I want to buy a rotary but...
 

Ok guys, I have this newfound love for Mazda, and I have been browsing the forums for a couple days, I want to buy an FD RX-7, but I am worried.
It seems that maintenance is by far the #1 issue with rotaries. I would love to have an FD and would be very dedicated to its every need, but my buget may not let me do so. Also, it would be my 1st rotary powered car so I'd be clueless for a while, and it just seems like everybody has something break every month and I would barely be able to afford the car in the 1st place, and I know I wouldnt be able to keep putting rediculous amounts of money into it just to keep it moving, let alone take it to the track.
Hopefully I am wrong, is there anybody out there with a relatively issue-free history with an RX-7?
Are all of you filthy rich?
Your thoughts please... that is all

My car was a daily driver for 1.5 years. Find a good car and do the basic reliability mods and you could go a long time without issues.

However, now it is my toy and hence spend alot more money on it in the name of higher performance.

One thing to keep in mind...they are almost 10+ years old...something sometime is going to break even if you don't mod it to the limits.

take a look at this thread if you haven't done so.

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...threadid=68640

These cars are a money pit. My car is is stock and I had the following issues: Luckily My service contract paid for it.

5th gear syncro I think it was like $1200 bucks
3 turbos at $3000 a pop (stupid service contract kept putting in rebuilt ones)= $9000
radiator sprong a leak $300
Since I had a service contract I had get service at every 30,000 increment through a shop $400 bucks x 3= $1200
clutch replaced & other misc stuff $800
Stupid pieces of interior plastic that tends to break and the only place that seems to have them is the dealer $500
New engine (which is being installed right now) $3100 plus misc stuff.

now there's other factors too like insurance and reliability mods that have to be performed on these babies
1) AST $150
2)Down pipe $250
3) aftermarket radiator $450
4) Fan mod or miata thermoswitch $35 (haven't done mine yet so don't hold me to it)
If you are on a budged this car is not for you. Trust me I have had 2.


Nothing is cheap on this car, and I mean nothing.

Now all of my problems were not as if the car didn't run (except for the radiator). But who the hell wants a sick FD???

There are many people who daily drive their FDs on this forum with good success. The problem is that the car is now 10 years old and there is no way of knowing what was done to it in the past. Most of them have been abused in some way or another. It is - after all - basically a street legeal race car.

The maintainance bills will add up - thats for sure. If you don't have money to take care of things quickly you will have problems. My suggestion to you would be to try to find one with a blown engine (or very high miles) that is really cheap. Then rebuild the engine and turbos. At the same time perform the reliability mods and get a new radiator. At least this way you would start off fresh and be able to treat the engine right FROM THE BEGINNING. Don't go overboard with the mods and do them right.

My final piece of advice would be to READ! It is unbelievable how much information is on this site alone. THere are also many other good sites:

http://robrobinette.com/
http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/

Good Luck!

When I bought my first FD, it had 60k miles on it. I put almost 20,000 miles on the car the first two year's I owned it. In those two years the car was relatively stock with just a cat-back/intake/clutch. It didn't break down once.

It wasn't until I got stupid with boost and careless with mod's that it finally kicked the bucket almost three year's after I purchased it. :)

In my year of ownership nothing has really gone wrong.

A few times the check engine light has came on and I've fixed those problems. Bout it though.

I've added a DP, Silicone hoses, and a Miata Thermostat to help the reliablity. But it's had no issues for me.

Nik

Mine is not a daily driver. Having said that, most of the money I have spent has been for "toys". I didn't need a new ECU, or 99 spec. tail lights, or springs, etc. My car has been reliable in the 30,000 km I've put on it. I've replaced rad. hoses -before- they went bad - $50. I replaced the fan belt -before- it failed - $25. This is not big money. Especially for the fun you get driving the car. Tires are another matter - good quality set - $1000+. And they don't last too long on this car. Mazda parts are very expensive. You can get some of them aftermarket to save some money.

If economy is your goal, get an Acura, Toyota, or Honda. The RX-7 is a true sports car, and sports cars are high maintenance vehicles.

thanks for the replies everyone, I'm going to be researching for a while, those links are very informative...

Also remember that you're primarily going to see posts of people who have problems. No one ever posts "I got in my car this morning, it started up, I drove to work, then later I drove home". The mundane isn't post-worthy. This is the same phenomena that makes my mom think the world is going to hell in a handbasket due to too much crappy magazine news shows :).

If you're intelligent and don't mind spending some time learning about the car and getting your hands dirty, there's no reason you can't do a lot of the work yourself on the car if it needs it. They're actually not that hard to work on, all things considered. The experience you'll get driving one is second to none, though :).

Dale

just bought my 94 rx7 with a 113,000. original miles
"on the original motor" so all this talk that the 13 b
will not last past 100k......is just that a myth

grant it my car is bone stock the car pins me in my seat
now i plan on moddin it but just thought id share
my story

JOHNNY

Yes, I'm filthy rich;)

I know this is in the FD area, but if you really want a rotary why not skip the FD and get an FC. Lower price to get into ownership and without the twin turbo set up costs are not as likely to get out of hand. You can learn about rotaries with that car and then when you are ready take the step to the third gen.

Novadan67 has it right.
Buy one with blown engine, that's how I got a 20K$ car for about 9K$ then get to know it by doing all the work yourself, except the actual rebuild, send it to a Pro. When its out of the car you can do the hoses, rebuild the turbos only if needed.:cool:

I have had an FD as an "almost daily driver" for about 4 years. I have installed an aluminum AST because the stock unit leaked ($100) and an efini Y-pipe ($250) because a couple of crossover pipes broke. That is it. I run the car reasonably hard. Every day it sees the north side of 4000 rpm.

However, the car is basically stock and I am meticulous about the maintenance. There are no downpipes, mid pipes or intakes etc. I change the oil and filter every 1,000 miles. I change the fuel filter, air filter and coolant every 10,000 miles etc. It is always garaged (at home and work) and I live in a pretty benign climate. The car still runs strong and looks good.

If you have concerns whether or not you could afford to maintain an FD, you already have your answer. Some have suggested getting an FC. I think that's a very good idea. A nice Turbo II will be less than half what an FD will go for and will get you used to the whole rotary thing. And it's not like FCs suck or anything....good handling and braking and the TIIs are pretty fast.

no shit... I got my door blown off by a TII once.

Can't agree more. It seems apparent to me that you're trying to convince yourself you can afford something, that you already know you cannot.

Not being able to afford it and not knowing about it is not a good combination.

I wouldn't have touched a FD if i never had a TII to learn from.

entry price on FD's are just too expensive for a test subject.

I had a FC years ago. To this day, it's still probably my favorite car I've ever owned. I love my FD, but it breaks my heart as much as it warms it. ;) I only had love for my FC (until I wrecked it). That was when I was young, dumb and full.... well, you get the idea.. ;)

I hear ya, Mahjik, my first 7 was an early build 79 GS. I still love that car and regret letting it go when I moved out here. I love my 95, of course, but I'll never forget that old 79. :)