Otakusama

Hi, all! For those interested, hear me as I regale you with the tragic tale of my first attempt at being a proud RX-7 owner. Those of you from Virginia know it's not really easy to come across an FD in running condition for sale for any kind of decent price. I spent months looking for a good one to come along. It, did though, not on ebay, but on Craig's List.... first mistake. It looked amazing though. A black with blue speckles '94 touring model with front and rear body kit and 20" crome wheels. I know, right? 20's? Well, it seemed pretty dumb but it did look good and I figured I could sell the 20's and buy some enkei's or something. It also had some minor trim stuff that tends to break over time and builds up if you don't keep up with it; a broken glove box handle, broken trim in the back of the trunk area, the radio was a POS, the passenger exterior door handle was boken, a common problem with FD's, etc. The guy was kind of a redneck, but the car drove fine, except for how the tires rubbed if you turned too sharp. I failed to notice the guy had removed the wheel well molding to allow it to turn farther, yet it still rubbed. He wanted $15,000 for it. That seemed a bit much to me considering all the minor issues it had, but this was my dream car we were talking about so against my better judgement I forked over the $15,000. I noticed very quickly that when you hit a speed bump the tires hit the top of the wheel wells. Well, I was going to get new wheels as soon as I could afford them. Just to be safe I put the wheels from my RX-8 on the RX-7 and it didn't rub again. Anyway, my dream seemed to be realized as several Evo's tried to race me, and they soon regretted it. I couldn't go to the gas station without someone coming up to shake my hand. Things were really looking up. I had fixed the doors and several minor trim details inside and outside. Even bought a new stereo. I had even gotten it ready to pass a Virginia State inspection one saturday evening. The next day, however, on the way back from the mall, the FD died. It sputtered horribly and wouldn't maintain RPM at idle, spitting out heavy smoke from the exhaust. A friend diagnosed it as one of the ignition coils failed. After $400 worth of ignition coils from Advanced Auto and some research I replaced the coils myself, in the snow I might add. It started up with some difficulty, but after a little bit it ran just fine, and subsequently broke down again that same night. I took it to a professional, who troubleshot the fuel pump and then figured out the ignition coils were burning up. He replaced them and after $1000 to him, I managed to limp it home and a professional from Mazda identified a massive short in the front wiring harness where the 20" wheels had stripped all the insulation off the wires. He also discovered the engine wiring harness has melted, causing the ignition coils to fry. The solution? Replace both wiring harnesses and the ignition coils yet again. So, currently my dream car sits in a coma in a storage shed while a try to save up for a front wiring harness. The engine harness and the coils have been procured, fortunately. All I can say is I won't give up. The FD will live again, much to the chagrin of Evo's everywhere. But it was definitely NOT worth $15,000.

Kimchi

iTrader: (1)

wow! I know what you mean when you said you cant find a clean FD around in VA. I have looked forever for one. And the Hampton Roads has possibly the worst roads ever!!!

Gringo Grande

iTrader: (97)

Suggestions:

1) Go into the 3rd Gen Section and start reading/asking questions
2) Don't buy new...especially from the dealer or autozone. Used items from reputable sellers (such as myself) on the forums will save you hundreds and thousands of dollars over time.
3) Find a shop that specializes in rotaries...not a Mazda Specialist...especially not a dealership. Very, very few people know how to work on FD's. IMHO you've paid too much for the fixes so far...you will do well to start reading and learning to fix as much as possible on your own!

Formula1RR

good luck with your car. FD sure are expensive

rxtasy3

iTrader: (2)

never give asking price on a used car, regardless make and model.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

So is any other 17 year old car that has been hacked and riced out.



Good luck getting things sorted out. The 3rd gen FAQ has a Buyer's Guide that would have helped you avoid some of your issues. It also has lots of good threads that will help you sort out your current issues.



PS - learn to use paragraphs. Your post gives me a headache just looking at it. Very few people will waste their time reading that mess. You may want people to read your post when you want help. Make it easy on us.