So ive decided to buy an rx7
 

I have read through the faq's and the various links post on this forum.

and i have a few questions.

Price wise, what am i looking at for an rx7 i have looked at a few on various websites but i do not know the true condition of the car unless i take the sellers word for it, before i start test driving i want to know the type of rx7 im looking for. Also most cars seem to be above the 50k mark so would it be better to buy and then rebuild, or buy a rebuilt engine. I am in england so I am assuming the prices will be more expensive with the current exchange rate.

in the same condition are 94-95 cars more reliable than previous 92-93's?

I plan to be driving the car around 3000 miles a year as i wont need an every day vehicle or be able to afford it.

I will be buying a stock car and pretty much plan to keep it this for a number of years apart from reliability mods will be done straight away.

I can afford the car now , but i cant afford to drive it (comfortablly, i would like a spare few grand in the bank) for around a year. Would it be better to be on the look out for a car now so i can get the car that is in good condition as i doubt the condition of these cars will increase over time.


here are a few ive been looking at

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/168283.htm


http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/167468.htm
I am rather alarmed that this car had a rebuilt engine so early, im guessing this is a bad sign?


anything else i need to consider?

if all of this is elsewhere on the website and i should have done a better search for it , i appologise in advance but the search function found me nothing and it would be quicker for you to have a go at me than for me to look through the archives :D

thanks


james

this is a question with alot of variables, (and all the prices are in american dollars for my examples) for price it would be anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 for a complete car or $2,000 it $8,000 for a roller it just depends on the condition the mileage and the mods done, just do a test drive and if your happy with the condition of the car as far as exterior and interior, then take it to a specialist shop and have a compression check and boost check done, if its high milage without a rebuild it shouldnt cost more than $15,000 and thats if its extremely clean and with a reliability mods done, if the compression check is good then you could go ahead and rebuild the motor, if it has low milage and the motor has been rebuilt then it could of been done to prevent damage to the housing, if you wait till it pops then it could be more expensive to rebuild so thats that exactly a bad thing, the 94-95 cars are not always more reliable just see if the TSBs were performed and that it was regularly maintained, and if you daily drive it then keep the stock turbos (just dont go single) and do the reliability mods and you should be fine, just be careful and do your research and dont rush into anything, and motors are usually good for about 50,000 to 55,000 miles (rule of thumb) but there are some people that have gone much higher just depends on how u drive and the mods u do, hope this helps.

and to let u know i paid $17,000 for mine and it had all reliability mods and a few performance mods, the motor had 800 miles on it and the chassis had 53,000 on it and the interior was very clean (no cracks in the plastic, driver seat was a little worn but im putting racing seats in soon) and the exterior had a few small dents and paint chipping but no rust, just remember that this is a 13 year old car :)

You have a different situation than most of us, being that you're importing a car sight unseen. Of course condition of the engine is hardest to evaluate, and compression is only part of the story. Low mileage is a partial assurance against engine problems, at best.

Also keep in mind that the prices for US FDs are higher than most other parts of the world. Canada I think has seen a price drop now that they are permitted to import RHD FDs. So you'll want to price shop carefully.

Dave

Don't go single? It's the best reliability mod I've ever done! The day I went single, I couldn't believe how much thermal relief there was under the hood. I could've sworn someone put a new AC in; I had always had to have the the AC at max before, but after the drive home from the shop in Austin, I had to leave it on fan speed 1 or 2 to keep from freezing. N/M ditching the hell on earth that is the 'rats nest'.

The only caveat is that all the supporting mods have to be done at the same time. Really no such thing as incremental upgrades in an FD. The fact that going single comes with a nice helping of extra hp is only icing on the cake.

he's right sight on seen is really hard i personally wouldnt do it, but if u could either go with one that has a fresh motor or have it rebuilt when u get it, but thats just my opinion

well i dont plan on importing, ill buy one off someone who has.

well the cars seem to range between £3.5k - £10k here in the uk and their mostly efini as there were very few made in the UK.

i am worried that buying a cheap fd will mean it has many faults. Apart from the checks that all the various websites advise are there any other problems i should look for? I am thinking of spending around £4k on a car without a rebuild or £6k for one with a rebuild or low milage, can any english owners tell me if that is reasonable? Rx motors quote £2.5 for a full rebuild

the single turbo mod is pretty opinionated i went with the simplified stock twin turbos, so keep in mind that the more power u try to run the less reliable it will be, this is kind of off subject but o well

You also need to be aware that the cars suck petrol like crazy! I mean 14-18 MPG is rather typical. At your fuel prices, that could really add up!!

Other than that, yes.....the newer the car, the more developed it usually is from a design and engineering point of view. Buying a car with a low mileage engine can be expensive. I'm still not convinced that it wouldn't be better to buy a car with a fresh rebuild. I bought my FD with 38,000 original miles on it. It just hit 50,000 and I've done all the reliability mods to it but I'm still worried when I drive it because I know it's only a matter of time till it lets go.

yea im aware of the petrol, hence only 3000 miles a year.

ok so apart from the engine dieing, how serious are the other faults with an fd, will anything cost more to repair than an engine rebuild? apart from a rather large crash of course