What to look for when buying FD?????
 

Im looking at a 1994 FD with 50k miles on a replaced motor and the car has 119,000 miles. I was curious if there were some things you guys could point out that I should pay close attention to before I buy this car. Im new on the RX-7 scene soe excuse me if It seems like dont know anything. The guy want $13,900, is this a good price? Thanks in advance

-Will

Sounds like an ok price,
but I have to be honest with you,
the only things you should look for on the car(yourself)
is the visual condition, scratches, paint fading,
tears in the leather, etc etc.

Test drive it, and watch out for smoke,
watch the idle, it shouldnt try to die on ya.
And there should be no grinding when shifting gears.

If thats ok, then TAKE IT TO A GOOD MECHANIC
and have him look it over.
And also do a carfax on the VIN #

I cant express how important the last two steps are!
I skipped them on my last car, and ended up losing about 9 thousand dollars.

But if it checks out ok... buy it! FD's rule!

take it to the dealer and get a compression test... best way to tell the condition of the motor. Probably about $90, unless you know how to or know someone who knows how to do a compression test on a rotary. That price is probably fairly close to bluebook... try to talk him down a little. Is it a touring or an R2? Stick/auto. Give some more details... see if he has any records, and make triple sure the car was properly maintained... i.e. receipts

Its a touring with the manual. I did a carfax report and the only bad things were that he failed an emissions test with the old motor. Does anyone know a good shop in the bay area for rotary motors? Or is a dealer a better bet? thanks

Well i saw the car tonight. The things that seemed off were: the idle. It fluctuated from 1000to 1300 at a stop and when warming up. He said the oil leaked a bit, but only a few drops after hard driving, but that all RX-7's with replaced motor's oil pans leak. He also said that after hard driving his turbos leak some sort of fluid, but he was told it wasnt anything to worry about. Other than that and cosmetic issues, the car ran smoothly and I loved it. Should these issues raise any concerns for me? He is selling it for $13k, is this a good deal?

the fluid from your turbos is motor oil , but i think a little bit is pretty common. as long as its not a whole lot. do the compression check and if your going to buy an fd also buy a boost gauge and test boost.

How much of an issue is the cosmetics?? I dont think that the idle fluctuation is a good thing at all... go to http://www.rx7turboturbo.com/robrobinette/
everything you need should be there... great site. I do remember seeing in there some symptoms of blown apex seals and that was one. 50000 miles on a replacement motor does not mean that it is in good shape. I would strongly recommend taking it to a Rotary specialist... this does not usually include your dealer. I would only take it to a dealer for the compression test and maybe pull codes from the computer. They are notorious for screwing up RX7s and not knowing what they are doing. Also try and buy a car from someone who really knows what they are talking about, you can usually tell if someone is BSing you. I test drove every RX for sale in St. Louis before I flew off to Florida to get mine... just take your time, dont make an investment you cannot afford!!

Does anyone know of a rotary specialist in the Bay Area?

Over in P-town there is Ricks Rotary.

3295 Bernal Avenue Suite A
Pleasanton, California
925-484-2324

I have had no experience with them, but rx7fashion endorses them, so they should be more than competent.

Oh yea, http://rx7.voodoobox.net/ also has a very helpful buying guide. Do the boost gauge test, and if possible have a friend follow u around and see if there is smoke during the high-rpm shifting.

I had Rick replace my motor last winter. I have all my work done there. He is great. He knows his stuff and gets it done right. He is a full service shop and not a fly by night deal. And most of all he answers all emails and phone calls!!!By the Rick's Roary and RX7fashion are one and the same.