today i looked at a 94 rx7, it has 49K miles, and the price is $9,000. It is in immculate conidtion inside and out, perfect vinyl, paint, seats, dash, everything. the engine is very clear and looks good. But it has engine problems. i dont know how long it has been sitting, the dealership got the rx7 about 1 week ago. The sales man proceeded to start up the car but he said he can only start it up, it cat drive. So he started it up, white smoke came out of the exhaust for like 10 seconds. then during idling it didnt really have an idle, the idle would go up and down slowly, it would go high then low and back to high and then low again. and about every 15 seconds it would backfire.But when the salesman put it up to 5000 RPM the problems disappear. the slaesman said their is no compression is on one of the rotary pistons or something i dont really know what he is talking about. the dealership said the will take it to a rotary specialist for it to be fixed for a fee of $2,500 and the problem will be solved. Im still looking into purchasing the car but i wnt to know what you guys think.One of my friends said it is the apex or something like that and it can be fixed, but also my friends dad says the engine is shot and it will never work again is tis true? What do you guys think is going on with the engine? can the engine be fixed back to normal? Should i still purchase this vehicle??? please help

 

Hmm... buy it and get the problem fixed buy the rotary place. Still sounds like a good deal. Heck or go get a new engine.

 

Sounds like a good deal to me, but I'm always looking for project cars...

A 94 in "good-immaculate" condition is worth around $16,500-$18,000 thousand depending on what part of the country to you live in. Even if the motor and turbo is toast, you could still: buy the car for $9,000, drop in a new mazda rebuild for $2,500, add in other misc costs and you're still under 13-14K! You could turn around and sell the car for 16-17K and make a few bucks!

From your description of how the engine ran I'd say you would need a new engine. It sounds like a bad apex seal.

I'd go for it since its a 94-95. Probably not a 93 model though...

 

Yep, sounds like it needs a new engine. If you can get that $2500 in writing for a working car, do it.

$9000 + $2500 would be great, however, I'll bet that $2500 price is going to be MUCH more once they actually do a real estimate.

 

The engine rebuild should not be more than 3500 max so thats 12500, that a great deal for a immaculate car with a fresh motor. even 15000 would be a good deal for an immaclate car with a rebuilt motor and 49k.
However since you dont know what loss of ccompression is in a rotor i think you should do some more rotary reserch before purchasing a RX.

 

yup, its definitely a blown motor. its fixable.

if thats the only problem with the car, then is a really good deal for 9000 bucks.

 

Buy, the car from the dealer w/ them installing a new engine. It is better this way for warranty reasons....make sure that the purchase price is $9000 + $2500 w/ the new engine. Let the dealership eat the rest of the cost...they made $$ anyway.

You are still getting a VERY good deal.

 

I talked to that guy about that car. It is in Miami. They have had that car for atleast 2 months. They did want $10,500 for it. The guy kept telling me over the phone that the pistons were bad. I didnt even start to try to explain it to him. My friend who lives down there went to check it out but no one was ever around. I got a real sketchy vibe from the guy over the phone. The engine is pretty much toast. From the sound of it there is no way to fix it. I would not trust them to take it to a specialist. Why wouldnt they do that in the first place. You have to ask yourself why wouldn't they fix the car for $2500. So they are in it for $11,500. Then sell it for $18000. I have been in the car biz and for the most part, trust me, if it sounds to good to be true then it probably is.

 

Normal Sales tactics....

They will not fix it unless they have a potential buyers commitment.

Again, it is better to have them fix it. Then provide you with a warranty. Make sure that the warranty covers the entire engine and turbos. Also have them go thought the warranty requirements...oil changes, tune ups, servicing...etc.

THIS IS STILL A GOOD BUY.

 

To add.

If you do not follow warranty guildlines, you will void it. Just make sure you follow it to the tee and keep every reciept!

 

I think that this car is a good buy for someone who knows what they are doing. But this guy sounds like he doesnt know a whole lot about them. Florida Dealership laws are alot different then NC. In NC you have to have the car pass state inspection before you sell it unless you sell it to someone out of state. Florida has no inspection laws. The name of the dealership is Illusion Auto Sales. I think that says enough. The guy I talked to told me that there is no warranty on the car becuase the engine was bad and he couldnt get one either.

 

I think that BlackScorpio has summed up the situation nicely

 

from your description...id gather it to be a find

 

that guy is jerking you around. he just wants to get rid of the car. he doesnt know what it is. go to him with your vast knowledge of rotaries. . . or a fake one if you dont have enough! tell him that this car is trashed and try to talk him down. tell him about how you have to take it to the mazda dealership to get a new engine and that that will cost a whole lot more than what he says. make sure that you tell him that the engine is shot. ask him to let you take it to the dealership to get a compression check. i guarantee that the dealership will tell you that the engine is trashed. show him the numbers from your invoice and proceed to the pitching. hehe.

 

be careful about rx7 in florida. they might have laundered titles from salvage or they're flood recoveries. pull back the carpet and look for mud or water stains and look for welds.