RE: Mazda RX-7: PH Buying Guide
Discussion
I’m a huge rx7 fan boy, a car of choice on the original gran turismo when growing up. Managed to buy one that I eventually traded in and it is now for sale on autotrader etc. Mine was in the best colour and a rare auto but was silky smooth and quick, handling superb and a unique noise. If we hadn’t have had kids I’d have kept it. A true drivers car and for me the best 90s jap car.
V8RX7 said:
Talk about dumbing down "PH Buying Guide"
So what price are they ?
£20K and £10K - you're looking in the wrong places - they start around £5k
What should I look for ?
A COMPRESSION TEST !
Why not just lose the car pics and put up a topless girl.
That awkward moment where someone has been sarcy and eye-rolley and then has to have it pointed out that they've read the Introduction page and not bothered to read the actual buying guide sections.So what price are they ?
£20K and £10K - you're looking in the wrong places - they start around £5k
What should I look for ?
A COMPRESSION TEST !
Why not just lose the car pics and put up a topless girl.
Like under "power train" - where it almost immediately starts to talk about compression tests...
Christ this is making me really miss mine! I ran a stock(ish) 1996 Type RS as my daily for 4 years and it was fantastic, I bought it from a close friend with a freshly rebuilt engine, so knew the history which was a bonus. It really is one of those cars that gets under your skin, and every drive felt like an event.
I echo the guide re bushes though, the roads round me are quite bad and I was forever having to have them refreshed. I also had an issue with rust which took a while to sort, turned out to be the spoiler leak issue mentioned earlier. Engine wise it was totally trouble free and even 20k after the rebuild was still hitting 8's on compression. I will confess the 3,000 mile service interval was slightly punishing as my nearest specialist was 60 miles away.
Kids came along and I needed something more sensible, I ended up selling it when the market was at rock bottom for half what it would be worth now, I really wish I'd just squirreled it away in a lockup somewhere.
One day though, when I have the money and space, a Spirit R will be sitting in my garage :-)
I echo the guide re bushes though, the roads round me are quite bad and I was forever having to have them refreshed. I also had an issue with rust which took a while to sort, turned out to be the spoiler leak issue mentioned earlier. Engine wise it was totally trouble free and even 20k after the rebuild was still hitting 8's on compression. I will confess the 3,000 mile service interval was slightly punishing as my nearest specialist was 60 miles away.
Kids came along and I needed something more sensible, I ended up selling it when the market was at rock bottom for half what it would be worth now, I really wish I'd just squirreled it away in a lockup somewhere.
One day though, when I have the money and space, a Spirit R will be sitting in my garage :-)
I love the idea of these cars. They are probably the most beautiful looking car to come out of Japan during that era, the wankel engine is different, they are small, light and handle really well. However the list of things to look out for, check or that can go wrong is as long as your arm.
3000 mile oil services with religious checking of oil in between, cold start problems, hot start problems, rats nest turbo piping, bushes, rust, sub 20 mpg fuel costs for a car that isn't that quick in the grand scheme of things and not to mention engine rebuilds. During my Japanese car phase I was a member of a local club which had two members with RX-7's, lovely looking things when they worked but they missed more meets than anyone else combined due to problems with their cars.
Some people obviously still think all the hassle is worth it but not for me, maybe if I was retired and had lots of time on my hands I'd run one but with limited time to enjoy them, I hate it when cars keep having problems, or need constant pampering, it just sours the experience for me.
3000 mile oil services with religious checking of oil in between, cold start problems, hot start problems, rats nest turbo piping, bushes, rust, sub 20 mpg fuel costs for a car that isn't that quick in the grand scheme of things and not to mention engine rebuilds. During my Japanese car phase I was a member of a local club which had two members with RX-7's, lovely looking things when they worked but they missed more meets than anyone else combined due to problems with their cars.
Some people obviously still think all the hassle is worth it but not for me, maybe if I was retired and had lots of time on my hands I'd run one but with limited time to enjoy them, I hate it when cars keep having problems, or need constant pampering, it just sours the experience for me.
Guvernator said:
I love the idea of these cars. They are probably the most beautiful looking car to come out of Japan during that era, the wankel engine is different, they are small, light and handle really well. However the list of things to look out for, check or that can go wrong is as long as your arm.
3000 mile oil services with religious checking of oil in between, cold start problems, hot start problems, rats nest turbo piping, bushes, rust, sub 20 mpg fuel costs for a car that isn't that quick in the grand scheme of things and not to mention engine rebuilds. During my Japanese car phase I was a member of a local club which had two members with RX-7's, lovely looking things when they worked but they missed more meets than anyone else combined due to problems with their cars.
Some people obviously still think all the hassle is worth it but not for me, maybe if I was retired and had lots of time on my hands I'd run one but with limited time to enjoy them, I hate it when cars keep having problems, or need constant pampering, it just sours the experience for me.
Couldn't have put it better.3000 mile oil services with religious checking of oil in between, cold start problems, hot start problems, rats nest turbo piping, bushes, rust, sub 20 mpg fuel costs for a car that isn't that quick in the grand scheme of things and not to mention engine rebuilds. During my Japanese car phase I was a member of a local club which had two members with RX-7's, lovely looking things when they worked but they missed more meets than anyone else combined due to problems with their cars.
