to do with jackass resellers. I've taken apart 4 recently for spare parts and to get some good housings/rotors for my rebuild. All were in good condition except for the ridiculous amount of carbon buildup and the blocks not being drained of coolant.

I think a lot of the problem is that they usually don't drain them, and the months they spend sitting around causes a lot of problems with the irons.

Regardless, I don't know why anyone would just buy a used engine and drop it in without cracking it and rebuilding the internals (with the exception of those resellers who actually test them). Pretty expensive gamble.

 

Are you blowing out lots of white smoke on startup? Are you losing coolant/is the alarm coming on? It should be fairly easy to diagnose whether it's your coolant seals or not.

 

+2

Forget about small claims.. all you're doing is wasting your time. you took the car for an inspection before you bought it so technically its not the sellers fault.

just pull the engine out rebuild it or replace it you should be thankful that you didnt pay 12k for it with a bad motor now you know what's wrong with the car and you can fix every single problem that it has.

 

to the op, you could make some extra money by selling those body panels! especially the side skirts! and I bet that's not an "original" chaste white FD. check the VIN number, it likely was a VR or MB and then painted white. and strip the gold paint off those rims.

could also get a few bucks for you a/c setup. no need for that in Cali, thats what windows are for.

and whats going on in the rear hatch? is there something done to the fuel pump area or is that just extra parts hanging out?

and after your rebuild, make sure you don't blow your new motor without getting a PFC ($1,000) for all those "aftermarket" mods on there: fmic, open intake, open exhaust too? so don't neglect the ecu and fuel upgrades, without those your new motor == TOAST!

oh, and it looks like there's no air pump? The ast have been conviently relocated to there. I would gander the main cat is not stock anymore either... just curious how you got the car to pass smog for $250? would be quite difficult with no air pump here in Cali...

and without that airpump, the water pump pulley is not contacting fully with the alt belt, which means your water pump is not turning adequately for cooling -- maybe thats one of the reasons why the engines coolant seals are failing (although mileage is mostly the culprit). There is a thread about this (don't just tighten the belt, you'll phuk up the new bearings in your new motor), and you can get a pulley that extends the belt farther around the water pump pulley so it turns more efficiently. I just got mine and it's great!

and what is the condition of those turbos at 100k+ ? A new pair of BNR's will last you! ($2600)

sounds like you're a student? much to learn you have, but that is how it goes... along with your bank account, what little you may have there.

don't take the seller to cpurt, instead get your ride fixed up goooood, then take him for a ... ride! spread some love, not hate

Similarly, I picked up my FD for about $6500, as a roller, then spent another $17k, to get it back to stock. I still have another $5-6k to go to get it track ready again.

 

wrong direction there, 95k km is a bit less than 60k miles, still it's quite a bit.

best of luck man in whatever you decide to do. my 2 cents, save your time and money and just go to lucky7.

 

^ I think he was talking about the fact that mileage is usually reported lower than what it really is... not the conversion difference between kilometers to miles. I think he was also referring to miles, not km, but maybe he was... idk.

 

Now that I've seen pics I'd jump around all happy if I was you. forget small claims, you got that car for a steal even if it does need rebuilt.

Other than the stock elbow (blech).

 

i was just about to say that lol

 

You got a good deal if you ask me. I paid 8,500 for mine with a blown motor. Looking back at it now I wouldn't mind if I had to spend double that to have the car.

 

Yea you made out just fine. Under 9k with all those upgrades and what appears to be a nice straight car. I bought my last FD for 12,200 bone stock in excellent shape but with a known bad coolant seal. Got the motor rebuilt for around 2500 and was on my way. That was close to 5 years ago now though. All in all quit wasting your time and just rebuild the motor or get a new shortblock and move on.

 

Thank you everybody, small claim court is out of the question now. I just got new result from Neptune speed from Yoshiya-san. Yoshiya-san ran coolant air pressure test, it turns out fine, did compression test, I look at the number, it's 9.1-9.3 all across. Yoshiya-san said "your engine is great." Engine diagnostic shows up: knock sensor, engine coolant temp. sensor, throttle ..., and along with 7 other things. I do not remember, but yoshiya-san said that I need a new engine harness, cuz mine is missing wires and it's really in bad condition. Also need body harness . No way should all of that codes shown up is what Yoshiya-san said. A member recommend that I buy an engine harness from Malloy Mazda (cheapest). Also I need a PFC since I have an cat-back exhaust and other minor mods. I was wondering how much should labor cost for removable and installation of engine harness?