I came across an ad for an '88 rx-7 fc today, and he was asking $3000. After emailing him, I found out he would sell it for $1200 if I opted for the stock rims instead of the 17" ones he had on at the moment.

According to him it has new a new clutch, tranny, and brakes, with receipts to prove.

The problem: the motor has 260 000 kms on it.

Do you guys have any advice or comments? I've never bought a used car before, and am kind of skeptical of this. But I really love the car...

Should I expect to be replacing/rebuilding the motor soon after I buy it? Is it worth it? Thanks.

 

http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/buy1.htm
http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/buy2.htm

 

Thanks. Great website. One more question actually...

I know next to nothing about cars, or rotary engines, and have no friends that really know about them. Although I'm willing to learn, do you think I really should be buying this car?

 

As a first car to "diy" on weekends, no. Get a honda or an e30 bmw to learn off.

 

I had a bmw, and I was scared to touch it (100$/rotor).

There are many cars out there, just find something with a large following (cheap parts).

We may be scaring you out of Rx7's, but its for the better. We'd rather you be scared of them now, then hate them forever. When you know a bit more about cars, come back and see some.

The fanboi tax on 240s has come down, you can pick one up for cheap.

 

FC RX-7's are really a good car, don't let these guys talk you out of it. The only problem with them is their age. You have to remember these cars are turning 20+ years old. You have to expect things to be worn out and to break. As far as the rotary engine goes, they aren't that complicated. There's also plenty of info on the forum and the internet to help you, not to mention the rotary community. I've met alot of great people in the few short years I've owned my FC, and they are more than happy to help out a fellow rotorhead. I daily drive my FC in the summer and it just kicked over 255,500kms today. It has never let me down yet.

 

This guy speaks the truth.

 

Where in Alberta RU?

 

cmon guys just tell him if you have to ask this question don't buy it. Only buy this car if you are ready to put a good $5-10,000 to make it dependable and nice. If you are just buying for basic transportation the money woud be better spent on a regular engine car.

- The guy with $10,000 in the car and it's still in the garage .




Here a before and after?

 

You don't have to stick 10 grand into an FC to make it reliable. I paid $2500 for my car and it cost me $114 to safety it. Since then I've maybe spent $2000 on keeping it reliable. That doesn't include modifications. That's where you spend the money fast. If you watch the forum for good deals on parts you can get by on a modest budget. You may not have the nicest RX-7 in the world, but you'll have a blast driving it because you don't care what happens to it.

 

^^ gotta agree, u dont have to throw money at a 7 to make it go and bhave a blast, where most of my costs come from is modifications. seems like a lot of us just cant leave them alone. the only legitimate reason to not buy a 7 is the same as cigarettes. its highly addictive an bad for your lungs

 

yeah non turbo cars especially are reliable.

the 3 1st gens I daily drive combined cost under $1000 over the years to keep happy.

my 10AE I don't think i had $5000-$5500 in when it went 11's, and 99% of that was mod money.


RX-7's make great first cars. They're really easy to work on compared to alot of stuff, handle fantastic, are cheap to fix, etc.

They're shitty on gas compared to a 4cyl, keep that in mind.
if you aren't cool with getting a 20MPG car I would look elsewhere.

even the engine issue. Rebuilds cost a grand. I spent over 7 times that fixing the motor in my skyline.

 

In Calgary, same as you.

I've been reading up on rotaries the last couple days and found a lot of tutorials and stuff that can help me diagnose and fix problems.

And theres always the RX-7 Specialties in Calgary =]

Thanks for all the comments. I think for the car I'm looking at, the main concern would be the engine, as it has 260 xxx kms on it. It would probably be around $2000 to fix, among other problems which may cost up to $3000.
Anyways I'm still thinking on it...I really love the car but don't know if I'm up to the task yet!

 

I would highly doubt that the engine in that car is still the original. With that many kms on the car I would bet it has been rebuilt at some point in time. Best bet would be to do a compression test on it so you have a rough idea if the engine is mechanically sound.

 

Hey buggy, I was wondering what kind of reliability mods did you install for your 7? Once I buy mine, I'm going to make it my daily driver, so I want it to be as reliable as possible.

 

I just keep an eye on it. The main thing is take care of the suspension. I've put all new shocks, coils springs, bushings, and the camber adjusting rod in the rear. My car had wicked bad negative rear camber which was wearing my tires out quickly. Other than that, I've replaced my brake calipers, done spark plugs and wires, the usual stuff. I've had to make some other repairs along the way because my engine was not assembled correctly before I bought the car, but that was one of those fluke things that you can't really blame on the car.

