Hey I'm going to everett to get a 1988 rx-7 TII with 130k on it, and i want to know if there is a place that i can take it to before i buy it, to give it a look over to make sure I'm not getting a lemon. thanks!!

 

There aren't any rotary specialists in everett. Mazda Tech in lynnwood might be the closest rotary specialist shop to everett. look them up.

 

Alright, I think mapquest is messing up. it is saying that the place where the car i am buying, and mazda tech, are only a mile away. everett and lynnwood arent THAT close are they? and would it be a bad idea to just take the car to a normal mechanic to check it out before i buy it?

 

everett is right above lynnwood I live here

 

lynnwood is very close to south everett. It is very possible that the car is close to Mazda Tech. Any normal mechanic would be able to check it out, they just wouldn't be able to give you any insight to the condition of the engine.

 

Are you looking at purchasing one of the Turbo II's at West Coast Autoworks?

 

yeah is that bad?

 

I highly recommend you take the car to Lee Johnson Mazda in Kirkland. They have a couple of mechanics there who have been working on these things for many years and are very expert in troubleshooting and inspections. There are some problems with these cars that the average mechanic would not know about. Take it to an expert.

 

thanks stilettoman for the recommendation, but mazda tech is just so close to the dealership where the car is located, that it just seems like the best place.

13bpower, is there a problem with the TII's at west coast autoworks?

 

There are no problems with them that i know of. They have had them there for many months, but the prices were pretty steep. They have lowered the prices on them last time i checked.

Are you dealing with Matt?

 

There are several things to look for that are VERY important... First, CHECK THE COMPRESSION. Do not buy an Rx7 without doing this. You can use a generic tester. I'm sure Andy knows how to do it--but make SURE that he does it and tells you the results. Don't buy a Turbo II for that price with less than 95-100psi on all the rotor faces. Also, look for smoke. Do not buy an Rx7 for that price if there is any unusual smoke during the initial start-up, or at idle, decelleration, boosting etc.

If I were you, I would read in the 2nd generaton Rx7 section in the FAQ. There should be a link to several pages explaining what exactly to look for when purchasing a Turbo Rx7.

 

13bpower: No the person I have been talking to is Jason. Yeah the prices on them were way, way too much, but now they are somewhat reasonable. The white TII with 130k is for 3900 so that means less than that. how much less do you think i should buy it for? it has some UGLY rims that need to be off of it immediately, i am already embarrassed of them. The black TII is 4900 but i think its just because it has aftermarket parts on it, ya know? and finally the black NA converted to TII with 13k in reciepts costs 6900, so i think im gonna go for the white II, i dont like owning black cars

Eriksseven, i think I am just going to take it to Mazda Tech so it can be checked out extensively.

 

Okay for a little update, since the only day available for me to get the car is Sunday, I can't take it to a shop like mazda tech. I am going to assemble the list that aaron cake has on his website about buying a TII but other than that, is there any things i should look for about the car? it has a fuel pump cut off switch professionally installed because of a flooding problem, i guess i can look at this as a security thing, or is it more of a bad thing?

 

Your driving up from the tricities on Sunday to buy it?

Erik is right about not buying an Rx-7 without a compression check.

 

The fuel-cut switch is a bad thing, because a stock/unmolested Rx7 with good compression will not need the switch. However, it's not unusual at all for a TII with this mileage to have a flooding problem--so it's kind of irrelevant. As it is, you have to realize that any mileage past 150k on a Turbo II engine (even if it's stock), is getting very high--so you must anticipate a rebuild at any time as you approach and pass this mark.

I bought my first Turbo II with 140k miles on it, for $3750. I basically paid "retail", or what it sounds like you're going to spend. I personally would never buy an Rx7 at a "retail" price unless it's exactly what I wanted. I don't think that a Series 4 TII with higher mileage would NOW fit my personal description of perfection. At the time however, I was uneducated and just paid this price because I didn't know what to look for and I was really excited to drive a Turbo II--like I was giggling like a little school-girl on the test drive, even though the car was slow and had a broken motor-mount that vibrated at 5k+ RPM's.

Then again, I understand that "turbo Rx7" shopping is difficult because there aren't many options up here in the NW--so I think that $3500 would be a fair price if the car is clean with a decent/unmolested drive-train.

Send me a PM if you need more advice. I may be able to help you out depending on when you're coming up on Sunday. I live about 15 minutes South of Everett, in Edmonds.

 

okay cool. pm sent. i also forgot to mention, since the white one has a starting problem that mazda tech is baffled by, im going to get the black tII instead. it has a loud bov sadly, an exhaust, 112k miles on the odometer, a rebuild supposedly, intake, aftermarket turbo possibly, and bigger injectors. it has a little flooding problem so they installed a fuel cut off switch, and its for 4900... so 4k or less haha

 

def go with the lower milage one, T2's make me a little jealous

 

oh you will be jealous, david. wait remind me what weekend you are coming up here to see it and hangout? march 17th?? haha watch me blow the car up on the ride home...

 

im coming up somewhere between the 23rd-and april 1st. get a boost guage if it already doesnt have one before anything, boost creep pwnz

 

what about the boost gauge in the lower left corner of the TII gauge clusters?

 

dude be careful. its snowing here today. no tell what sunday will be like : /

where are you getting them from? where's it located at?

i saw a sign of some place on mukilteo speedway (south everett area) of a mazda rotary specialist. i forgot the name of it though.

 

better know as the driver entertainment gauge. It tells you nothing. I know it was 20 years ago, but I don't know what they were thinking when they designed that.

 

haha thanks, kinda like the miata oil pressure gauge that is in teh middle if there is pressure, at the bottom if there is no pressure, and at the top if its gonna blow.. man i hate being fooled.

yeah eriksseven was gonna go tothe dealers' for me today, but since it was snowing he didnt. hopefully this will all be blown over by the weekend.

 

Aha! according to this, http://www.weather.com/weather/tenda...ink_undeclared , after tomorrow, its supposed to rise back up to lows of mid-40's. so if my calculations are correct, that should imply NO SNOW FOR THE WEEKEND!

 

yep. its all melting now. no worries