gsterror

Hi, I'm new to the third gen section and have something to ask.

I've found a 1993 base model in white. It's in great condition, with the exception that there's a nice sized dent in the driver's side fender.

They want 10,000 for the car. It starts on the first crank, smokes blue for about twenty seconds, and idles at 800. It spools just fine, no problems I could see. The interior is tan leather, one large tear on the upper part of the passenger side. All gauges work.

94,000 original miles, never wrecked, maintained constantly, never overheated, no problems to speak of.
Could probably use new tires (they're at about 70 rear 80 front, so I dunno)
I know the common problems to look for, I know how to search

What I DONT know is about how much that fender will run me and if that's a fiar asking price for the car.

Also, I've had an 82 GS for years, and was raised in it (uncle owned the car). I know the rotary.
Will I be significantly surprised by anything in the FD?
I'm not talking about the power aspect. I'm no stranger to power (my friend owns a tuned Buick Regal with around 310 HP and 350 or so Tq). And, thanks to the FB, I'm no stranger to performance.

The FB is my daily driver. It' mildly tuned and is just fine for the purpose. The FD will be my weekend car/ Impress some chicks car. I use the FB in SCCA, and just might replace it with the FD.

I'm torn between this and a later model MX5. I love the rotary, but I'm wondering which would be better for my cause.

Thanks,
Danny

7racer

The fender should be cheap to fix. How did he get the dent?

Anyways, if your coming from a NA then you should double check some things on the FD.

To determine a "fair" price I would get a compression check and check the turbos. That's were most of your money will be spent if something is wrong...especially considering you said it was the originall engine.

For example, you never mentioned the boost pattern when you test drove the car.

gsterror

I'll go back again with the cash in hand to check that. It felt real healthy and peppy, but I don't know FD's. I don't know the exact compression numbers, but it feels MUCH stronger than my car, which had the motor rebuilt just a couple years ago (40K on the rebuild).
The suspension feels good, and the guy said he just had it checked over by his mechanic.

He claims to have every receipt on money he's spent on the car, and there seems to be a good thirteen years worth of papers in there. It even has the original owners manual.

His son got pissed at him and slammed the fender with a baseball. The dent looks about right to cover the story.

I'm no newb to buying used cars, and I know the general process. I've looked at more than a dozen FC's, five of them being turbo, and know what turbo problems feel like. This car seems solid to me.

Based on this information, is 10,000 a fair asking price on this car? It doesn't have a spoiler (not sure if that would have a bearing), but I like that :P

7racer

no, doesn't matter if it has a spoiler or not.

I think your missing the point. The seat, the fender, spoller, etc... is all cosmetic and cheap to fix or add. Only worth negotiating a couple hundred in the price. A new turbo and rebuild is a concern. That's where you can hassle the costs. That can change the cost of the car by several thousands of dollars.

On these cars it hard to tell what the normal turbo feels like if you have never been in a properly function FD with stock twins. If you don't know then just bring a boost gauge with you next time and plug it into the middle nipple on the UIM and do a run. Hopefully he has one installed so you don't have to. You should see a 10-8-10 pattern. If you don't know what that means you might want to skim this link:
Goto "B"
https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68640

I would think that if it was in perfect running condition (good boost pattern, good compression). Clean and well kept interior. Good paint. etc...that 10000 would be a fair price. Probably could get it knocked down into the 9k range.

gsterror

Yeah, I knew the spoiler wasn't a big money thing, just mentioning it because I like it :P

I would think the fender would be a bigger thing (you know, body damage and whatnot), but I don't know and that's why I asked.

The mechanic that takes care of his car is a very reputable business, and only takes orders for high tuned Japanese, German, and British cars. I trust the diagnosis of a solid car.
I'll drive it again tomorrow to test the boost pattern.

I'll also see how much to talk him down.

And now for the other thing. For what I'm going to use this for, would you advise this car or the NB MX5?
I have a total of 16,000 to spend on this project, and I want a nice, clean Japanese car, and these two cars fit the bill quite nicely.

ReadyKW

I would be suspicious of the white paint. I bought a new RX7 in 93 and white was not offered. I still have my 93 brochure and white is not listed. White was offered later, probably 94.

gsterror

Thanks for the heads up! This is the kind of off the wall information I was looking for.

I was told it was original paint and everything.
I'm going to see about that tomorrow, then get back to you guys with his answer.
Thanks again.

silverTRD

iTrader: (37)

definately check the boost pattern. and tell him you want to start the cold so he warm it up. thats always a good test for any used car IMO. let us know what pans out

gsterror

I caught him at seven in the morning for the test drive. It started cold, trust me. He let it idle while we were talking, so it warmed up right proper and whatnot.
Thanks again, guys.

gsterror

Okay, did a LOT of research on it today.
He never TOLD me the paint was original. He got it repainted at the local Mazda dealership two years ago because he wanted a white car, and the red paint was fading.

