redentor

I've been seriously looking into the FD as The Next Car, but want to ask people who actually own FD's how much maintenance it is to own one, compared to a pistonating vehicle, say for example, a V6 MX-3 ... I thought at first it would be the cost of tune-ups that would be a starting difference, but I called my Mazda dealership and they quoted me $300CDN to tune-up a non-turbo FD which is practically the same as any regular car ... But it's the reliability of the rotary engine that I've heard complaints about now, in that they wear down faster than piston engines, apparently because more heat is involved and rebuilds occur in shorter intervals ... anything from the engine's durability to its preference of octane would be appreciated. The more the better. Thanks for your input!

RX7 RAGE

iTrader: (22)

There are no such things as non turbo FDs as they call came twin turbo...never trust the freakin mazda dealer! They are worse when it comes to these cars.

RE-Amemiya

There are a couple of thread about "how much you have spent" trying to repair or fix your FD. Try doing some basic searches for that.

I had a HORRIBLE experience with mine! It was just one thing after another, and when that got "fixed" it was something else, and the car was off to the shop again, or a different shop.

There are also people that claim to have never had problems with their's at all. I'd suggest looking at reliability mods and regular service.

Rocking Rotary

iTrader: (14)

With a FD its going to do one of two things more than likely both. 1 Drive you insane 2. Dirve you deep into debt

Rocking Rotary

iTrader: (14)

With a FD its going to do one of two things more than likely both. 1 Drive you insane 2. Dirve you deep into debt

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

The main problem with the car is the lack of competent mechanics who can work on it. You either:

a) build up your garage set of tools and work on it yourself
b) spend a lot of money on a specialist to fix the car

If there are no real specialist in your area and you've never picked up a wrench before, I would suggest looking into a different car. The car is only as expensive to maintain as you make it. i.e. if you keep it close to stock, its no more expensive than any other sports car to own. However, if you plan to modify the crap out of it, expect to keep paying.

KeloidJonesJr.

iTrader: (8)

Hell yea! Put an N/A 20B in there

Monkman33

iTrader: (28)

My question is what did they say was included in their rotary tune up for 300?

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

I had something done like that by Mazda probably back around '99. It was basically new spark plugs, oil/filter change, air filter change, and coolant flush.

redentor

hey, i tried searching for threads pertaining to "how much did you spend" (which is hopefully focused on regular repairs on an FD, not on esthetic modifications), but this is site is ridiculously slow or i didn't find the correct results i was looking for ... can anyone link a good source

riede93FD

Well lets just say personally I spent around $6000 with a new rebuild, housings, port, clutch, etc. Now another $6000 on custom turbo set-up, custom DP, custom front mount, powerFC, injectors, etc. The cars are money pits from hell...you have been warned.

dradon03

iTrader: (2)

An Rx-7 is an expensive car especially when you don't know exactly what to look for when buying one. Even when you do the beauty of the car sometimes takes over your logical side.

Never, and I mean never take your car to a Canadian dealership I have not met one which has any remote idea of how or what should be done on an RX-7. Example I took an appointement with a local dealership to do a compression test before I bought the car. I get there, wait for them to say ahhh it is an Rx-7 we don't have the Rotary compression tester and no other dealership in the region had it!

Also if you are looking JDM to fit your budget be warned that the maintenance costs on an Rx-7 are much high than your normal car. It is a car for DIY'ers or people who live in proximity to a rotary specialist.

PS Where in Canada do you live? It is a pretty large country.

felix_is_alive

no daily driver ......but i haven`t had a problem with mine for some time now .......
i personally believe they become money pits once you start tinkering with them
if you leave it stock ..no problem ....modified , your`e wallet will cry!!
other than that , a gem of a car
at least for me

redentor

hmm... how discouraging ... how a car so respected and reverred could have such negative reviews when it comes to its functionality ... i didnt' have any plans to extend its already catastrophic power, but you're saying the engine left stock isn't so bad, then it wouldn't so bad for me then right? ... What I wanna know now is a comparison of the time intervals at which the FD requires specific tune-ups and whatnot compared to normal cars. Say I see a japanese rx7 with 90 000 KM on it ... When would I expect to have to rebuild its engine? What is the first thing that would go wrong at that mileage after i bought it there ... better yet, what ailments will stab me in the back by not being revealed in any sort of pre-inspection ... ?

