Pre-Purchase Inspection - NoVA/MD
 

Greetings.

Obviously pretty new here but have been interested in the 3rd Gen since they were introduced. I have decided to buy one. Looking for a stock R1 or R2. I found one locally with pretty low miles - 40K. I have read a lot about inspections and test drives. I feel pretty comfortable in general but would like to get a professional PPI. Any suggestions in the NoVA or MD area? Is a PPI typical for these cars?

Thanks for your help!

Curtis

I would just try to located a local rotary shop, or a automotive place and have them give it a good inspection, have them check for leaks, and such. If its stock then Mazda dealer will most likely run it thru inspection as long as it is bone stock.

How far are you from Metuchen NJ? Probably not around the corner but worth the trip :icon_tup:

www.IRPerformance.com

You might be better to buy one with higher miles and a new motor than take a chane on a low milage stocker. I bought a project car with 54k orginal miles that a guy had started to convert over to a single turbo and lost intrest in. After doing some reading and pm people it was suggested to do some motor work on the stocker or it was going to fail. I ended up tradi ng it and cash for one with a street port and 3mm seals.

Where in MD are you?

Regards,
Crispy

^^let this man check the car out for ya, it'll be money well spent :)

I was gonna say crispy or try to set an appt with PFS

I am in the Columbia area and the car is in NoVA.

CC

Yeah, there are plenty of owners in the area that would probably be willing to give the car a once-over for you. Also, like allrotor93 said, PFS is in (Frederick) Maryland and not too far from you if you want a professional/shop opinion that's relatively local.

As you can see, many things about the FD doesn't fit into societies normality of car ownership. It's a specialized car, community, and shop that will prove beneficial.

I don't want to seem brash, but if you don't have enough knowledge to perform a pre-inspection yourself, you must be prepared for a large expenditure in the future. This is the way FD's are. You need a lot of knowledge or money. If you have little of one, you'll need a lot of the other.

You will not find an FD that doesn't have some sort of issue that needs addressed. Whether it's a reliability mod, major repair or a simple broken interior piece, these cars have continual issues. Get used to the idea. The key is to find a well sorted car with minimal issues and a good maintenance history.

Good luck OP, and welcome to the community.

Research, research, research...

Thanks for the welcome, I think...:scratch:

I realize it is a specialty car and it has issues. They don't scare me but they are a concern. Why not ask for some guided assistance when looking to make such a purchase? That is why I have been lurking here and joined the community.

I have been playing with cars for many years and am comfortable with this particular car in general. But someone - either in the community or a specialty shop - that can offer a better opinion by looking for certain tell-tale items could be invaluable. No? Many reccomend a compression test to tell health of seals. I don't have that $pecialty tool. When I bought my Testarossa I had a professional look at it even though Carfax was fine and my inspections/test drive was satisfactory - just like this particular R1. During the inspection I learned a lot from him about the TR in general and the car in particular. Money well spent.

Though I may end up getting one out of pure dumb luck, I am not looking for a major project car. Yes I am prepared to do the maintenance and preventative measures. I am not looking to hop it up, just maintain it and enjoy it. Afterall, it is such a beautiful car...

Curtis

Thanks. I thought about PFS and will see if the owner is amenable to that. Not that far away in reality.

Curtis

Hi Curtis and welcome to the forum. There are two threads for people in your area that you might want to subscribe to:

DC area thread ->https://www.rx7club.com/ne-rx-7-forum-30/dc-area-thread-district-nova-maryland-941319/
Md Thread -> https://www.rx7club.com/ne-rx-7-forum-30/maryland-guys-338198/

Regarding your inquiry, there are a definitely a few people in the area that are qualified to give you help with a PPI. If you want some suggestions I can ask around to see who has the time.

Professional garages: I'm sure you found this info from browsing the site but, there are very few (if any) shops in the immediate NoVa area. Most are a bit of a drive (1hr+). Since this is a PPI, I doubt that you will be able to get the owner to drive the car to any of them. I am going to assume that the owner of this car is not a club member and will only tolerate so much hassle.

