Thinking about getting an RX7 - Myths and Facts
 

Hi, I'm new to these forums and am thinking about buying a 3rd Gen RX7.
I've heard A LOT about these cars but like with all cars when something goes wrong people tend to brand that with every car ever made by that company.
Having said that, these are my main concerns about the RX7 and would greatly appreciate it if you guys could shed some light on them.

RX7 engines tend to 'blow up' all the time
I heard that this is the biggest problem with RX7's, that their reliability is bad, especially the engine which can lead to some expensive repairs being carried out.

RX7's have crazy fuel consumption (5mpg?)
What's the average you guys get from a full tank when driving normally, and when driving nuts?

RX7's are very hard to fix
Because of the specialist engines, there's not a lot of places around that can fix RX7's and fix them well.

RX7's tend to spin out instead of oversteer
ie, at the slightest hint of oversteer, the backend is gone and you're sitting in a cloud of tyre-smoke.

RX7's are very expensive to maintain
Again this is a reliability issue, I've been told that problems with the RX7 are common and expensive to fix.

Is there anything else I've missed which would be classified as a 'common major' problem? Or anything else to look out for?

Really appreciate your help guys as I'm thinking of getting an RX7.

There are numerous FAQs which cover all this info...

This is far more likely if you have a heavily modified engine and don't know what you're doing, or you don't properly maintain it and don't monitor its operating parameters (temperatures primarily).

~13-15mpg when driving normally...but it all depends on how many mods the car has and how hard you're driving it.

Well....for starters, these cars have LOTS of parts in a pretty small space so that will result in repairs which will test one's patience. Parts are expensive, and many are no longer available from Mazda.
The big problem, however, is that most people are DUMB and need lots of training/practice to do things right. RX-7s are few and far between so the majority of people who work in repair shops (who are, like the rest of the population, mostly dumb) don't get enough practice to competently fix these cars.

Maybe, maybe not. The purely maintenance items (filters, tires, batteries, oils, other fluids) are fairly widely available for a reasonable cost down at the corner auto parts store, and don't require a lot of work to replace (with the exception of the fuel filter). Now...if, say, the ABS pump springs a leak then you're looking at a couple thousand dollars for a new part. If you get a car with low-ish mileage that has been well cared for, and you don't abuse it then there's a 95% chance your maintenance costs won't be out of line with that of any other car on the road. If you buy an abused trash heap then PREPARE TO PAY!

mate please just do search...there is like 100 guides..

https://www.rx7club.com/search.php?searchid=5757088

ur answers :

1:bullshit, just make sure u got ur safety mods before u modify it - ur blow-up wont happen..

2: my one does 1 litre per 1 mile :D (got a heavy foot tho :](one day i die because of my driving :D) if u drive it slow(like 60mph all the time) u will be surprised how much you cad do on a 1 litre :D

3:i live in the uk, and yes no many places around me (nearest 120 miles away) ao i work on it myself, but there r things that any garage can do.

4:yes :D need to be really carefull on the roundabouts :D i nearly crashed my babe twice bacause of that :D - just dont put ur foot down too much when turning :D

5:depends what way u want to go, if u work on it urself u save fortune mate - and i mean friggin fortune, same with parts, trhere is some replicas(much cheaper
) that work as good as genuine items (but there is some u can go around cheap - either way its like any other car i guess, maybe a bit more :])

3:

just noticed u from london ..why not to ask locals?(im talking about garages, fixing and parts)

go mazdarotaryclub.com (u gotta pay for membership)

or www.fduk.org (free)

OMFG, slap yourself!

A bullshit rumor which is perpetuated by uneducated owners who buy RX-7s because they are pretty and fast, but don't follow through with maintnence or studying the car.
The RX-7 is a 1.3L that gets 15mpg on a good day in stock form. Some people have seen up to 20mpg on the highway, I've heard one person who got 27mpg on the highway. Generally 10-15mpg is accepted as standard mileage.
Partialy true. Finding a "rotary mechanic" isn't so hard, but finding a good rotary shop that consistently does great work is very difficult to find. You'll see plenty of fly by night style companies that are always changing their name. Just do a lot of research before trusting one.
Complete BS. This could be a sign of work out bushings and/or pillow balls.
This is true. You can easily expect to spend double the purchase price in maintnence within a couple of years of ownership.
https://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php...07&postcount=4
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/faq-3rd-gen-other-useful-links-68640/
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-gen-archives-73/tech-manual-directory-614824/

these cars are not honda's so if your looking for reliability, gas mileage, and a daily driver this is not the car for you. with that said you are going to put about $3,000.00 into the car the first year of ownership just sorting out the old owners maint issues or lack of. once things are up to date with maint issues the cost will go down and the car will be more fun and reliable.

Jeff

Not true, they are HP engines, carelessness or greed blows up engines

dependent on foot position 2-6 on track, 12-18 on road, I could do better if I could train my foot.

Not so hard t6o fix, time consuming yes, hard to find a trusting mechanic yes, but if time and factory service manual, you can do a lot.

Back to carelessness and foot position. They are one of the best handling cars of all time. Use it wisely.

No, expensive to upgrade yes, expense to maintain; no its no Honda, but regular maintenance goes a long way.

Thanks a lot for the help guys, much of what you guys have said is what I suspected originally. I know a lot of people who buy a car and then become a fanboy of it so any other car is 'crap' or they'll find a small (or big) problem and then blow it out of proportion.
It's a big committment buying a performance car so I thought I'd double check and cover all my bases.

Thanks again everyone.

But not you :)

the later cars are much much better. in the usa we only got the earlier cars, so not only are ours older, but they didnt get the updates from mazda, AND due to the recalls most of them were taken apart and put back together poorly. most of our problems were caused by the people working on them.

that being said, the rotary is a little different than the piston engine, it comes out and comes apart for basically every problem.