Hey , I've been broke as hell forever and I'm finally getting a job that will afford me to get a car I actually want. I've been looking at RX-7's for a while and i love how they look and the power you can get from them. My friend drives a 93 TT supra and has been advising me like crazy not to get an RX-7. I know the wankel has some problems but I also know he's biast so I'm just asking for a truthful answer as to how common having replace the engine actually is b'/c while i dont' mind paying for reg maintnence I do mind havin to replace the whole engine. So is the engine problems the wankel has due to abuse or does it just commonly give out and need to be replaced and if so how much does it run to repair it?

Thanks Alot,
A concerned admirer

 

Sorry about the spelling and other grammatical errors in the first post but I was in a hurry and being hassled by the supra driver for even posting here. But anyway I've been browsing the site and see some of youare upset by newb ?'s sorry if mine is a common one. I'll try and search around the site to get some more info. I was just trying to get some other opinions from people who weren't supra fiends seeing as how he's my most knowledgable friend when it comes to cars. I myself am just recently in past few years getting heavy into cars particularly newer models. I used to be obsessed w/ old 68-71 Mach 1's and am just now seeing and starting to understand turbo's so sorry about the ignorance but I'm working on it.

 

Mach 1 is a beautiful damn car, ain't it?

Reliability is directly related to maintenence in this car. Properly maintained (not just oil changes, but really **** maintenence, like check oil level every other day types), this car will be rather reliable in stock form provided the various recalls for manufacturer oversight have been attended to. There are a few with over 150K miles on original equipment, but between 100 and 150 should be obtainable IF the maintenence is followed. BUT...

A large proportion of these cars were purchased by typical American drivers, to whom black oil is a sign of gentle ageing, rather than death knell. The very idea of a CAR requiring that much effort towards detail is anathema, let alone a homely little Mazda, right? I mean they make minivans, for god's sake!

Anyway, the highest proportion of reliability problems stem from folk's buying someone else's basket case juuuust before it grenades (the seller's seem to have this wierd sixth sense about this. "Hmmm... 58 K and lots of things to do in 2 K? Better sell it and buy the wife a new Lexus...). Anyways, the engine and/or turbos die shortly after purchase because of this reason.

Many dealerships chose to replace engines and/or turbos when this wasn't really required, as the technicians were simply not educated enough to diagnose the problems. This also led to "reliability" problems that weren't.

Lastly, modifying this engine can be delecate at best. Modifications that would normally be "bolt up" on a piston engine, for whom detonation is a way of life, will end the life of the rotary within three to five seconds of detonation. Not a design flaw, just the nature of the beast.

So bottom line seems to be, if you are an original **** owner, or can find a car from one (who probably won't be selling it as he loves it too much), and you only make those changes to it that improve it's ability to serve (cooling system REPLACEMENT at 60K, elimination of pre-cat system, placement of diagnostic boost/vacuum gauge, temp gauge that's meaningful, manual fan switch, and don't blow shifts!), you can expect reasonable reliability (defined as it will start every time you turn the key unless you didn't maintain it (or flooded it)), sexy as hell looks (c'mon, the Supra's FAT in comparison), handling that seems to have no limits (except in rain and snow), and really doesn't cost THAT much (ever seen the price for a Porsche water pump? Ever seen the service requirement for a Ferrari (drop the entire ******* ENGINE!!??)).

I've written too much.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I don't know an enormous ammount about cars especially cars w/ forced induction but I've pretty much decided that's the route I'd like to go rather than NA. I LOVE the lines and shape of RX-7's (3rd gen that is) but I just don't want the first car I actually buy for myself to end up being a HUGE mistake. So thanks for the input which was quite helpful and any other opinions are more than welcome.

 

Oh and yes the Mach 1 is GORGEOUS!!!