Its hard for me to compare the 7 to other similarly performing cars because I haven't owned any, but I would budget $1500/year on maintainance and repairs. As far as reliability goes, 3rd gens aren't really unreliable if you take good care of them, its more that they will totally self-destruct if you neglect them even a little, unlike most cars where you can slack a little and not do any damage. Also, you can make them a lot more reliable with the right mods, but also totally screw them up (and I mean totally) with the wrong ones. Like any powerful machine, its all in the operator.

 

Nathan Kwok...very well said. I have owned my RX-7 for 3 years and love it. I will never sell it and my car is daily driven. I have never ran into major problems with the car. The only problem is that my ic hose keeps on cracking on me. I have changed it numerous times. The good thing is that it only cost me $25. It really comes down to how well you take care of the car and how the other owner takes care of it. Make sure to get a compression test before purchasing a RX-7. The compression test will tell you the health of the engine. Make sure to get this done at your Mazda dealership or from a rotary specialist. Good luck.