Hi folks,

I'm looking into buying one of these beauties that are the FDs.
I currently live in Dubai, so my intention is to purchase it in the US and ship it to the UAE, but here's my doubt:

Should I buy a roller and take it to a good Rotary shop and have the Engine and tranny rebuilt or should I make the effort of buying a low mileage one?

What do you thing is less risky?

Thanks,

 

If your able to find one with low mileage I say go for it. But your best bet is finding a decent clean chassis and rebuilding the motor (if you really have to).

 

Dude, just make sure whoever your buying from hasn't read this!


Other than that i say do the rebuild Unless you don't plan on getting any more out of the car its worth the time and money for a car that'll run like new

 

That's exactly one of my points, if I get a low mileage, and take good care of it it will keep it's value or increase with time and I'm not sure a rebuilt one would.

Would you agree?

 

just go ahead and rebuilt, that way you know exactly the quality of the parts and craftsmanship that goes in the car.

 

Yup! that's the other side of the coin, hence my doubt

Cheers

 

BTW, why did you say this?
I don't really see anything bad in a potential seller seing that I'm doubting between a low mileage or a rebuilt , this just means there's a large cunk of the current market that I'm not really interested in.

Cheers

 

In my experience, the condition of the car and engine is far more important than whether the engine is original. If you don't drive it much, keep it well maintained, the value will hold steady or increase. I bought mine with 51k on it 6 years ago and I could probably resell it with 72k now for nearly the same price.

The exception would be a super-low mileage car with true collectible potential. Then you want everything to be 100% original. In which case you wouldn't be driving it much or modifying anything.

Dave

 

Thanks, that's the exact answer I was looking for; very enlighting

 

strip the thing and rebuild it the way you want to

 

Oh, but about the "retaining it's value" don't forget I've been spending $2k/year on it in maintenance, tires, oil change, and fixes and I do most of the labor myself. That kind of maintenance is a given with most FDs.

Dave

 

Well, of that I am aware and I also like to do everything myself so I'm cool with that, actually that's one of the things that makes this car so attractive to me.

Thanks again,
G.