Hello,
I am new to the forum. I am looking at very low mileage 1988 RX7 that is for sale. Should I be concerned about the durability of the rotary engine if it is maintained? I have never owned one of these and all of my experience has been with traditional pistion engines. I would apprciate any experienced views on this.
Thank You,

 

Even a Super model will leave you if you do not give her attention or the love she deserves.

If you don't attend to the car then it will leave you..stranded.It's a OLD car so you need to renew anything that it needs,like bushings,shocks,brakes,plugs,filters,etc..After that just keep a regular scheduled maintenance on things like oil and filter,plugs.

Piston engines can be unattended to and still run,but this Car is a little more needy.But that is since it is older technology in my view.But if you take the engine out of the car,then you are left with JUST A REGULAR CAR..nothing special..It's got wheels.brakes,seats,..hey..look at that,it's a Car!So don't be scare to work on yours.

Buying the car is up to you.If you feel you can handle the mechanics and the care that it needs then go for it.
The Forum has all the info for that so you would not be alone.
The rotary engine scares people.That is because they don't get maintained as people think they need the Special maintenance..They don't.
They require Regular maintenance.
If that is not done then that is the time where the car will bite back.

 

The car is 26 years old and it still works. How much reliability do you need?

 

I'm trading in the wife next week...She's 40..I'm getting two 20 year olds!

 

Thank you for taing the time to reply. I will keep your advise in mind.

 

I bought a Series 4 that was looked after and always serviced, Still to this day it starts everytime with no issues but the regular oil change and maintance. Super car, touch wood.

 

/\..this is Exactly what "we" are talking about...
Treat it right it treats you Right.

 

I bought an 83 about 6 months ago. Drove about 3 hours to go look at it, then drove it 3 hours home without any issues. I did a lot of reading on the forum about the peculiarities of the rotary. The biggest takeaway for me was to check the oil frequently and never let if run low.

I just took mine on a 5 hour road trip to the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood this past weekend and it ran perfectly. Started on the first try in 20 degree weather and drove 5 hours back home no problem.

Like everyone else has said, if you perform proper maintenance, I don't see why it shouldn't be as reliable as any other car.

 

in the words of jason statham in the transporter "If you take care of your car, your car will take care of you"

 

hell with that..I want the Chick in the trunk!

 

My 1st RX-7 was a $700 gold S4 with phone dial wheels and almost 200k on the clock. I beat the living hell out of it then hung it up wet everyday.
It never left me stranded. By the time I finally blew the clutch out, the car was worth less than a new clutch so I sold it to my friend for 350 bucks.
He put a new clutch in it and flogged the crap out of it for another couple years, until he finally dorifto'd it into a guardrail. Still revving to 7+k. Still plenty of power. Between us, we put 30k on it at least, and there's NO way it had been rebuilt anytime near when I bought it from some Mexican guy. Off it went to the junkyard.

I'm on my 4th rx-7 now, feeding my addiction over 10 years later.

 

as do i LOL