In my opinion, the importance of a PPI by a qualified Rotary mechanic is directly proportional to how many modifications have been done to the car. If the car has been garaged all it's life, and nothing but consumables have been changed, then you probably just need a compression test, a test drive with a boost gauge, and you are good to purchase (noting that there are updates you should spend money on as soon as you get it. See: "reliability upgrades"). At the other end of the spectrum if there are any performance upgrades that have been done to the car make sure you get it to someone who knows their stuff. Even things that seem simple (like a mid-cat delete) can have immense affects on the car. I am not stating that the untouched pristine car will be any better condition then the modded one. It could be a basket case where the modified one could have been done correctly (such is the nature of these cars). My comment is only meant to imply that there are less things to verify if nothing has been changed.

I think you are taking this the right direction, you understand that (to use an old cliche) "you don't know what you don't know." If you want any help, feel free to PM me and I'll do whatever I can.

Thanks a lot for that great response. Very much appreciated! It's funny, I saw the MD thread once a few weeks back while lurking. I even searched for "Maryland Guys" but that thread did not come up. Now subscribed to both.

I may take you up on the PM offer. Thanks again!

Curtis

Curtis,

I definitely didn't want to come across harsh. We get all kinds here, and it's hard for me to tell your complete situation by your original post. As in, some are ready for an FD but don't have a garage, tools, much knowledge, or spare money to maintain the car. But of course, they are fully prepared to buy. You can see what I mean.

I just noticed that no one had pointed out what an obligations these cars really are. You speaking of a Testarossa speaks volumes. As others have mentioned, you are in a good area to own an FD. IR Performance, Peter Farrell and Speed One are all within reasonable distance.

Congratts on your decision to purchase the greatest Japanese sports car ever built. Take your time buying. Look for the perfect one :)

Take care.

No problem. I took a short cut and did not provide a lot of info about me or the purpose in my original note. I am used to online forums and don't take too much to heart. Got to have a little thicker skin to survive.

BTW - I had already considered all of your points. And even though it makes no common sense to pursue one of these cars, I am still so drawn to them... Wish me luck in my addiction.

Curtis

Haha, Curtis it sounds like you are hooked before you have even bought one.

Here are some things I thought of that you might want to make special note of checking when you decide to look at the FD. This is just a list of some common problem areas in the car.

Cosmetic:
Excessive front bumper paint chipping ('93)
Worn driver-side seat bolster
Map pocket door
Glove compartment
Outer door handles
Inner passenger door handle
Transmission tunnel cover (cracked plastic underneath the leather covering)
Leak in Hatch/rust under spare wheel

Mechanical:
Engine compression
Fluid leaks/consumption (exhaust appearance)
Cracks in underhood plastics (coolant expansion chamber, etc)
Click/Click/Start problem
5th Gear Synchronizer
Worn suspension bushings (clunks)
3000rpm hesitation
10-8-10 boost pattern
Worn clutch
Brake rotor warp

That is all I can think of off the top of my head. Again, this is like a cheat sheet for things to look for. If you want to read some more you can check the FAQ it has links like this one-> BUYERS GUIDE


Good luck :icon_tup:

I know the Paint is "brittle" - chips easily - but how does it stand up to paint correction? This car is in pretty good shape paintwise but I would like to get some of the typical swirl marks out of it.

Hoping for a purchase agreement before Christmas. Can't think of a better present!

According to others that have done a lot more investigation in the matter then I have, the reason for the chipping is due to poor adhesion between the paint and the primer-> See #23 This was a known problem by Mazda but it seems like from what I've read that they treated it on a case by case basis rather then issue an expensive recall.

I'm sorry I cannot give any personal experience with paint correction for the original paint as my FD was repainted prior to 2003 when I bought it. I have however seen a couple of FD's that seem like different cars after a good buffing.

Come spring I'll have 2 FD's to correct.

-My car has been repainted 360 ferrari red and needs some correction as maintenance to keep it looking perfect.

-My friends FD has original paint and is definitely showing its age as well as terrible swirling/defects.

I will post results when it completed with detailed before/after pics. Unfortunately it's not worth working on during winter. Too cold for my blood.