i think it should be worth less, considering how finicky the bitch is. if it's not overheating it has a vacuum leak, if it's not a broken apex seal it has a blown coolant seal. not to mention the 5th gear synchro, broken door handle, peeling dash panels, torn seats, leaky fpd, clogged cat, brittle cracked hoses, fading paint, peeling clearcoat, engine fires, suspension clunking, i could go on forever. it takes forever to warm up to operating temp just so you can punch it, and then it gets too hot too fast. and the upkeep is insane. no other car requires as much gas, oil changes, plug changes, fuel filter changes, etc. add to that reliability mods, i mean what other car out there necessitates thousands of dollars worth of mods for just plain reliability? the only reason it's worth so much now is cause it's so great when it's running well, but how often is that?

 

I think the value should increase on a well maintained, accident free rx7. Particularly ones with appropriate mods. I bought my first 4 years ago, and sold it after 14 months for almost $3000 more than what I paid for it. Only mods were turbo timer and boost gauge. About another year or so later I bought the one I own now, and I paid the same as I sold my first for. Also, I did see that it appreciated in value in a blue book of some sort as of the last year or so. When the rx-8 comes out it may bring more attention to the rotary engine and therefore boost interest in the rx7 as well.

 

Just wait till fast and the furious 2 comes out.

 

This may be the case for a short while. Over on 300ZXClub.com, the members are talking about how 300ZX (Z32) prices have gone -up- in the last few months. They're attributing it to the introduction of the 350Z. It's likely we'll see the same sort of thing happening with the RX-8 and RX-7. Once the initial flurry of excitement over the RX-8 dies down, though, I'd bet that depreciation on the RX-7s will continue.

 

Continue? 3rd gens, in general, have not depreciated in 2 to 3 years.

I am wondering what everyone else thought about whether or not this trend would continue...

 

Good point about the car dealers. But what about specialty car dealers, like LA cars in Dallas? They continue to buy and sell them, despite the cars "reputation."

I don't have one yet...I have been waiting for the right one. I can't decide if a modded car is a good sign or not. I plan to do them anyway, but I like the thought of doing it first.

 

I wouldn't count on the RX-7 making a reappearance in TFATF2. Vin won't be there and it is unlikely his car will have a Knight Rider drive it yourself feature.

 

If the RX-7 drives itself in this movie the price will go up even more!

I've found some digi pics of some of the cars from the second movie and look at this...



http://www.cincystreetscene.com - I posted them all on my site. There is going to be one of the new Vipers in this one.

-Charlie

 

"If you want to double your money in cars, fold it in half and stick it back in your pocket"

Very few cars make good investments. (I did want a 427 Shelby Cobra in 1965 that would have worked out- anyone have $7,500 to spare in 1965?)

Drive it for fun. Remember too that you shouldn't foget the time value of money. Take that 40k purchase and put it in CD's for that time period and it's closer to 50k.

That said, I bought an "acid rain" car in 93 for a huge discount and damned if it's not worth 80 % of what I paid! Best rolling investment I've ever made period!

 

I don't think about it cuz I won't be selling it.
I'm keeping it forever baby!!!!

 

I think that mine will depreciate in value like any other car off the lot.

 

Time to weigh-in with my opinion here... Certain cars do appreciate, there's no question. 2 cars prior to my RX7, I had an '89 Porsche 928 S4 5-speed. Now, if you recall, 928's were (are?) viewed as equally tempermental as the 3rd gen. If you broke a timing belt, most of the 32 valves hit the 8 pistons, and the repair bill is astronomical. Solution? Replace the belt every 20,000 miles. Do it yourself as I did, and it's a solid 3 day job. Give the car to Porsche, and fork over $1,800 too. Water pumps, transaxle bearings, electronics are all part of the 928 bugaboos. However, I bought my reasonably clean 32,000 mile car for $23,000, and sold it to a guy from Virginia for $30,00 2 years later. Now, I'm a bit of a clean nut, and the car could well have been one of the nicest S4's around, but the car did appreciate. Try buying a 928 GTS (the last model sold) for less than $40,000. Blue book says its worth $28-$30G, but the market could care less.

The car immediately prior to the RX7 was a '93 TT Supra. I bought it for $22,000, and sold it for $30G. Again, it was one of the nicest Supras around with 24,000 miles on it. I made a few mild changes to it, kept all the stock stuff, drove it, enjoyed it, and made some money on it.