 

The big thing(s) with that car will be the same as for any older, high mileage car - careful inspection and test drive. Aaroncake's links are excellent checklists. I'm assuming this is a n/a car? With the mileage, I would definitely recommend a compression check, which is detailed in the "Is my engine blown" link on the aaroncake link.

FWIW, my RX-7 has been hands down the most reliable car I've ever owned - I've owned it for 11 years as of yesterday, and despite the fact it's my track/autocross toy (read, bag driven every other weekend during the summer months), I spend less time wrenching on it than my other cars. Over the years, I've replaced the stock clutch, and when I got the car the factory mufflers had pinhole leaks. I had the factory radio/tape repaired years ago when one channel cut out (bad internal solder connection). Beyond that, all the work has been performance mods. I had it to a Mazda dealer once for a stumble/hesitation that turned out to just be a loose/leaking exhaust seal between the manifold and my Racing Beat downpipe/resonator - I think they charged me $60 for that, which I paid happily and took as a lesson to be more thorough in checking out things myself. I've had the passenger door apart to fix a sticking electric lock. Brake pads are easy to change, at least with the turbo/GXL/Sport four piston brakes. I find the car easy to work on generally (it helps a lot it's never been winter driven, so rust is not an issue). It's been years since anyone other than me has touched the car, other than to change the transmission/diff fluids (I could, but it's so much easier to go to a lube shop, even though I supply the fluids). Not counting tires or performance parts, I have less than $1000 bucks into the car over 11 years for actual service or repair - the largest single chunks of that to replace the OEM clutch, which was largely done as a performance upgrade anyway, and replacing the mufflers.

 

That's one of the things I forgot, I love working on my car. It's so easy. I'm a mechanic so I have to fix all sorts of cars, and I'd have to say the FC is a pretty simple and easy to work on car.

 

Yes I want that kind of reliability! Except this is going to be a daily driver, as I'm not going to autocross or race with it (racecity's last season anyways). So mine should have the potential to be even more reliable right??? =P

Except that the engine already has 260xxx kms on it, and a rebuilt from rx7 specialties will probably cost me $4000 =[

 

That's why you want to compression check it. NA rotaries can last 300,000 miles if well cared for - although like any car, at this age and mileage, it really does hang on how well cared for the car has been.

FWIW, my car had 74,000kms on it when I got it, and only has 122k on it now, so it's not exactly a typical sample. But the interior and exterior still look about the same as when I got it, so they can hold up well with good care, and I haven't checked my compression in a couple years, but it was still good when I last did.

 

I might have 10k in my car, it's turbo, and I beat on it all the time!!! I'm sure I could write my red seal test right now if wanted to with the amount I have worked on it, and it's not because I had to, it\s because I wanted to.

 

My 7 was my second car (first one was an 87 k-car) I had never turned a wrench on a car before I owned my 7. It's been about 3 years since then and I love mine to death. It's my daily driver, not the best on gas but a blast to drive and I can beat on it all day long. I've also learned a TON about cars and can now troubleshoot most of my problems and fix them. My 7 has taught me a lot!

 

Dont do it! your life will never be the same again
lol

 

Buying an RX-7 will change your life, but I see no negative effects from it. You'll defintally have a little less money in your pocket, but that comes with any hobby. You have to pay to play and that's all there is to it.

 

My advice. Find an FB. 12A's are notoriously difficult to kill, although finding new housings is getting difficult. Plus we don't have all those pesky ECU's to deal with. The cars are a blast and take all the abuse you can throw at them. Mine is my 3 season daily driver. I bring her out after they clean the salt off the streets and she gets wrapped up and parked once the first snowfall hits. Worst problems I've had so far are a leaky oil cooler, clutch hydraulics took a ****, and I fried the clutch down at Deals Gap this year. Aside from that it's just been basic maintenance. 170K KM on it and I beat the snot out of her every chance I get and she begs for more. Masochistic little bitch she is

On a more serious note, if your really that worried about the engine you should be able to find a stock replacement for a decent price. Or pull the motor that's in the car, buy a rebuild kit and the rebuild DVD sold by Atkins Rotary, and rebuild it yourself. If I had a decent workspace my motor would probably have been rebuilt by now, just for kicks.