Not sure if I should buy
10-21-20, 05:56 AM
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Not sure if I should buy
Hey everyone, I am currently looking for a nice first project car (not a ton of work but enough to keep my busy through the summer) now a buddy of mine pointed me towards the 90s Miatas because according to him "parts are cheap and almost everything is easy to get at" so while looking for a cheaper Miata I came across a 1987 mazda rx7 that was being sold for 5,500 CAD. Now my questions are this
1. How much are parts
2. How easy is everything to get at for repairs
3. What things should I be looking for in terms of dmg/redflags when buying
4. Kinda the same as Q2 but are RX7s even good first time project cars.
And before people ask, no I do not have a ton of experience doing work on vehicles(other then minor maintenance) but I am a machinest by trade and am quite mechanically inclined.
1. How much are parts
2. How easy is everything to get at for repairs
3. What things should I be looking for in terms of dmg/redflags when buying
4. Kinda the same as Q2 but are RX7s even good first time project cars.
And before people ask, no I do not have a ton of experience doing work on vehicles(other then minor maintenance) but I am a machinest by trade and am quite mechanically inclined.
10-23-20, 12:23 AM
#2
welcome to the board. 
1. it really depends on what you're looking for. that said, even the youngest Gen 2 car is just about 30 years old. i have no clue what Mazda still carries and what they don't, prices for parts have definitely risen in the last 5 years from what i can tell.
2. everything is pretty easy as far as i am concerned. unless you have something weird to do, like the heater core or something.
3. what is "dmg?" in your part of the world, i would think rust might be a big one.
after that, 80s electronics are quirky. unless you're a whiz at that sort of thing, you probably don't want to pass on a car that someone has done a lot of electrical "work" to (sound systems, alarms, etc.) once the wiring gets butchered, it can be a task to set it right again.
engine-wise: smoking, hard starts and a crappy idle are cause for concern. smoke usually means failing or failed engine seals, but are not necessarily the end of the world. hard start and crappy idle may could be easy fixes or catastrophe.
4. this will come down to how dedicated you are. Rx-7s are kind of a lifestyle. they are great projects if you are willing to accept that you will be in a relationship. you need to have a good attention span (i would imagine that's not an issue for you, as a machinist though).
as a side note, i haven't been in the market in years, but what condition is this $5500 car in? unless things have changed an awful lot over the years, i'm thinking it had better be pristine is all respects.
1. it really depends on what you're looking for. that said, even the youngest Gen 2 car is just about 30 years old. i have no clue what Mazda still carries and what they don't, prices for parts have definitely risen in the last 5 years from what i can tell.
2. everything is pretty easy as far as i am concerned. unless you have something weird to do, like the heater core or something.
3. what is "dmg?" in your part of the world, i would think rust might be a big one.
after that, 80s electronics are quirky. unless you're a whiz at that sort of thing, you probably don't want to pass on a car that someone has done a lot of electrical "work" to (sound systems, alarms, etc.) once the wiring gets butchered, it can be a task to set it right again.
engine-wise: smoking, hard starts and a crappy idle are cause for concern. smoke usually means failing or failed engine seals, but are not necessarily the end of the world. hard start and crappy idle may could be easy fixes or catastrophe.
4. this will come down to how dedicated you are. Rx-7s are kind of a lifestyle. they are great projects if you are willing to accept that you will be in a relationship. you need to have a good attention span (i would imagine that's not an issue for you, as a machinist though).
as a side note, i haven't been in the market in years, but what condition is this $5500 car in? unless things have changed an awful lot over the years, i'm thinking it had better be pristine is all respects.
10-26-20, 04:55 AM
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welcome to the board.
1. it really depends on what you're looking for. that said, even the youngest Gen 2 car is just about 30 years old. i have no clue what Mazda still carries and what they don't, prices for parts have definitely risen in the last 5 years from what i can tell.
2. everything is pretty easy as far as i am concerned. unless you have something weird to do, like the heater core or something.
3. what is "dmg?" in your part of the world, i would think rust might be a big one.
after that, 80s electronics are quirky. unless you're a whiz at that sort of thing, you probably don't want to pass on a car that someone has done a lot of electrical "work" to (sound systems, alarms, etc.) once the wiring gets butchered, it can be a task to set it right again.
engine-wise: smoking, hard starts and a crappy idle are cause for concern. smoke usually means failing or failed engine seals, but are not necessarily the end of the world. hard start and crappy idle may could be easy fixes or catastrophe.
