Mazda RX7 FD models (mid to late 90s)

[Zippee]

I'm sort of shopping for a mid to late 90s RX7 FD, any tips from people as to the best places to look? Car & Classic has a handful, 2 of which are long sold but ads still up. PH/Autotrader very little.
Are they now that rare or are owners just not wanting to let them go?

[moneypits]

Talk to Torque GT and get them to find you some examples in Japan. Likely cheaper and less hassle.

[Zippee]

moneypits said:

Talk to Torque GT and get them to find you some examples in Japan. Likely cheaper and less hassle.

Thanks, i was half thinking of that route but have never imported a car before so no idea of costs. Will give them a look up.

[sam.rog]

Good ones are getting rare even in japan. A lot of stuff coming out of japan now wouldn t have sold 5 years ago.

A lot of auction sheets are either made up or not correct. Best bet is to get a broker or a reputable import company to source a vehicle for you. They will look the car over in japan and will guide you from there.

Torque gt are good but aren't the best with prep for uk if you are going to use it year round.

HJA only brings in the best and you will pay for it.

I ve never owned one as I need a semi reliable car for a daily. I have driven them a few times. They are sublime cars. Nothing else compares to how smooth the engine is and the handling is up there with the best, period.

If I had a dedicated fun car that could sit in the garage broken from time to time I d have one in the garage tomorrow.

Small edit. Don’t be tempted by a striped out one. Thinking you can put an interior in. A lot of parts are either unobtanium or hart stoppingly expensive.

Edited by sam.rog on Wednesday 11th June 18:54

Edited by sam.rog on Wednesday 11th June 18:57

[Zippee]

Thank you for the detail, much appreciated. Any car would need to be clean rather than concourse but engine rebuild is likely a must.
It wouldn't be a daily, i have 2 other cars, but it would need to be reliable. I owned TVRs for 15 years so am well used to niggles but if would need to start, stop and go when I needed it to.

I've always loved these things and deeply regret not buying one a few years back when you could barely give them away

[griffter]

Ones just appeared on FB marketplace with a LS2 swap. Perhaps not what you’re looking for but thought I’d mention it.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1YWnBVP5zD/?mibexti...

[TommoAE86]

sam.rog said:

A lot of auction sheets are either made up or not correct. Best bet is to get a broker or a reputable import company to source a vehicle for you. They will look the car over in japan and will guide you from there.

Torque gt are good but aren't the best with prep for uk if you are going to use it year round.

Agree that it's vital to get someone reputable on the ground in Japan to inspect, I've had 1 made up auction sheet which didn't list a top end rattle in the bidding I've done, wouldn't say it's any worse than buying a car in the UK just that it sucks more having waited so long for it to arrive and then finding it's goosed.

I've not experienced any problems with the UK prep with either of my imports from TorqueGT, one has lived outside in the UK for 5 years and is still fine and was undersealed properly by them when it arrived, they even went to fix the radio which had broken.

Decent importers are expensive though, how much value you get from the removed hassle is up to you.

[Zippee]

griffter said:

Ones just appeared on FB marketplace with a LS2 swap. Perhaps not what you re looking for but thought I d mention it.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1YWnBVP5zD/?mibexti...

Thanks, it honestly looks amazing but I'd want a standard as possible, within reason obviously as I doubt there's many that haven't been touched in some way.

[ChocolateFrog]

If you need it to start on the button is a 30 year old rotary the answer?

Sublime cars but not sure reliable is in their top 10 attributes.

[Zippee]

ChocolateFrog said:

If you need it to start on the button is a 30 year old rotary the answer?

Sublime cars but not sure reliable is in their top 10 attributes.

I get what your saying but properly garaged with a battery conditioner and regular sunny day use I would expect one to at least run
Looking at HJA they have a sold version of my perfect spec - https://www.harlow-jap-autos.co.uk/stockcode/hja59...

[breamster]

Zippee said:

griffter said:

Ones just appeared on FB marketplace with a LS2 swap. Perhaps not what you re looking for but thought I d mention it.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1YWnBVP5zD/?mibexti...

Thanks, it honestly looks amazing but I'd want a standard as possible, within reason obviously as I doubt there's many that haven't been touched in some way.

Same guy on Facebook has another one with a rotary fitted, albeit modified.

[Jester86]

Really lovely, stock or close to stock FDs are getting rarer now.

I bought mine from HJA a few years ago now. So I would definitely recommend them.

[swampy442]

Speak to JM Imports in Newcastle, big company now with a good rep.

Also don't listen to the reliability haters, my friend had an FD a couple of years ago and it never let him down, I had a Cosmo with the 13b and again, it never let me down, they like to be used.

[turbomoggie]

If you're thinking of importing from Japan and purchasing from auction and if you don't mind doing/arranging things once it arrives in the UK (and taking more risk than organising an import from the UK side i.e. if the car appears good but turns out to have hidden underlying problems - this will become your responsibility - due to the nature of purchasing a car from an auction) then I would recommend contacting Brendon from smilejv.com. He lives in Japan and runs an export company. He was recommended to me by another user on pistonheads. He's a very nice gentleman to deal with - I spoke to him on a video call and then liaised via email and WhatsApp. His website allows you to view all of the main vehicle auctions in Japan. He helped me to source my R32 GTR - an excellent example at a good price (quite a big saving vs purchasing from a UK based importer).

Extra responsibilities to think about if going down this route:

Converting your GBP to Yen and then transferring this to Japan.
Checking auction stock regularly - it did take several months of looking before I found a car the met my requirements.
Lots of waiting - vehicle transport within Japan, waiting for the car to be shipped, shipping takes a long time, once you have the car in the UK it then takes ages getting all of the paperwork sorted.
Organising transport of the car from the port to your home.
Fitting rear fog light and converting speedo to mph.
Organising MOT.
Organising and liaising with a shipping agent in the UK to help pay customs and port fees.
Paying VAT (depending on how old the car is).
Filling out the NOVA form and declaring the car to HMRC.

All of the above is relatively straightforward but it will take time and hassle = so horses for courses, personally I would be happy to do this again.