New to RX7club.. Should I buy this FD? *please read, advice needed*
 

Hey guys, as the title said I am new to RX7club.com. I am also new to rotary's in general. I have been into tuner cars for many years and I just sold my STI, although I know nearly nothing about RX-7 and rotary's. I have always liked the looks of the cars but have heard a lot of negative things about the motors. Anyway, I have been looking through craigslist for a new car and came upon a 93' RX-7. Here is some info on the car...


http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...6f435bdf37.jpg

93' Mazda RX-7 Twin Turbo
Color: Montego Blue
Interior: Tan
Mileage: 34,500
Clear title

Extras include:
Custom Wheels and Tires
OZ Mitao Front: 18 x 8.5, Rear: 18 x 10
Yokahama AVS Sport Front: 235/40 ZR18, Rear: 275/35 ZR18
Bra
Mirror covers
Painted calipers (Red)
Stainless brake lines
Aluminum Intake pipe set for cooling system
Mazda Speed Short Shift Kit
Jacobs Energy Core Plug Wires
Aluminum Air separator tank
M2 Performance Fresh Air Intake
Power pulley
Car cover
‘99 tail lights/turn signal assembly
PIAA driving lights
Upgraded door jam covers
Mud flaps
Tinted windows
Strut tower cross bar
Touch up paint
Lowered Eibach Spring Kit (3/4 inch) S
Proteck-R Full Lube 9 x 4 oz. bottles, 1 Gallon for refilling
Never raced or abused
All maintenance records and upgrade receipts
Dash cover
Shop manual
All original parts (except tail lights) (springs, wheels & tires (4mm tread measure to wear bar), air box, battery case, etc)
M2 Performance Battery Relocation Kit (no completed, includes small battery, cables, connectors)


MOVING ON...

It sounded like a nice car, so I went to take a look at it today. The car was very clean. When I started talking to the guy that owned it he said that it was a theft recovery but has a clear title (carfax shows it clean and only shows him as the owner). He picked it up at 4500 miles in 1993. He told me whoever had it, hid the car in a friends garage and reported it stolen and he thinks the guy just couldn't afford it anymore. He talked with a local dealer and the car wasn't missing a thing, so they gave it a clear title and he bought it. He has had it ever since.

Well, when we were out test driving everything seemed fine for a while. Finally we got up to around 3-4k RPM and heard a loud "pop" type noise. We pulled over and it turned out something cause the intercooler pipe to pop off and sent the clamp flying around the motor and shredded all of the belts in the front. I was told this could be that some of the ports are stuck from opening because it hasn't been driven very much. :scratch:

All in all, I did like the car and he said he was going to get all the belts replaced and have the motor checked out and provide me with receipts and paperwork for everything. He also said I could find a rotary shop or dealer and have them check it out too..

I do want this car, but any advice from all of you would be great! He is asking $18,000 obo for the car. I don't want to lowball him and he did say 2 other people were looking at it, so I was going to offer him $16k and try and negotiate from there. Is this a good deal? Let me know your opinions! :Wconfused

Sorry for such a long post!

THANKS :icon_tup:

Take a look at this page and read everything related to buying an FD.

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/faq-3rd-gen-other-useful-links-68640/

One of those will have a list of things to look for when considering an FD. If the car really does check out OK, (and having a rotary shop look at it is a great idea), then $16,000 isn't bad for a low mileage stock car. It has to be in good shape however.

Okay thanks! I'll take a look at that.. And overall the car does seem in good shape. It has the usual wear and tear from rock chips on the outside, but nothing major. The interior is in great shape and still smells new! I'm not sure how negotiable the guy will be.. He may not take $16k.. Maybe $17k.. I'm not sure.

i think what hes asking for is a good price, so anything lower than that is just bonus for a car with 50,000km or 32,000miles. just make sure your able to afford at least a few thousand more (2 or 3) incase something goes wrong right off the bat and then do all the reliability mods to the car as soon as you can. after that work on making it what you want.
If the motor is putting out 95+psi and the boost is 10-8-10 it should be all nice. make sure you check the hoses in the engine bay for wear and cracking... if their really brittle its probably due to excess heat and the engine has overheated in the past. theres deffaintly a difference between rubber deterioration and heat damage so if you can try and take a look at a few more rx7s before you jump on this one.

as far as negotiating its really what you feel comfortable with, 16k isnt so much of a lowball on 18k asking.... thats only an 11% cut. Often i try 20% right off unless something is deffaintly wrong with the car and the guy is out to lunch on his asking price. if your sincere in your offer and say it seriously he will be receptive to that and if its too low he'll let you know and you can work it out from there.

