Rk3

Hey guys I'm looking into buying a fc rx7 but I have a few questions.
1st. How is the reliability of these cars in your experience this car has a rebuilt motor with about 45,000.
2nd. This will be my dd so is there some preventive maintanence I can do to make it more reliable?

funkjaw

iTrader: (3)

Turbo or non turbo?

There is a lot to say about the reliability of ANY car... but the jist of it is: It will only be as good as the owner/operator.

I've owned 8 FCs. These can be wonderful cars.. BUT like any 25 year old car things WILL break down and need replacement. With that said, I think they can be as reliable as any other car.

Read these before you purchase:

How To Buy An '86-'92 Non-Turbo RX-7

or if you are looking at getting a turbo

How To Buy An '86-'92 Turbo RX-7

cab91089

iTrader: (3)

Like as mentioned above the FC can be reliable but it isnt the most reliable. If you want a car thats fun to drive and build then the Rx-7 is an awesome choice. A way for you to get it to run better is for you to change all the filters and fluids and flush the systems out if the car has sat for any period of time over a month or two. Open up the exhaust with a nice performance set up like Racing Beat will help too for power and better MPG.

BAMFRx-7

iTrader: (1)

hi i have 2 FC's, one of witch ive owned for about 13 years. iv learned that they make a fine dd if you stay on top of the maintenance. but even with that said, they are most suited as project, weekend cars. for the track or occasional enjoyable drives. but one thing is certain of FC's and most any owner will agree with me that once you have one you grow to love them.

azn_kenji

I just bought my first Fc about 4 months ago and i loved it! its a classic car and its uncommon. And the fact that these cars are rare to see everyday, makes ppl goes "Wow an FC..."

azn_kenji

first thing i do is check if the car is reliable to last me at least 5 years...??

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

We're talking about 25 year old sports cars here, so condition is everything.

Take a look at the links posted earlier in this thread that will tell you everything you need to know when looking at the car.

Perform a compression test to get the internal condition of the engine. Remember, it's a 25 year old car. A 25 year old Honda may show low compression after 200,000 miles, so don't be surprised if the RX-7 does as well.

You'll almost certainly need to make repairs to the vehicle if not already done. Things like suspension bushings, brake lines, bearing, etc. just plain wear out.

Weird. In my 13 years of owning rotary cars, and over 500,000 rotary miles, I've never blown an engine. An engine problem has never left be stranded, and never once do a worry that a "pop is in the future".

Andrew Petersen

Worth buying especially if it has a rebuilt engine my girl friend and I both drive the crap out of our cars and have have no issues at all with them mechanically one had a fuel pump go and the other had a tps but for being 22 years old not something surprising also our cars have 180,000 - 230,000 km on them also everyone into those cars is willing to help you out if you can't find a part or need to know how to fix something

Marx-7

In my humble opinion you can wreck a piston engine as well within 50 k, it all depends on how you treat it. As mentioned earlier here bare in mind these cars and engines are 20 to 25 years old.

My FB has now 136.000km, never rebuild and good compression and has been maintained well by his previous owners and i benifit from that now.

If you are really interested then try to take someone with you who knowes his/hers way around rotaries but be causious.......these cars tend to be addictive

succes

funkjaw

iTrader: (3)

Just to throw this out there, my daily driver (NA coupe) hit 150,000 miles (original engine) a couple months back... and my girlfriend's daily driver (NA vert) hit 200,000 miles (original engine) just 2 weeks ago.

2gboosted

if your going to buy a FC buy one thats unmolested.... yes youll probably pay a little more BUT!!!!!!..... in the end less headaches and your not fixing someone elses faild BS!!!!

ShnitzÑGiggles

I had an old truck well maintained at 262,000 miles and it was still strong.
Im hopefully going to pick up an fc soon so I wanted to join the forum for ideas of what looks good

PWRDByAdobo

iTrader: (2)

+1

My two previous owners was a ricer and an old guy that left her to sit for 6 months.

funkjaw

iTrader: (3)

+2 I couldn't agree more. My vert was previously owned by a kid who did some silly things to it that I later on had to fix the hard way.

Musicbassdude

Semi related, How long should a non turbo N/A 13b last before a rebuild?

BAMFRx-7

iTrader: (1)

as u prolly know depends on the particular car and it history to decide rebuild, but through research it seems that alot of FC's need a rebuild around 130,000~150,000miles. i have 2 and 1 got rebuilt at 88,000miles and my other is 150,000 and now needs rebuid.

funkjaw

iTrader: (3)

It depends on how well it is maintained and what you consider needing a rebuild.

Most NAs make it 150,00+ miles. I have 200,000 on one of mine, and the rest are 150,000+.

However, some people at the first sign of excessive oil burning think the engine needs rebuilt. If you are one of those people, than obviously a rebuild will come sooner.

cab91089

iTrader: (3)

An N.A has been known to last until 200k and a Turbo2 from what I have read can last up to around 125k

Musicbassdude

Awesome, thanks for the heads up. I've seen a few with under a hundred going for 1500 and a little less. I'm hoping to make this car last for as long as I can once I get it

max07sti

great information. Think I want one now.

cab91089

iTrader: (3)

If you buy an FC or any RX-7 in general you wont regret it. They are great cars and fun as hell to drive.

raiglide

Just what I wanted to know. Sweet

skttr

Great info here, I'm in the same situation, might do a compression test before buying to see what my odds are first though.