Hey everyone..

I've been looking at buying an RX-7 for some time now, and I'm starting to get semi-serious. Right now I'm stuck between a Mazda Miata (1999 or greater) or the RX-7. I like the Miata because it's convertable and it's going to be easier to find places to repair it, but the RX-7 has had my eye for awhile, I like the look and the uniqueness of the engine (I'm talking third gen though, the first and second gen are not my type). The RX-7 also has the advantage of being a hard top - and since this is going to be my primary car, when it snows that tends to work nicer than the soft top miata (not that I couldn't buy a hard top for the Miata..).

My main questions are...

1) How much should I expect to pay for a third gen with say, 50k miles on it?

2) How long can I expect the engine to last before I start having to do serious repairs?

3) I'm sure I already know the answer, but how good (durm.. bad) does the RX-7 do in show?

4) Average MPG

5) How does the RX-7 compare to the Miata in speed and size?

6) Pretty much anything else you can think of that would help a prospective buyer.

Thanks for your time!

 

1. check www.kbb.com
2. depends on that particular car's history. If you get over 100K miles out of the original engine, you're considered lucky.
3. The car is very powerful, and pretty light too. Not much fun in the snow. Buy a Subaru.
4. check www.edmunds.com for factory specs , I usually get 17mpg for highway cruising at light throttle.
5. It's bigger and a lot more powerful. I've seen well-prepped Miatas beat FD's at autocross racing though, they're a lot lighter.
6. http://www.rx7turboturbo.com/robrobinette/buyaused.htm

-s-

 

1) Ouch. That's higher than I thought. Might have to stick with the new Miata for now

2) Again, ouch. I'm on 105k miles on the Miata and still going strong..

3) Figured as such. I'm amazed the Miata does even OK in the snow.

4) Ugg.

5) That's the general draw of the Miata, lighter, but with less power.

6) Well, that pretty much kills it. There's no way I can support the cost of this car right now. Maybe later on for fun, but I need this as a daily car, which the RX-7 appears not to be. I'm also not very good yet at repairing cars, and it appears the RX-7 is pretty complex.

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

 

If you want a daily driver with punch, get the Miata, then pick up the FM II kit @ Flyin' Miata. They're in your neck of the woods in Grand Junction.

Here's my old car:

http://www.geocities.com/fmii_miata/r_pkg.htm

Not as sexy or exotic as an FD, but just as fast - 240 HP @ 12 PSI. It got ~20 MPG and had zero reliability issues.

 

My main answers are...

1) How much should I expect to pay for a third gen with say, 50k miles on it?

6-20k

2) How long can I expect the engine to last before I start having to do serious repairs?

you cant expect it to last very long before something small makes your car go down (its a 10 year old sports car, people not in the know do drive them very hard and hardly do maintainance)

3) I'm sure I already know the answer, but how good (durm.. bad) does the RX-7 do in show?

??? what show. civics is where show is! you can pack so much ICE in to one that a FD can never compete.

4) Average MPG

8-13mpg

5) How does the RX-7 compare to the Miata in speed and size?

miata is amazingly smaller then a fd yet i see much taller people always driving them hehe. as for speed, miata can be fast if modified but anything can be fast modified (ever see those 8 sec pintos ) in anycase, stock for stock, fd ownes a miata. as for handling though... miata might actually be better

6) Pretty much anything else you can think of that would help a prospective buyer.

have 5-7k in cash on hand for a new engine and your good to go. if you want it, buy it to tell you the truth, if you got a paying job (even minimum wage) and can accept that you must sink about 1-2k in maintainance alone in to a fd every year, you can easily afford one. the only thing which will probally stop you is insurance.

Thanks for your time! [/B][/QUOTE]

P.S. if it were me and i got a miata... can you say V8 miata

 

Just remember, about 70% of the available cars are 92 models. Sales dropped big time for the 93, 94, 95 sales.

This means that your expected car will be around 12 years old. So don't expect a perfect or new car. Take into account 12 years of sports car driving.

then get out there & enjoy

REgards

 

heres an idea dont buy the fd and go for the fc there alot cheaper

 

That depends. The car is old enough now that you could argue that among low and lower mileage cars, there's not as much difference. In the northeast, I've seen asking prices between $15-20k(!). Do a search on autotrader.com and see for yourself. The 94-95, CYM color, and M/T are more costly due to demand. I hope you're not considering an auto.

It's been 10 years. Suspension bushings, motor mounts, transmission synchros, vacuum hoses, coolant system tanks and hoses, all of them suffer due to heat and age. All of these cars will need minor-moderate repairs if driven daily. IMO this car is a poor daily driver unless you can handle lots of maintenance as soon as it's necessary. The best you can do is buy a mostly stock car with a rebuilt engine, reliability mods and maintenance completely kept up, that way you won't have a long laundry list. I would still consider full price a stock car with 50k and original engine IF: the engine passes compression test, coolant pressure test, and the owner proves regular maintenance (coolant, oil, and fuel filter changes). Otherwise, I would deduct according to condition. By far, interior and exterior condition are most difficult to restore, so I rate that very highly. If I bought again, I would let interior/exterior determine which car I bought, and engine/maintenance records dictate the price.

Bad, unless you're used to driving a lightweight rear-wheel drive, low-slung car in snow. I would never do it, and I consider myself a capable snow driver since we get some snow conditions here in PA each winter. It's much smarter and better for you and your 7 to simply have a daily driver.

15mpg, mixed driving, stock engine/turbos. Do a search and you'll get much more data.

Stock, the 7 out-accelerates by a bunch. It takes a heavily modified miata to out-drag it. On an autocross course, I'm not sure buy the stock miata may beat it with good driving.

Keep reading the sticky threads, 'Important' threads, and get to know the common problems with stock cars. Reliability mods, bad coolant seals, bad apex seals, blue smoke, white smoke, steam in exhaust, 3k hesitation, compression test, coolant pressure test, 'champagne bubble test', synchros, overheating, pillow-ball bushings, boost gauge, 10-8-10 pattern, vacuum hoses, solenoids, downpipe/pre-cat, are all excellent subjects to learn about before buying. You'll get a lot of aimless advice to 'Search, Newbie!' - this is what I suggest you search on since there are a million topics in this list.

The FD is a passionate drivers' car. If you don't have the stomach, patience, or wallet for it, go with the Miata. It's a fantastic car that doesn't test your intangibles as much, and most of us would respect that choice. (Just don't buy a focus or something, k?)

Dave

 

my engine lasted to 127,000 before first rebuild of course I baby the car most of the time.