Yeah, after he gets everything back together I am going to have it checked out by 1, maybe 2, shops in the area. This is the first RX-7 I've looked at, but it is also the only one in colorado that seems decent for sale. :wallbash:

ahhh, well go look at them anyways even if your not interested. that way you have something to compare the car to when you look at it again and take it to the shop. dont be afraid to ask the shop some questions while their doing the inspection (if you can) or at the very least afterwards.

the first one i looked at was an automatic with a dead cat, worn brushings..the front dash basically falling apart (it seriously started to come apart during the testdrive) the sunroof only opened 5cm.... the car had overheated before, had a coolent leak, the turbos wernt boosting properly and the front suspension needed some attention. the dealership wanted $14,999 for the car with 160,000km on it LOL......the third one was at a dealership for $25,000, it was a "94" (the tag read oct 93..i hate dealers) with a blown engine... really nice interior but the car had deafently overheated as well...this time no testdrive though but the sales person thought it a good idea to immedialty start it up and rev the car to 5k.

Good luck, there two totally different worlds the sti and the 7, both of which I've been in and driven too many times to count. If you leave it as is and just finish up the reliability mods - cat-back - downpipe and AST, you should have yourself a nice reliable rx7. If you go mod happy prepare to spend $

Rx7's are reliable when modded corectly, go cheap on her and she will run your pockets dry...

I would buy it just because it has low mileage, the FD is the only twin turbo Japanesse car that did not come with a non-turbo option. IE: supra, 300zx, 3000gt, stealth. The FD will become a classic and will be worth alot of money in the future.

If you do buy this car, preserve it and buy a high mileage FD for regular driving.

The only other twin turbo Japanesse car to be a classic will be the 1991-1993 3000gt twin turbo. It had the aero package, awd, aws, soft and hard suspension settings and a valve in the exhaust to make it high flow under load.

Ben Meeker, New owner of Rotary Extreme.

if you say 16k he will probably meet you at 17k. its a nice car

Yeah, if it checks out it would be a great car and a very good price. Even his 18k asking price is reasonable. It is just a matter of him finding a willing buyer at that price. For many of us, money is tight and the high price of gas has cut deeply into our disposable income. Makes it hard to sell toys that burn gas like we breath air.

i'll be out in the denver area pretty soon...still trying to decide if i want to drive the FD out there or not...long drive from FL haha

Nice! you should let me know so I could see your 7!

Thanks for all the helpful advice so far guys! Hope I can get it checked out soon. I have a car I can use for DD, so I wouldn't have to drive it all the time. Is there much difference between the 93-95 years? Only things I have read is that the early 93's had paint issues and problems with the dash and trim pieces inside chipping off (which this car has that issue I believe because it has been touched up inside, but he has a dash cover on it to block sun). How would I tell if it has anything wrong with the paint? There are a lot of rock chips on the hood and front bumper.. but that seems to be normal wear and tear, especially in colorado..

And any advice on how that AST mod works? I read about it, but didn't really understand the description.. :Wconfused

Thanks again!:icon_tup:

It makes more sense once you can actually see the car.

Haha, alright that makes sense..

Would it be hard to swap the tan interior for black interior? How hard would it be to find? Not sure how much I like the tan..


Also, here are some more pics I got...

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...lblue/rx71.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...lblue/rx72.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...62786268ef.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...2120104002.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...3012008050.jpg

I say go for it. It looks like a good car, and as others have said, I think $17k would be a fair price for how many miles are on it. I am in Denver too, and I know how hard it is to find a good example of these cars around here. I finally just broke down and bought an FD that's in NC. (I have family down there and will be driving it back next month.) Mine is a lot like that one, it even has the R1 lip. So now there will be three MB FD owners in the Denver area :) (that I know of) If you do get the car, we should hook up and take some pictures :icon_tup:

If the paint has problems it should be pretty obvious, just like any car...flaking, cracking, oxidizing / fading, etc. It's normal for an FD that color to fade into more of a green color than the original green / blue, so don't worry about that.

From what I understand, the 1993 cars have several important recalls that need to be done:

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/1993/...lls/index.html

The other changes are minor:

"1994 Mazda RX: Improvements this year included a new "one-touch" feature for the driver's window, plus map pockets. Dual airbags were installed, and a softer suspension setting aimed to reduce ride harshness over bumps--especially in the base and Touring editions. Dashboards were revised slightly. A new option group put popular features into a single package. Three major option groups were offered: Luxury-oriented Touring (now with a power steel sunroof rather than glass); Performance (now called R-2); and Popular Equipment (sunroof, leather, and a rear cargo cover)."

Who are you going to have look at the car? I haven't been able to find a good rotary shop around here...

Nice! What year did you get? What color interior? How many miles? And if you don't mind me asking, how much did you pick it up for?

I am thinking about contact Precision Import Repair or ImportSports to have them look at the car..

