wants2buy7s

Ok, I'm a recent college grad and have had a tough time getting a job with the economy in the toilet. I was looking at prices for FDs with newly rebuilt engines...

Now this is what I'm thinking...Start a business selling FDs with brand new engine. I see them going for $15K or more ALL THE TIME. Anyways, I was thinking about buying a couple of FDs with blown engines. My relatives are all in the auto industry. I've got the hookups on paint jobs, rebuilds, etc... I'm thinking of scouring the nation for blown engine FDs and rebuilding them, putting in some elbow grease and what not and selling them for a profit.

Lets say

6-8K for an FD with a blown engine
1700 for a rebuild
1200 for a new paint job if it needs it
1k for miscellaneos stuff (broken door tabs, ripped seats, new AST, etc)

I'm looking at about 4k profit each car, no? I would be providing a car that has been looked over thouroughly and will likely last another 100k before needing a rebuild. Anything unethical about this? I know people will spend 15k on a 11+ yr old car and the prices have not come down over the years...gone up actually I don't see how it could be bad in any way? Free market economy right?

obviousboy

honestly...good idea...wrong car.....
you want a a great market for this...
Buy used Gsr motors get the ecu...i think its like 4 extra wires for the VTEC..stick it in a civic and sell the car....honda kids love that ****....
and its far easier to deal with then an FD....

Heres the main flaw in your idea (good idea though) your buying a car you really cant drive..You see if the turbos are shot if the tranny is trashed or anything else...If you got only good know for a fact perfectly running FDs (with the blown engine of course) yeah this would work...But once you got the bad one your 8k in the whole..it needs new turbos/gaskters/read diff is shot/the 5th gear synchro is shot. and what ever else...you just lost 8k in cost......

driFDer

iTrader: (1)

Where will you be getting the rx7's from? If you are looking at insurance auctions an FD with a blown motor will probably be branded "salvage," which means you won't be selling them for $15k. If you know of other source and have the time, money and motivation I'd say go for it. Good luck!

rynberg

You are seriously dreaming:

1. I don't see many FDs going for 6-8k with just a blown engine.

2. A rebuild costs significantly more than $1700, unless you're just reusing everything = shitty rebuild.

3. A paint job worth doing will cost at least $3k, even in cheaper areas.

4. $1k for misc stuff is silly, unless you are buying used interior parts from parted out cars...

rynberg

EDIT TO ABOVE:

No one is going to want to buy from you if all you are doing is slapping together a car for as cheap as possible. Look up TurboJeff and see what he does to restore bad FDs. Any of us would be happy to buy a car from him, knowing it was done right.

driFDer

iTrader: (1)

Don't ruin the man's dream.

If you think you have the resources and you're enthusiastic (sp), go for it man. A paint shop by my house does any car whole for a grand, and this guy has been painting show cars, race cars, you name it. If you buy new parts for a rebuild yourself and know of someone who can put them in cheap, it will save you some $$ also. As for misc parts, they could be anything from floormats to transmissions so it is also a large factor on your profit. I would imagine finding the cars will also be a challenge, don't forget transportation fees.

J.S.J

Son,
Own one a while, have your family work on it, then re-evaluate the idea. Your brothers after working on them a while will Lynch you up.

black99

Problem being alot of people have trouble selling their cars for 12-13-14-15k for numerous reasons. One is because most banks only recognize blue book value on these cars and not fair market value. The other is just younger people being cheap. Sure you can make a business out of fixing/selling rx7's but I don't think they're going to fly off the shelves like you hope.

turbojeff

iTrader: (30)

Good idea but your estimates are wrong.

1. Car with blown motor, actually $6-8K isn't a bad number, you'll just have trouble finding one that ONLY needs a motor.

2. $2000 for a reman block only. Add in gaskets, hoses, clutch, a motor mount or two etc your looking at $3K min. Hope it doesn't need turbos either. Is the tranny good too?

3. Crappy paint job = $1200 (not on a $15K car). Good paint job will run you anywhere from $2500-5000 depending on what type of paint the shop uses and how good of job you want.

4. $1000 for misc stuff, well depends. $200-300 for AC recharge, $70 for 4-wheel alignment, bushings cost $40 ea for suspension, brake pads are $100 (all 4 wheels). Door handles, seats, etc $$$. This is adding up quickly...

5. Lets not forget travel expenses, how are you gonna get these cars to your house? How long are you going to own them. You've got to pay insurance on them while you've got it. Are you going to title and license them in your name? Sales tax in your state? How about advertising, the forum isn't the only place to sell them and some places charge $$.

Idea that WILL work:

Buy FD and part it out..........

Mr rx-7 tt

iTrader: (5)

Those days are over..

su_maverick

yes, buy lots of FD's and part them out...
fewer FD's = rarer and rarer car