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

You need to look at some other sports cars. There are a lot of other sports cars which are basically highly wound up race cars which expire quickly (just like race cars). I was recently looking at getting a Ferrari F355 but found it basically had similar characteristics as the RX7 (as far as maintenance, just MUCH more expensive parts).

All engines wear by nature. The problem with the rotary engine that it seems turbo-charging them seems to increase the wear by a good measure. Its not uncommon to see NA FB's and FC's lasting 200k or more miles. However the turbo-charged rotaries are typically lucky to see 100k before needing a rebuild.

The question isn't will you ever need to have the engine rebuilt or replaced. The question is WHEN will you need to have the engine rebuilt or replaced.

Is that bad? Well, that's relative. If you go into it knowing and preparing for it, its not bad. The problem is, no one can tell you how long an engine will last. There are way to many variables to make a educated guess and have it mean something. I've seen engines last 5000 miles and some last over 100k miles. If that is going to be an issue for you, you better start looking at a different car.

As for what else can/will fail on the car, basically everything. I'm not saying everything will break but everything has the potential to break depending on the previous owner's treatment of the car and your treatment of the car. Typical things people end up replacing are bushings, shocks, swaybar mounts, vacuum tubing, various check valves & solenoids in the turbo system, oil pressure senders, fuel pulsation dampers, 5th gear synchro, and then your normal maintenance items like spark plugs (usually every 3000-5000 miles), brake pads, fluids, etc.

dradon03

iTrader: (2)

^
Mahjik gave you a great answer there redentor. What region of Canada are you from? Sometimes it is easiest to explain all of the Rx7 details in person, so meeting with local club members can really help.

With an Rx-7 it is a different mentality from most cars. With other cars when something breaks you think how to fix it with an Rx-7 you fix things before they break or you are anticipating things to break.

Even if a JDM has 90,000km's nothing says it has less wear than a car that has 120,000kms. All depends on use and maintenance. Alot of people myself included spend 100$ dollars of maintenance every 3000 miles spark plugs, oil change. Which by some is seen as alot and by others is seen as little. Heck, some people put money to maintaining their cars that would make some people sick.

The problem as hinted to is that power corrupts and when you have a car that gains lots of power with little mods it is hard not to modify.

85RexGSL

its crossed my mind to look for an fd but then i heard about how much the maintenance is so i figure id stick with and fix up my fb.and my buddy wants to drop his fb and get am fd despite the fact that ive told him alot of people say their way more expensive to fix up regularly. o well its not my money

bwalt

iTrader: (8)

Make sure you have a backup car if you decide to go for it.

redentor

well, i'm looking at it this way: I can get an imported RX7 FD for around $12 000 CDN after taxes, and then I'd immediately get its engine rebuilt for $6000 for preventive measures ... That still makes it much cheaper (just at $20K) than buying a new car, or a new used car, like an RX8 (+$30K) or all those others ones that are new but I have no interest for (and no, i'm not a honda boy)... So I'm seeing the FD as still reasonable given that it's always going to be cheaper than automatically buying a new car, and besides, the imports are already equipped with bodykits and wings, so that would delay my urges of personalizing my vehicle from the getgo. Could I get some agreement on this much? That a rebuilt import would still be cheaper and more attractive than a brand new car? (since there are no new cars nowadays that compare to the 93-00 japanese era to my taste)

I'm located in Victoria BC by the way

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Keep in mind that new cars have these handy things called "warranties".

SLOASFK

iTrader: (5)

the initial purchase is the cheapest part of FD ownership.

Octane prefference...100. IDK if Canada has that on the pumps, but 99% of the USA doesn't.

redentor

another question regarding the different variants of FDs: what are their physical differences exactly? ... i know something called "99 spec" winker lights (please correct me with the proper name) which look alot nicer than the slim signals from the first FDs ... is it easy to mod these into a 92 FD? is it just buy a 99 spec bumper and ur 99 spec 'winker lights' will fit (again, please correct me with the proper name for these lights) ...
Basically, let me know of the physical modifications that a 92 FD cannot be given, eg. projector housings, can they take them all?

thanks alot so far guys ... regardless, i still love this car over supras, skylines, etc ...

elementFD

wow, your in the same boat as me. im getting mine in 1 week and a cant wait. ive been reading up alot on maintenance and i want the car pretty much stock so i just gotta keep er running good. keep me posted on how your car is doing and ill keep you posted on mine.