It's a 1993 montego blue (MB) car with the tan interior, like yours. :) I got it for $15.5k, but it has 90k miles on it. It has quite a few mods though. Good thing is that it has a freshly rebuilt motor. I have heard Precision is the place to go for rotary work, but I've also heard bad things about them. You might try contacting Moe at SpeedImage---he's a great guy and does good work. I know he is familiar with 13Bs, but I'm not sure if he has the proper compression tester for a rotary. Whatever you do, don't take it to a dealership. Unfortunately there aren't a whole lot of rotary owners in Denver, so the Rocky Mountain section is pretty dead. However, look in there and you'll see a user named Mike B, he might have more insight for you.

Concerning converting to black interior...I like the tan, so I'll keep mine that way. But from what I've read, the conversion is easy, it's just finding the interior that's hard! (Black interior only came in R package cars as far as I know.)

Yeah. The tan doesn't look horrible. Just need to get used to it.. It has the all tan doors which I'm not fond of.. But the blue with tan does look more exotic in my opinion. And I have been talking to Mike B. He said it sounds like a good buy and he would offer $16k and have Precision check it out.

Yeah I was going to say $18K a fair price? It's good deal... man there's some broke ass people on here.

I'm buying a 93 FD here in Nebraska, just got to wait for the guy to get back, damn airline pilot, one of only like two. It's red with a black interior, touring, and I want the tan interior. I'm actually gonna be travelling to Colorado Springs in the next month to visit some family so maybe we could meet up and swap out the interiors. Just need to do some research on how, I can't imagine it's too hard.
:icon_tup:

Nice! We'll have to keep in touch and if I get this one then I'm sure we can work it out! I know some people that probably know how to do it.:icon_tup:

It's because most of us already own FD's. That pretty much guarantees a lack of cash.:)

^^ ha ha too bad it's true.

So I emailed the seller last night and offered him $16,000 for the car, and this was his response...

"I am in no hurry to sell the car. I realize that the NADA and Blue Books and everyone in the world have an opinion of value for the car. I have other people that are interested and I have just started this process so I will pass on your offer. If you would like me to keep you in mind if I change my mind at a future date I am willing to do that. As for now the price is still $18,000. Sorry for the problems Tuesday and I will have the car repaired and back in shape soon."


I responsed and asked if he is negotiable at all on his asking price, and if we could work something out... But he hasn't written back yet. He posted "OBO" so I figured he would at least counter my offer and say $17,000 or something... But I guess not?:Wconfused :icon_tdow

I reckon if it looks clean and sounds nice, buy it. They arent that complicated and you can work it out as you go.

Yeah, I'm just trying to get the guy to negotiate at least a little on his price. He has it listed obo and won't move on it one bit.. :wallbash:

what a guy... if hes that sloppy with the posting of the sale of his car then who knows how sloppy he was with the care of the car itself. Being firm on the price is a lot different than obo....

If I were you I would chalk this up to a pass and go searching for another fd - still keep your eye on it though and hassel him every so often.

If you're selling, and you have several interested buyers, you won't know the best offer until you hear from all of them.

What were you expecting, to be the first buyer on the spot and get $2k knocked off right away?

lol. You offer him 11% below his asking price on an all ready low price and you expect him to negotiate? He probably got insulted and now doesn't want to sell it to you now. Shit, that's what I would do.


Some of you guys seem to misunderstand what OBO means. It means pony up $18k or the seller goes with the highest bidder. By no means does it mean negotiate.

Like a said an FD in that condition for 18K is not a fair price, it's a rather good deal. I'm sure he has been contacted by many people and therefore actually has the luxury to pick the highest bidder without negotiating.

I dont understand why people have this assumption that old low mileage vehicles should be worth so much... All the parts are still going to be 15 years old no matter the mileage. I think 16k is very reasonable to offer 18k+ would be for the collector not for the driver... If you plan on driving it and not letting it sit in your garage collecting dust you should email him and let him know you are a serious buyer at 16k if you are willing to spend 18k I suggest you check the for sale section of 3rd gen. I will almost gaurantee you can find a FD with a low mileage motor, clean interior with reliabilty modds already installed Shipped for somehwere around 16k with the color and trim you would exactly want.. Just to let you know Montego Blue/Tan/ 93 touring are the least rare of all the models and trim. I would pass on this unless the buyer is willing to negotiate with you.

Chris

Why would any rational adult get insulted by an offer? That makes no sense at all. As you mentioned, OBO means that he wants $18,000 or the best offer that he receives. He just got an offer and he can add it to the list of offers that he presumably is getting. If $16,000 isn't the best he receives from a qualified buyer, he simply won't take it.

Well it all depends on who you are as person. Low balling can be perceived as an insult to one's intellingence or be viewed as one person may be trying to take advantage. Whichever it may be many times it creates an adverse reaction from the seller. He may not say "dude, get the fuck out of here with that shit" but he may certainly feel it and in this case the seller didn't get back to him.

