jcruz76

So I'm looking to buy a 88 rx7 with the 13b non turbo rotory, I guess I'm just looking for those with high experience . Should I purchase the car, I drive abut 120 miles a day and 90% I'll be doing at most 82 mph on the freeway, with this kind of stress it worries me that I'll run into some serious problems fast. I'm unsure now as to whether I should buy or hold off?
thank you, all advice taken seriously and is appreciated!

RXeligion

It depends on the car. You'll have to give a lot more information before anyone here could determine how reliable the car is or isn't. Having said that - based only on the fact that it is a 27 year old car, I'm going to suggest you look for something else. Buy a car like that as a restoration project that could sit in a garage for a couple years without you worrying about getting to work.

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

welcome to the board.

here's my input ...

it will come down to quite a few things (in no particular order).
1. the car's current condition and maintenance history (particularly, but not limited to the condition of the engine itself)
2. how prepared are you (financially and mentally) to deal with repairing and/or maintaining a 27 year old car?
3. how prepared are you to lose money, draw a line in the sand and walk away, if you were to get it and it proves to be too much?

while the rotary engine makes the Rx-7 unique with regards to a powerplant, that shouldn't be your main focus here. your main focus should be that you're buying an almost 30-year old car to basically use a daily driver.

even if you have the thing checked out professionally (which i would strongly recommend) and you get the green light, there's still no guarantee that you won't be faced with major repairs 6 months down the road. that's what you need to make yourself one with in order to decide whether to buy it (or another) or not.

Tem120

iTrader: (5)

first of all 82 mph isnt exactly stressing the engine of the car .

Infact highway driving is alot easier on a car then city driving stop and go stop and go stopand go

NOW the reliability factor . out of curiosity why do you want an rx7 ?


I mean most people buy a sports car for a reason in mind . or for fun , the old none turbo rx7 specially a stock one isnt exactly a rocket ship .

NOW reliability wise... I have a few friends with NA rotaries which have been pretty bulletproof past 150k miles and more .

BUT like stated above if the car has been abused , run without oil , drifted into a couple curbs who knows just how reliable not only the motor but the resto f the drivetrain is . the car itself is very reliable Naturaly aspirated rotaries were known for being reliable .

The age of the car and condition , and life of a 27 year old car ... Now that is questionable .

Even if its as reliable as a honda , or toyota camry . THe fact is the rx7 is a sports car and you can almost guarantee that atleast one or two of its previous owners was very mean to it LOL

Efinity

iTrader: (6)

After ten years of owning a na 2nd gen and six total rotary cars, I would advise against it. They plow through gas at 80, being old. They can be reliable but the majority if them are in a perpetual limp mode. If you're street driving for real life, Honda does a great job. If you like to tinker, drive fast, and have another car, then consider a rx7.

It's late to jump into the game.

Hybrid G

iTrader: (4)

I say no the rx7 is not a commuter car. Gas milage is not good.

lastphaseofthis

iTrader: (8)

your better off in an rx8 if u want the rotary experience with daily driving. about the same gas milage but loads of new features/performance/handling.. for the same price...

which in away is saying if you find an fc for 1500-2500, you are getting what you pay for. they''re money pits.
daily ready fcs are around 4-5k. might as well have an rx8. much nicer.

zak rabbit

I too would advise against it only for the fuel mileage and the oil consumption.

MidnightEmpire

I daily drive my 86 Rx7 and yea, the gas mileage isn't great but that's not really what you sign up for when you go for an Rx7. I bought mine because it always has been and still is my dream car. Now with that said, how many times has she left me on foot? Twice, first with blown oil cooler lines. I made my own stainless steel ones and no problems since then. Second time I flooded it but after about 25 minutes and doing the deflood procedure I drove her home without a problem. Since then I've changed the water pump, fixed some vacuum leaks and done my fair share of electrical work and it runs better than the day I bought it. I would recommend one as it is fun, has proved to be reliable, and although my gas mileage isn't great it's simply a flat out amazing experience (In my honest opinion). Obviously to each his own and if you don't mind occasional headaches then jump aboard the rotary train! Now if you want to save money and occasional headaches, then don't get one. But that's just my personal experience with MY Fc, oh and the fact that there's so few of us on the road today also makes it an even better feeling knowing that you are one of very few. :Lol:

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

Buy a Rotory.

The rest of us Rx7 guys will drive a ROTARY...(spell check,aisle 2...)

Tem120

iTrader: (5)

i dont know about you guys , But I get 26 mpg's on the highway in the FD .. which is just about as much as I did in my old miata . not a commuter car no its not exactly a prius , but heck its not Terrible end of the world 9 mpg highway either .

Vicoor

Most people idea of a daily driver is something that goes 30-50miles a day. This will put 10,000 to 15,000 miles a year on a car. You're talking about 30,000 miles or more.

As a mechanic with 30+ years experience, I'll say that I would expect a car over 25 years old to deteriorate pretty quickly with that kind of use, rotary or not. I always tell people that if you want reliability, stick with something simple, and anything rotary just adds to the complexity.

What ever you decide is obviously up to you, but if you do decide to go rotary for your DD, you should start a thread on the forum and maintain a log for all to see.

MidnightEmpire

... I drive 35-100 miles just about every other day... Then again I also am constantly always making sure that everything is up to date on my car, maintenance-wise, I bought my "reliable" daily driver (my Rx7) once I felt like my ex-"reliable" daily driver (1989 Mitsubishi Starion) might not be too reliable after all...

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

in terms of fuel economy, especially since we're talking mostly highway driving (the OP specified that) a rotary in decent condition should give you at least the mid-20s MPG - some even get into the high-20s. generally speaking, you'd need to be driving a Daihatsu or something to do MUCH better than that in a car of the same vintage.

for comparison, my Rx-8 yields about the same MPG as any of my older rotaries. it's obviously not stellar by today's standards, but it is what it is. and as someone mentioned earlier, it's not like you're getting 9 MPG ....

Efinity

iTrader: (6)

ive owned six and i say no. get a 86 or 240sx.

Inspector71

I had 5 and bought my 6th. If well care for, they are good cars. My 86 needed clutch, brake master/slave cylinders, and alternator...in 2009 with 150K miles. Prior to that, no problems. I took super care of her. If its not fun to drive, if you can't wait to get behind the wheel, why brother? Yes, I understand your primary car must be reliable and gas mileage is all relative any way. If I found one that the owner could demonstrate was in great shape, go for it. I walked away from them in 2009 and here, in 2015, I just bought an 84. Yeah.

Tom93R1

iTrader: (2)

120 miles a day? You need a new car with warranty if you are driving that much!
non-turbo rotary is just as reliable as any other 27 year old car. I would pass on the car only because of the age and your driving distance, not because of rotary.

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

why 82 mph??
....if you get a Delorean..you can do 88 MPH..and say that you were at work already..

Seriously though,If you are Looking to BUY an FC then READ,READ READ..get to know what you are up against before you are 'surprised'
and even though I like the thought of an Beater FC,I still would not 100% rely on the car.That is not unless I have went through it with a Fine tooth comb.
and in this case,if you need to ask,then you have not.