4. this will come down to how dedicated you are. Rx-7s are kind of a lifestyle. they are great projects if you are willing to accept that you will be in a relationship. you need to have a good attention span (i would imagine that's not an issue for you, as a machinist though).
as a side note, i haven't been in the market in years, but what condition is this $5500 car in? unless things have changed an awful lot over the years, i'm thinking it had better be pristine is all respects.
1. it really depends on what you're looking for. that said, even the youngest Gen 2 car is just about 30 years old. i have no clue what Mazda still carries and what they don't, prices for parts have definitely risen in the last 5 years from what i can tell.
2. everything is pretty easy as far as i am concerned. unless you have something weird to do, like the heater core or something.
3. what is "dmg?" in your part of the world, i would think rust might be a big one.
after that, 80s electronics are quirky. unless you're a whiz at that sort of thing, you probably don't want to pass on a car that someone has done a lot of electrical "work" to (sound systems, alarms, etc.) once the wiring gets butchered, it can be a task to set it right again.
engine-wise: smoking, hard starts and a crappy idle are cause for concern. smoke usually means failing or failed engine seals, but are not necessarily the end of the world. hard start and crappy idle may could be easy fixes or catastrophe.
4. this will come down to how dedicated you are. Rx-7s are kind of a lifestyle. they are great projects if you are willing to accept that you will be in a relationship. you need to have a good attention span (i would imagine that's not an issue for you, as a machinist though).
as a side note, i haven't been in the market in years, but what condition is this $5500 car in? unless things have changed an awful lot over the years, i'm thinking it had better be pristine is all respects.
That's the ad for it, it seems like it hasn't been started in years though. Had another buddy of mine say that if you have to trailer it then he wouldn't pay more then 1500.
And I am from southern Ontario so I'd most likely be looking for rot in the body but it looks like everything is still stock.
10-26-20, 05:07 AM
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It seems to be in good shape, the real big thing is that the engine doesn't need to be replaced or that there isn't any rot in the frame/body
Im just wondering though, what would you pay for an rx7 that you'll have to trailer away?
10-26-20, 11:02 AM
#5
i won't tell you what to do, but i will share my initial thoughts, and they are:
1. if everything in the ad turns out to be true (and it rarely ever turns out that way - whether or not intentional deceit is involved), then you're still left with a clean, base model S4 car with roughly 112,000 miles on it for $5500.
2. to me, on paper, that still doesn't seem too bad in the context of people asking $10 K and $12 K for S5 convertibles. that said, when i look for cars, more often than not, i'm not looking for pristine. price is a main factor for me, and i'm willing to make concessions (bad engines, missing interior bits, etc.) - about the only thing i require is a solid body (because i can't do body work, and i hate dealing with body shops) to meet my budget.
3. okay, so that brings me to the question - what are your plans overall? you specifically used the word "project" in your original post, and that makes me think you're not collecting the thing, preserving it 100% stock with all the emissions and such in place, only planning to drive it on occasion. It makes me think driving will happen a lot, and mods are more than just a thought on paper. if this is correct, then i think unless you can get the price down significantly (i didn't look up exchange rates, but i know no matter who happens to be on top at any given time, the dollars in our respective countries are usually pretty close in value), then you should probably leave this to someone that closer fits a collector profile. no sense paying top dollar for something that you will be willfully devaluing as soon as you get it home.
4. if you can get the price down to something more reasonable to your goals, then go for it. now, what that price is? i don't know. as i said, i've been out of the marketplace for quite some time, i think somewhere in the middle between "free" and $5500 could be fair though (if the car is as clean as it looks and still drives relatively well). maybe start at like $2400 - $2500 and depending on if the engine turns by hand and makes decent sounds, then you can talk it down more??? again, that's me .... hopefully you can get other more recently active opinions to chime in.
my two main concerns are:
1. i don't really like these ads where someone is "selling for a friend."
2.. it's been garage kept for 11 years, then out of nowhere was left out in grass for 3+ ... and something tells me you're not dealing with people who would be aware enough to keep the engine lubed internally and rotated every so often, so who knows about that aspect? also, i know how wicked winters can be in Toronto, and you said you're somewhere in southern Ontario, so you're close enough. that kind of extreme can't be kind to the car.
Last edited by diabolical1; 10-26-20 at 11:06 AM.
10-26-20, 04:57 PM
#6
Myself I would not pay $5500 CAD for this car. The engine is a big wildcard and if it needs to be rebuilt, count on at least $1000 of the rotor housings are good. You'll need to go through ever subsystem (fuel, brakes, etc).
I'd go with a Miata at this price. In my neck of the woods that's $1500 US not-running car.
I'd go with a Miata at this price. In my neck of the woods that's $1500 US not-running car.
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