There was no accident, that's for sure. He showed me the receipt for the paintwork and there was no major bodywork on there (He did, however, get raped at 6 large for the paintjob).
It's a great paintjob, they even got the bay, the doors, everything, so I don't care that it isn't original.

The boost pattern checks out fine. It revs fine.

I can talk him down to 9200, and that's the least he'll take.

I've also found a 99 Miat for 6000. It's in perfect condition, in what LOOKS like the FD MB paintjob, but it's been 'modded' (Cheap CAI and all that rice crap), so I don't know how much I'd have to spend to get it back to respectable levels.

The question is: Do I jump on the FD or wait for another deal. When I first started looking for a 'newer' car, FD's were no lower than 14 for a decent, running FD. This isn't just a decent running, it's a GREAT running, GREAT condition FD. IS this still a fair price?

Thanks again,
Danny

jic

iTrader: (1)

did they make cw in 93 stock?

gsterror

Cw?

quicksilver_rx7

If you're looking for a nice, clean RX-7, I had mine for sale and would still consider selling it for the right price.

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=444580

gsterror

Sorry man. You're too far away, it's the wrong color (HATE silver cars), and the wrong price bracket (I want money left over for performance modifications).

Thanks anyway!

Bad_Karma7

You sound like you're already sold on this FD, did your research, what advice are you wanting? The fact that we all own FDs might a good indication of what we're gonna say. Buy the car already!

CantGoStraight

No they didn't and the guy told him it had been repainted.

weetbix13

my advice... from what i have heard.
pick it up cause the price is good... wait 6-12 months before modding because you are going to find some 'unique' qualities that each FD seems to have... if all is good, maybe do a teardown and replace old/worn parts, that way you can be sure it is strong before you start modding the bejesus out of it.

spending 6k on performance mods with some 90k original miles is FD engine suicide!

scotty305

iTrader: (2)

^^ I agree with weetbix13. Buy the car if it runs well (have you checked that the car is actually producing a proper 10-8-10 psi boost pattern?). Then save your extra money for a new engine, because 90k is getting a bit old for an FD motor. I know that there are some people who make it past 100k on the original engine, but it's not common from what I hear.


-s-

cabaynes

iTrader: (4)

9200 is a deal, take it.

WolfpackFD3S

That price sounds pretty decent, a lot better deal than what I got my car for.

I hate silver cars too, but silver FDs are different, they are absolutely gorgeous. To bad you live all the way across the country, Quicksilvers car looks amazing in the pics I have seen of it.

gsterror

Well, I'm the PROUD new owner of an FD

I'll have pics in the next couple of days.

When I say performance mods, maybe I'm not talking about what most people think.
Like I said, I grew up with rotaries, so I know what to do.

First, I'm doing a full tune-up. But, I don't just replace, I upgrade
Shocks, springs, plugs, wires, everything, is on the 'upgrade' list.

I'm going to wait to do any REAL power mods until the motor craps out (or starts looking tired). Then I'll tear it down, add some stronger seals, and port it (I ported my own 12A and me and my uncle ported his GTUs's 13B6P).

The interior is nice. . . it's making me second doubt stripping down the un-neccessities :P
I've already ordered some nice Toyo's from the local tire shop. I'll put them on myself because I don't want those junkies touching my car!

I'm already doing my research on brakes, suspension, and reliability mods. With around 3-6G to put in this, I think I'm in the healthy run!

weetbix13

Congrats!

gsterror

Thanks! It's all I can do to not just go out and drive it all night, but I'm waiting for a friend to get here.

gsterror

Okay, I've already got some questions.

Racing Beat offers two sets of plug wires: Race and Street.
I'm leaning toward the race, but will this make my car "unstreetable?" I don't see how it would, but I'm asking the people that would know.

Racing Beat also offers a "Suspension Package." This SEEMS like a great deal. The description's a little un-detailed. This includes springs, shocks, and swaybars, right? Is there a better deal for suspension out there?

Which set of Hawk pads should I get for my application? (SCCA and Weekend car). I can have squeek, but not too much, since this IS an impress the chicks car

The Powerslot rotors look okay, but they're slotted. Will I see any durability issues with the slotted rotors?

I like RB's front bumper. . . but is it actually functional? I don't want anything on my car that's not functional (AKA "RICE")

And finally, do either of the available Foam Air Filter Element's actually change performance / gas mileage? At all?

Thanks AGAIN for putting up with my newbishness,
Danny

gsterror

Anyone in the know on this? I looked at the SCCA rulebook, and realized that I'm up against Vipers and 'Vettes. I'll need the best parts I can get, I think