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'94 R2 with 81,000 miles. I bought it today and it is being delivered in the morning. From looking at the damage I am very surprised it was totalled. The core support is slightly bent, and that is about the extent of the damage besides body panels. It was in immaculate shape before it was wrecked. The pics don't do it justice. The interior is PERFECT. The drivers side cooler has a leak and the exhaust was taken by the previous owner, but it started right up.

So here's the real question. I bought it with the intentions of taking what I needed for my car (avatar, single turbo, 137,000 miles) and parting the rest out. But after seeing how incredibly clean it is and how minimal the actual damage is, I am thinking about just fixing it. I could swap all the goodies from VR FD to the new one, part out the rest of my VR FD and sell it as a roller. I just hate to sell a car with a clean title to end up with one with a rebuilt title though. Here are some pics of the car I have had for the last year and a half. They are from when I bought it, my engine will look much better. Also all of that purple nonsense was immediately sand blasted away.






Any thoughts on the new purchase or on my situation is appreciated.

 

Make one a track car and the other an around the town car, can't have too many FD's.

 

I saw that car on craigslist a while back. Silver R2's are pretty rare. Personally if there is no frame damage, I would repair it.

 

How are your body repair skills? I agree that car looks far to 'good' to part out.

 

I wish, but I am still in college and have a mortgage. Just having one FD in my financial situation is irresponsible enough. But I did get good enough of a deal on the R2 that I could probably part it out to get my money back and have a free roller. But my VR FD doesn't run yet, so then I would just have two non running RX7s. I guess I wouldn't be the first. =)

 

My best friend's dad has been building cars for years, so I do have a great hook-up on body work. But in all honesty, I barely could even get the money to buy it. I basically had to rob Peter to pay Paul. So the only way I could afford to fix it would be either selling my VR, or using the panels from it.

 

make one perfecly runing FD out of both and then sell the rest

 

It's the only place the guy advertised it, Columbus Craigslist. I asked about rx7club or Autotrader, but he said he always sells his Hondas on Craigslist. I think he would of had much better luck selling it if he would have actually advertised. Oh well, it worked out well for me.

 

But which one would you keep?

If it wasn't for the salvage title I wouldn't even have to debate it. Although I like VR FDs more, even if it is the most common paint code.

 

The silver one has a salvage title? If that is the case....I would cannibalize it and get whatever you need to get your VR in perfect shape....then part out the rest.
Don't know what you had to give for it but think about it...things like door panels and other interior parts command a high price when in excellent shape, and EVERY part on these cars has SOME value...a lot of them have huge cash potential.

In my opinion it makes no sense to have two non-running cars when you are somewhat, by admission, strapped for cash. Seems like you can kill two birds with one stone...get your car running AND make some cash back.

 

Yes sir it does. I also do realize what a full black 94-95 interior goes for. It's crazy. Bajaman, what you stated in the above post is exactly what my intentions were and probably still are. It is just so nice I am having problems wanting to tear it apart. You will see when I post more pics in the morning.

 

I would fix the silver car if possible but I wouldnt modify it extensively. The salvage title will kill the deal for 99% of your future buyers.

If you do part it out that black interior will fetch $3k on its own.

 

You beat me to it. If you decide to part it out let me know. I'm local and need parts!

 

I'd part out the motor and trans and sell it as a roller or fix it and put in an LS1.

Salvage doesn't bother me at all if I am doing the work. I look for cars just like this. I'd buy it with complete interior etc, but missing the motor and trans.

You are looking at about 4-5k for parts, labor and paint to make it whole again based on what I can see in those small pics.

 

I wouldn't invest money in a car with a salvage title. Even though it is a silver R2 and it is a pity to see another FD off the road forever, the salvage title is going to compromise its resale value no matter what you do to it.

 

Why focus on resale on a can that's only worth 10-20k? I'm not saying you don't want to factor it in, but for argument if you buy a salvage title car that's in decent shape and you enjoy it for 5 years about how much do you think you are giving up in resale? Is that amount worth the fun and enjoyment you had for those 5 years?

Salvage cars are great project cars and race cars. You can have a little more fun knowing they have been bruised a little.

 

I agree 100%. Although resale value should be considered, it should never be the end all. If I already didn't have one with a clean title, I would not hesitate to fix this car and keep it forever. As enthusiasts we build and drive cars for our enjoyment, not to make financial gain. When I do get lucky enough to make any money, it just goes to support my car habit anyways.

 

If you keep a car for 5 years or so you can rationalize quite a bit of money loss. However, what if he wants to sell in a year because he finds a more interesting car or needs cash, etc?

And selling a car with a clean title is painful enough; factor in the salvage title (very few people would buy car with one - I wouldn't - and many finance companies will not give loans for such cars) and you may be talking a 3+ month selling process.

Not focusing on resale value is a mistake that too many people make with cars - and then they get pissed at so-called 'lowballers' when they are selling because they are not expecting to lose so much money on their 'investment'.

 

airbag didn't go off? That one sensor looks messed up

 

No it didn't go off. I was surprised too.

 

Agreed. I guess I assume most people understand they need to think about the delta. If you buy a salvage you are getting a deal typically. When you sell you are giving a deal. What's the delta?

I think we will agree that not all salvage cars are bad cars. Not all buyers are scared off by a salvage title. Many people can afford more than once car and can pay cash to have fun with cars.

I accept for you salvage is not an option. With this in mind you have made your perspective known. Not much good is going to come from repeating this in a thread where we are discussing what to do with a car with a salvage title. We know you aren't buying it

I am fortunate enough that I am not that concerned about paying cash for a salvage FD to drop and LS1 into it to have a second or 3rd FD for a project. Do I think about resale. Sure. I factor in the cost of fun.

I'd wager that MORE people on this forum lose more money adding expensive mods onto a car than people lose in resale on salvage titles. I've seen cars with 50k in work going for 20k. I've seen 13k salvage title cars sell for 13k.

The older these cars get the less important a salvage title means. Insurance companies total cars for smaller and smaller claims.

 

if you decide to part out the interior i will take it off your hangs. cash in hand

 

Part it out. when you start seeing a good amount of cash flow =

 

I would defenitly continue working on the silver one. But that is mainly because I just hate red on any car that is not a Ferrari.

 

For me, red is a color that shows dominance. That is the reason I like VR FDs, and Red Ferrari's also. =) I was just watching Super Cars Exposed on Speed Channel and they showed a yellow Enzo. Didn't look half as good as a red one would have.