kacex

Been lurking around these forums for awhile. I've saved up some money so I think its about time to buy an fc. My end goal is to do a t2 swap.


Found this on my local cl. Its owner is asking 2.8k for the car and some parts hes accumulated. From my understanding he uses it as his daily driver and has removed, no longer has, the ac unit. The extra parts aren't listed in detail but he claims to have a s4 front bumper, s5 rear, side moldings and extra seats. I'm planning on test driving it sometime next week.


Quoted from their ad:
"200k miles about 45k on rebuilt (i have paperwork for the rebuilt)
apexi exhaust with custom piping
tanabe springs on kyb shocks
also comes with extra parts
no ac"


My questions are:
1. What is it worth?

2. In the pics it seems that hes missing the part that is before the filter box, is this extremely crucial for it to run well? Are there any problems that could develop from his driving the car without it? Would it be easily replaced?

3. Should I even consider buying it?

4. Its a salvage. The first owner supposedly ran it up a curb. Should I be concerned/looking for anything on the car about this?

Thanks, and I can't wait to join such a helpful community.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

The price on the ad is about right. Typically a car like this would sell for $2500 - $3500.

Not a huge deal. It's the factory cold air intake. You should replace it if you buy the car but the only downside to now having it is that the airbox will tend to suck in hotter air, reducing performance.

With such little info provide, it's hard to say. But there is one thing I noticed on the pictures. The dash has had quite a poor paint job. I mean, it looks like the previous owner didn't even bother to mask, nor follow the directions on the can, and just sprayed away. To me that's a big red flag that the rest of the car might be hacked up. There isn't anything obvious in the engine pay picture that looks wrong. Carefully examine the car using the info below:

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

Definitely check alignment, the inner frame rails to make sure they aren't bent, condition of bushings, control arms, etc.

As for the salvage title, you'd have to check with locals to see how much it matters.

kacex

Thanks for the thorough response!

I see. I was actually planning on offering $2.2k for everything.

Alright I'll make sure to replace it.

I'm glad you caught that. I had a feeling that the car hasn't been properly cared for under the previous owner, but seeing this will really make certain I check for other signs of carelessness.

I'll be updating once I test drive the car.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

Actually, now that I take a closer look at the interior, I'd offer $1500 if everything else is in great shape. It is very time consuming to pull the entire interior to fix.

CALPICO

iTrader: (4)

the passenger door handle on the side looks broken...wish i had done my research when i purchased my turbo2...im finding all kinds of funk stuff on my car the previous owner did and didnt tell me about. anyways be sure to check if all emissions stuff are there or if they are even working or not...otherwise it wont pass smog for sure.

tetsurobash

iTrader: (6)

passing emissions is a big deal. you dont want to be trouble shooting all the while itching to drive it IMHO.

kacex

It seems he is meeting with 2 other potential buyers today. If it doesn't sell, I'll make sure to keep that in mind. Does that offer consider the extra parts?

Good eyes. It does look sort of loose/crooked so I'll make sure to test it out. You guys are noticing so much from just a few pictures, things I may have overlooked even in person, I'll really have to make an effort to catch things that aren't shown in them.

I believe the car was recently smogged, but I'll make sure to cover my bases.


Also, I'm entertaining the idea of buying a roller and putting in a t2 engine/drivetrain. How difficult would this be for a person who has swapped and maintained only piston engines before?

Thanks everyone.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

Extra parts would mean nothing to me. I have a shop, shed, garage and basement full of them. The Apex'I exhaust is also very obnoxious, in my opinion.

Pulling the interior out to fix the hack job is at least 4 days worth of work, plus the necessity to source new parts.

supremeFC

i personally am not a huge fan of the blue interior
and its salvaged dont pay 2800 for that.

fc3rotard

iTrader: (1)

id say its worth it, but look everything over rly good. i paid 1800 for mine and it was all original with 900 miles on a factory rebuild. but it sat for 9 yrs, so i had to replace pretty much everything rubber.

skkitz

Make sure you look ever everything well let it sit and idle for atleast 30 minutes make sure it doesn't heat up past normal operating temperature I paid 1400 for a FC that had bad coolant seals (before I knew anything about them) and got another one for 1900 that was off a fresh rebuild and he gave me alot of spare parts also. I would seriously offer at most 1700 for that car the way the interior is. Make sure there isn't no more hack jobs done.