But I will admit in real life I'm kinda of an angry mofo. So my blood boils at lower temp that most :)

Sooo, I have been talking with the seller.. He said he would sell it for $17,500.. I do like the car, I am just having second thoughts because of the color combination.. I have found a few others outside of the state but they are about the same price with much higher mileage and I won't get to know how the owners cared for them.. I just don't know what to do at this point... :wallbash:

Also, the only other thing I am concerned about is how this car will hold up.. I have another car to drive but I hate driving it and it doesn't run that well.. I am afraid I will end up driving this car a lot and not sure what will happen.. Other cars I have been looking at are either an S2000 or an M3.. DAMNIT.. I need to decide what I should do :scratch:

You've got a crush on this car. You're reacting emotionally and not thinking straight. #1 is that "incident" in the test drive. You shouldn't even consider doing anything more with this car until the owner puts the engine bay right and the car is in perfect running order.
On top of that he's bluffing about others being interested. If he had another serious offer he would have told you that. He's trying to pressure you into paying over market price. The car isn't that good that it's the only one you'll find. You've already said you don't like the interior color.

You're going through the typical buyer emotions. " Oh, Jeez.....if I don't take this one someone else will snatch it up and I'll never find another one this good again." Nonsense. Don't let yourself be manipulated. You're not paying enough attention to the negative things. They may seem small now, but if you owned the car you'd find them major bitches.

Hang tough. Either get this one at a bargain price or keep searching and eventually you'll find a car you like better. With gas at $4 a gallon the market has gone soft for these cars. You do know you'd be lucky to get 16 - 17 overall mpg in a FD, don't you?

So, do you think that $17,500 is fair or should I wait and see what else I can find?

First of all, the way I read your posts, after that "incident" in the test drive this car isn't even in proper working order. Why are you even considering buying a car that isn't running properly?

There's an old saying about used cars: "You're buying someone else's problem."
My guess is this guy may not even fix the problem. He thinks he has you very interersted, so he's going to try to sell it as is, or maybe he'll knock another couple of hundred off and tell you to fix it. BAD DEAL.

Don't even consider buying this car until it's fully fixed, you can see there's been no damage to the engine bay, and you take it on a test drive and it performs to your satisfaction.....that is, it reaches full boost with no *pops* or other troubles.

On top of this he's trying to push this car at several thousand dollars above market value, and the market with the current price of gas is soft. He's hoping some starry eyed person will come along who will buy the car on fantasy and emotion and not ask too many questions.

I've bought and sold a number of cars. I know the look. You can tell when a potential buyer has fallen in love with the car. Any questions or problems that come up are minimized, "Eh, that's not a big deal. You can fix that easily."
The buyer talks about the car, he keeps touching it and feeling it, you (the seller) keep talking about the money. Keep pressing for the money. Tell 'em it won't last long 'cuz this other guy is real interested too. That seems to be where you are now.

In these situations I set standards and then I let the circumstances make the decision. This way I don't get stuck in a bad deal. If you really like this car, and I'm not convinced you're completely sold on it, I'd first make him fix it and take it for another test drive. Then I'd give him a standing offer of between $13k - $14k and walk away if he doesn't say yes. Make it a standing offer. If he says no, say "OK, well you've got my offer and my phone number, give me a call if you change your mind." Let him think on it for 2 weeks. This is a tactic that has worked several times for me.

You're in Colorado. There are FD's in Colorado. This is far from the only one. If it were me, I'd either get a good price, or I'd wait for a car that's closer to my ideal.

im with JMaxx08 ... just sit and wait on it. theres no need buying something thats expensive just to have it sit in your garage while you fix things and then it ends up that over half the summer is gone and BAMMM no driving for you.



"I just close my eyes and pump"

No, do not buy that FD.

I agree with you, except for one thing...FDs are very rare in Colorado. It is not "far from the only one"...FDs are few and far between around here. I have only ever seen one on the sreet in the last two years I've lived here, and I'm always on the lookout. In person, I've only seen three other FDs up here...one is owned by Mike B, the other is in a shop and isn't running, and the other is owned by a guy that I met at a local car meet. Also, in the last three months that I've been looking for an FD, I've only seen three for sale here. One is the car that this post is about, the other is a red one that's still up on craigslist, and the other, the owner changed his mind and kept the car. Because of this, the price of FDs around here is often above market value, not below. I think $16k would be a reasonable price, but $13-14k is just too low...I sure wouldn't sell one for that price.

Yeah, I need to let the guy know tomorrow whether I plan on getting it or not. The lowest he will go is $17,500. So I just need to decide whether it is worth it. I don't want to get the car and it ends up being just a headache for me if I start driving it more.:scratch:

I agree.

I would let it pass and keep shopping. Odds are good he'll call you back in a few weeks.