JedahZero

Hi all,

Hope this is the right forum column to receive some feedback for this particular question. Is it possible to get a good running FD-3S for under $10,000...possiblly w/ rebuilt engine? If not, I'll wait till later this summer to earn the rest of my savings to gather up an extra $5,000.

Also, how much more reliable are rebuilt engines and how many miles can they last if kept in good mechanical condition? I have a SUV right now and planning on having the 7 driven on weekends and some days throughout the week (short distances)...so definitely not a daily driver. The SUV will be my savior: groceries/carry huge car parts to car shop for some mods/etc/BURN MILEAGE ON!

Kiflin

Only way you will find a fd for under 10k with a rebuild is either going to be at a auction, or possibly a fd that was hit or wrecked from behind.

JedahZero

Hi,

Is $10,000 a good decent price then if I were to find it at auction or rebuilt salvage title?

Kiflin

Um, it all depends on what you want.

Miles?
Auto/Manual?
Color Interior / Exterior?
Rebuild or Original?
Year?
Salvage title?

Give me that, then I can tell you what price range your looking at.

JedahZero

Hi,

Lets see. I'm about to head out..but here's a quick stat w/ what I'm interested in. Thanks man. I'll be back in a short bit to respond. Later, Tim

- around 50-80K miles w/ rebuilt engine
- Manual
- Interior/Exterior colors...doesn't matter..gonna - paint/customize
- Rebuilt
- 1993...but 1994 if possible
- Salvage...argh...hmm...if only because the engine blew and was replaced ^_^

paw140

For $10K, unless you find a stupid seller or an auction or something like that, you won't find what you're looking for. With your expectations, your looking at around $13 to $14K at least, for a decent one.

And cars don't get salvage titles because they had blown engines. They get salvage titles because they were wrecked beyond economical repair.

Kiflin

Expect to pay around 13-18 for what you want, especially if its a rebuilt and quite mint with 50-80k on the odo.

Snook

iTrader: (12)

im in gainesville you can buy mine

sell the suv I'll take 18 for mine its nice

20bt2

my engine was blown i got a g/c body for about 2500

JedahZero

Hi,

Thanks for everyone's input. Okay, I'll be better off waiting 'til later this summer then since I'll have accumulated a lot more. Hahaha....nice try for me though. And out of curiousity..how much was everyone's 7's with general specs when you guys/ladies bought it?

By the way Snook,
You series about your offer? What's your specs. Perhaps I can pull out a loan instead.

By the way paw140,
Thanks for clarifying what a salvage title means. I've never dealt with a salvage title before...so I'm not sure what the terminology is for that.

rynberg

This in no way is meant to be an insult:

If you are trying to get an FD for that cheap of price, you cannot afford one. Period. Even if you do the work yourself, the parts prices alone are horrendous.

Let's put it this way, if you had an FD with only 50-80k with a rebuild, body in good shape, would YOU sell it for 10k? I think not. Out on the west coast, a car like that is $17-18k +.

Recipe7

i bought my FD a couple weeks ago for 8200 with 25k on a rebuilt engine. was cheap because there are a few scratches on the frame, no stereo system, drivers side window switch is broken, the trunk seperator is broken, the glove box is a bit shaggy, no floormats, and the seats are a bit non-mint heh

also both headlight covers were missing

i guess he didnt want to deal with the problems of the car before selling it, he coulda got maybe 12-14

RX7Elmo

yupyup, you got a good deal then because of the previous owner. But in reality, 10K might get you an FD with a blown motor, or a salvage FD, or the like. You'll need to spend at least 13K to get what you want if not more

memmi

Bout the cheapest "reasonable" FD I'd found when looking for mine was a silver 93 with the touring package. It had 93,000 mi and about 3,000 mi on the rebuild. There were many little cosmetic issues - stuck driver side door handle. torn seat. stuck gas cap. body work on 3 or 4 panels. And some mechanical issues. Car would die sometimes at idle and I did not get to toally test the turbos.

He wanted $15,000 but offered it to me for $12,000 because he was moving back to Korea.