So, will the 3rd gen appreciate? I believe that stock low-mileage mint condition cars will hold their value, and perhaps increase a bit. Beaters (you know who you are) will not. Extensively modified cars will only be worth whatever the individual that must have your particular car will pay for it, and there's not much guidance for those prices (forget about what you have invested in it!)

Sum total? Really clean, lower mileage cars with some sensible mods will hold value, and likely increase. High mileage, abused cars will not hold value as the cost to restore them is higher than the potential value of the car.

 

Sell it? I'm still looking to buy a 2nd one (white one)

 

I just bought mine for $23.8k realizing it is an upside down investment. However, I also bought it b/c it only had 19,000 miles on it and has never been driven in the rain (per previous owner). I also bought it b/c I speculate at < $30k their will not be a new car introduced that performs like the rx-7 in the next two years.

 

Economic 101 buying a car is not an investment....

 

I don't care. I won't be selling my 7, ever! Unless I crash it....

 

i think it should be worth less, considering how finicky the bitch is. if it's not overheating it has a vacuum leak, if it's not a broken apex seal it has a blown coolant seal. not to mention the 5th gear synchro, broken door handle, peeling dash panels, torn seats, leaky fpd, clogged cat, brittle cracked hoses, fading paint, peeling clearcoat, engine fires, suspension clunking, i could go on forever. it takes forever to warm up to operating temp just so you can punch it, and then it gets too hot too fast. and the upkeep is insane. no other car requires as much gas, oil changes, plug changes, fuel filter changes, etc. add to that reliability mods, i mean what other car out there necessitates thousands of dollars worth of mods for just plain reliability? the only reason it's worth so much now is cause it's so great when it's running well, but how often is that?


that's every old car! but yeah i think the price would go up a little, but either way up or down i'll still love my FD just as much!

 

It is getting old, and mine has a salvage title in it's past. I voted yes thinking that the mods will up it's base value. I wasn't thinking, and of course, I'll lose money on the mods. But as alot of us probably, I don't care much, it'll stay fast and beautiful, and I'll drive the hell out of it every chance I get.

 

I can't understand why people call cars investment .house are investment because you make money on it .cars are espent you loose money as soon as you get the title under your name in other words as soon a you drive out of the dealers lot.You just can't put a price tag on love and that is true

 

I was reading through the thread and it seems the overwhelming idea behind people who feel the rx-7 will never appreciate in value, is that according to this publication or that publication, it isn't worth as much as it was in... The one question I have is do these publications take into account certain factors such as collectablity, rarity, etc.? I really don't know, but I do know that recently there was a black '95 FD with 58,000 miles for sale at a dealership by my house and it sold for $29,000. Finally, IMO I think that with regard to an FD in mint condition, it is not a question of if, but rather, when will the value start to go up.
Just my opinion,
-Kevin

 

As stated in the previous post, a mint condition 3rd generation RX-7 will (at some point) probably start to increase in value. In fact, such cars probably even now are holding their value. But keep in mind, it's gotta be nice - better yet, mint.

The typical RX-7 in a mere ten years has had a pretty rough life. Most have been used very hard and are somewhere between their 3rd and 6th owner.

A '93 to '95 RX-7, such as an original owner car (or 2nd owner car) that is "stock as a rock", well cared for, no stories, all paperwork and history known, and LOW MILEAGE (say 2000 to 4000 miles per year) is already a rare car. They should hold their own well.

If you have one like that, keep it that way. There will come a day when that is "the car to have" and a premium will be the order of the day.

 

I think with the economy the way it is and the fact that 99% of cars depreciate, teh only thing we can hope for is that our cars don't depreciate as fast.

Example, my friend got a 2002 Sentra SER Spec-V which was 19500msrp, he sold it a year later for 12,500 which is a 7000 depreciation value in less than one year.

Our cars don't depreciate that fast thankgod. You'll lose maybe a grand a year

 

Fast & Furious 2 will have an RX7. Time your sale carefully and you should do OK.

 

That's a function of how many years of depreciation the car has already had. Depreciation usually has the biggest losses in the first 5 years. After that, it steadily declines until the car is basically worth nothing ... or assumes some collector status. Look at jimlab's potential losses after the first year of ownership, $37,500 ---> $28,875. And that's WITH the low mileage adjustment. Ouch.

The car will depreciate. If I go all-out and build mine into a full-bore racecar, and then get tired of it ... I might be able to sell a completely setup racer and only lose a 'little' bit of money. Other than that, I'll just keep count of those stoopid grins I make as I'm winding out 4th.

 

Supra went up in price after FF1