NeilRX7

New member, old time FB owner... actually just my first posts here (see join date)!

In late 1984 my mechanic told me it was the last time he would put my 280Z on his lift - the unibody was too rusted out and I guess he thought it might collapse and topple over.

I could have just looked for a more adventurous mechanic but discretion got the better of me so I looked for a new car.

I really liked the 280. But by then the 300Z's were out and I didn't like the bling that was going into them. I liked the simple classic styling- inside and out - of the 280, especially the instrument cluster. I really didn't want to look at Vegas every time I checked the speedometer. Plus, the cost new was astronomical and I wasn't excited about the rust thing.

Anyway... I was aware of the RX-7 so I took my then rather new 9 year old stepson to the local dealer. This was February 1985, and a rare balmy 70 degree day. Good car shopping day.

At that time 7's weren't all that easy to get and usually had to be ordered. Some dealers charged a premium, some, like my dealer, just pre-prepped the cars with expensive undercoating and "no wax paint protection packages", which is what happened to me.

Anyway, my main concern wasn't negotiating down the car $500 but what he would give me in trade. So there was this black GSL-SE on the lot, and here I was, and so I said "what will you give me on a trade?". And he said... "$1500 - but we need to check the car to firm it up".

So some guy comes out and looks in the Z and gives it a quick look around, and all the sudden I'm in the office and the deal is still good. So I couldn't sign fast enough or write the check fast enough (paid cash to get out the door quick before anyone really looked too close at the wheel wells on that Z). And somewhere in there they drove it into the shop to give it a final look and I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop but it never did...

And inside of a half hour, with my son in the passenger seat and the moon roof stowed back in the hatch, there I am cruising out into the countryside in my new 7.

True story.

That's as close as I'll ever get to getting the better of a car dealer- tough to beat a guy at his own game. And somehow, I know I got screwed big time... I just never figured out exactly how

Roll forward about 3 years or so. My kid is now 12 or so and I'm thinking... when he's 16 that 7 will be about 7 years old and cars don't stay nice much longer than that so... I told him I'd give it to him when he turned 16. If it doesn't rust out like the Z before then.

Now roll forward... he's 16, the 7 is 6-7 years old and it's still really in decent shape so he never got the car. Which I felt bad about until I saw how bad he ragged out the car he ended up buying. I mean really... I broke a promise (sort of) but if had done that to the 7 it would have been a worse crime.

In 1991 I bought a new Pathfinder, which kept the 7 off the streets in the winter and the mileage wasn't racking up very fast. The 7 had always been and has always been, garage kept. I still have that PF, but it never got garaged and now it looks like a 6 foot diameter oak tree fell on it. Because... a 6 foot diameter oak tree really did fall on it. But that's another story. I've owned 5 vehicles over 40 years and still own the last two. The 2nd vehicle (a Datsun) was a terrible mistake and only lasted about 6 months, if that, leading me into the Z car.

So somewhere between, oh... 1995-2000... I got to thinking about how cool it would be if I ended up with a single owner classic car (at least classic tags). And the idea kept growing on me, and with a few odd exceptions the car was really good to me and I was only putting on 3-5K a year if that. I was working from home - no commute - and I can only drive 2 cars so much.

Well... 2008 rolls around and I flunk my emissions test - twice, after a not needed tune up - and my mechanic tells me to go historic. But it's 25 years... but no, they changed it to 20. So now I have my tags. Mission accomplished. It think that was the mechanic that lost my dip stick and swapped in "a spare", but that's another story involving a fuel sensor that was stuck on (but not really).

It's been a great ride for 26 years but the last few have started to get relatively expensive. It really ought to be illegal to own something like this if you don't have a lift in your garage! Just for your own financial protection!

Well, that's me. I can't honestly call myself "an enthusiast" because the idea of changing a set of spark plugs is a bit scary. I'm a software guy. I don't do hardware :-). All I know about that is that it's simple to do and even easier to destroy the engine if it's done wrong. But I may learn because it may be the only way to make the next 10 years economical.

That's my story... so far!