It seemed like a very good deal/price but I passed and picked up a black '93 R1 with 39,000 mi for $16,500 instead. Actually I paid $19,000 but it came with a set of $2,500 Volk TE 37's (which I still yave yet to sell!)

SilkSilverFD

There is a few people on the forum selling their blown FD's between 5-8k. Look around and you'll find the right one for you. Good luck

EricM

If it is an an auto, it's possible. I bought my FD almost 2 yrs ago with 5k on the rebuilt engine and 5th gear sychro problem for $10.8k.

JedahZero

Hi,

Thanks again for input.

Never owning a 7 (rotary engine at least) before...I've owned and driven 3 regular piston cars at one point. Not trying to be cheap...but it's a question I had to ask since it's the first 7 I'll be picking up. I also wanted to see how much to spend on this. What I'm expecting to pay is around $13-15 or so for a '93, which seems to be the norm. The "$10,000 question" was the bare minimum for an "okay" 7 I guess.


An oh yeah, I'll work on the 7 if I have to touch up the car up a bit mechanically/cometically to make it fine (which I'm expecting anyways)...after all, the 7 is a high performance car w/ some good maintence needed. I'll make the amount I spend on it worth it.

mor

I just got my '94 FD for $9,000. 118K miles, perfect inside/out. But blown motor, waterseal cracked. I've spent probably around $2,000 to rebuild motor, rebuild both turbos, change all coolant hoses, change vacuum hoses to silicone, new waterpump, new spark plugs, street port templates, overhaul kit, gasket kit, new clutch, umm...guess that's it. So $11,000 for a really good FD is what I'll have after I'm done.

So either you get a running FD for more than I spent but not have to go through all the trouble. Or get a blown one from someone for cheap and you just might get your $10,000 FD.

ejmack1

I got mine for 8K 2 years ago with a brand new rebuilt engine

ejmack1

You got all that **** for 2K.... yeah right....

Kiflin

I got my first fd 6 or 7 months ago from a guy I met in Vermont. Its a 93 red fd with 49k on it when I got it. Needed minimal work on the paint as the fd's are known to need and it needed 3 new tires. I ended up paying 16,500 for it and I barely even put 6,000 miles on it and the engine blew. So now it sits in my garage and will be having the engine rebuilt sometime this summer. Meanwhile, I've been driving the durango while searching for another car.

PS: When I first test drove the car, when I broke 4,000 RPMS and let off the gas I felt this hard klunk / jerk which little did I know then was a sign of a major engine problem. And now here I sit, with a busted *** FD in the garage.

Make sure you read every little detail about FD's before you go buying one. You dont want to buy a 10-20k piece of metal that blows its engine on the drive home.

JedahZero

Hi,

Kiflin, yeah I heard of some stories of 7 engine's being blown.

I have a relative that is a car mechanic. He used to own his own Toyota/Mazda repair shop and occasionally a 2nd gen 7 would roll in since most of the Mazda's that came in were Protege 5's & Millenia's...not much 7's. But I have yet to ask him if he's at-all familiar with 3rd gen 7's. (I'll check). I may have him tag along when I look for a 7 later this summer...keepin' in mind some of important things to look for..mechanically and cosmetically.

R1Outcast

Got mine two years ago for $12000. Had 75000 original miles and is still in good condition mechanically (I baby my baby ). Paint job went south a few months ago but I can't get it painted because school, insurance, and rent takes all my money . It's a '93 R1.

JedahZero

Sounds like you got a great deal. Perhaps I can score one for that much too sooner than I think.

Wanna' sell it for $12,000? Hahaha

Sprockett

I paid $9000 for my FD. I bought it from a redneck who didn't know what he had. He was letting his daughter drive it, and she had those ugly-*** beads on the mirror and a wal-mart steering wheel cover. I almost crapped myself. It was pretty dirty, and it had 110,000 miles on it, but now it has a new engine, new clutch, new exhaust, new intake, new sound system, etc. and I still paid about what I should have paid for it in the beginning.