Some people obviously still think all the hassle is worth it but not for me, maybe if I was retired and had lots of time on my hands I'd run one but with limited time to enjoy them, I hate it when cars keep having problems, or need constant pampering, it just sours the experience for me.
I love these cars, I think they look fantastic. But the idea of having a car that I cant apparently move across a forecourt without having to then remove the spark plugs....well it seems a bit of a faff?
So thanks to the rest of you, who are far more committed, for keeping them going so I get to smile and enjoy one as it blats past
Simon
snowen250 said:
the idea of having a car that I cant apparently move across a forecourt without having to then remove the spark plugs....well it seems a bit of a faff?
On that particular point, I have to say I've started and immediately shut off my FD several times from cold, and never had a problem starting it again. I have a feeling that this may be limited to poorly tuned cars that idle too rich. (and RX-8s?)Still, I can't argue with the wider point, they are hard cars to find in good condition, and tend to be maintenance intensive. If they were Honda-reliable, they'd be as valuable as an NSX ;-)
I love the way they look and they have a lot going for them. But they scare the heck out of me in terms of general cost let alone potential cost.
The pro's all seem to have cons too.
Pro? The engine and therefor the car is lighter than rivals!
Con - They still use more petrol. And oil.
Pro? The engine revs really smoothly and they tune well.
Con - You have to treat it like a newborn baby to stop it blowing up. A Supra TT is made from granite in comparison.
They do look better than Supra's, Skylines, 200's, 300's and 3000's though IMO. And the rotary, despite all the potential ruinous issues, is still a real talking point.
I have an RX8 specialist a couple of hundred yards from my house. I'm sure he has almost every RX8 available at the moment for sale. I reckon there are less 7's in the country than he has on his forecourt for sale.
The pro's all seem to have cons too.
Pro? The engine and therefor the car is lighter than rivals!
Con - They still use more petrol. And oil.
Pro? The engine revs really smoothly and they tune well.
Con - You have to treat it like a newborn baby to stop it blowing up. A Supra TT is made from granite in comparison.
They do look better than Supra's, Skylines, 200's, 300's and 3000's though IMO. And the rotary, despite all the potential ruinous issues, is still a real talking point.
I have an RX8 specialist a couple of hundred yards from my house. I'm sure he has almost every RX8 available at the moment for sale. I reckon there are less 7's in the country than he has on his forecourt for sale.
PHMatt said:
I love the way they look and they have a lot going for them. But they scare the heck out of me in terms of general cost let alone potential cost.
The pro's all seem to have cons too.
Pro? The engine and therefor the car is lighter than rivals!
Con - They still use more petrol. And oil.
Pro? The engine revs really smoothly and they tune well.
Con - You have to treat it like a newborn baby to stop it blowing up. A Supra TT is made from granite in comparison.
.
Maintenance costs for me over 11 years have been:The pro's all seem to have cons too.
Pro? The engine and therefor the car is lighter than rivals!
Con - They still use more petrol. And oil.
Pro? The engine revs really smoothly and they tune well.
Con - You have to treat it like a newborn baby to stop it blowing up. A Supra TT is made from granite in comparison.
.
- Annual service £300-400.
- Tyres every ~20K miles
- One clutch
- One electrical switch replaced
- Brake pads every ~25K miles
- Bushes ~£400
Oil added at 1 litre per ~2K miles. (less than my VW)
No rebuilds so far but still under 100K miles.
Mine dyno'd at 310bhp (stock) and weighs 1280kg which is a bit of a featherweight these days.
MPG 18mpg short journeys, more if you drive sensibly but why bother.
The only problem I've found is that its absolutely rubbish on snow.
samoht said:
On that particular point, I have to say I've started and immediately shut off my FD several times from cold, and never had a problem starting it again. I have a feeling that this may be limited to poorly tuned cars that idle too rich. (and RX-8s?)
Still, I can't argue with the wider point, they are hard cars to find in good condition, and tend to be maintenance intensive. If they were Honda-reliable, they'd be as valuable as an NSX ;-)
No, it's because the FD has peripheral exhaust ports which expels gases and liquids much more efficiently than the Mazda RX-8 side exit exhaust ports. Still, I can't argue with the wider point, they are hard cars to find in good condition, and tend to be maintenance intensive. If they were Honda-reliable, they'd be as valuable as an NSX ;-)
FD's don't typically have flooding or hot start issues.
I'm thoroughly enjoying owning my FD. Values haven't been pushing up in NZ yet, they've been around the $20k mark for a good one for a decade. If the auctions in japan start heating up that may change but for now there are so many in the country it doesn't make a difference.
This buyers guide is good. The guides on the US based forums rx7club.com are amazingly detailed and are worth reading too.
They are high maintenance cars! I've resisted doing modifications to mine, even so I've spent heaps on preventative maintenance parts and servicing over the past 6 months! Typical for an old and complex car though.
The fuel usage is ridiculous but it's a weekend car so no big deal.
It's so good on track too. A few friends have driven it and all have been properly impressed.
This buyers guide is good. The guides on the US based forums rx7club.com are amazingly detailed and are worth reading too.
They are high maintenance cars! I've resisted doing modifications to mine, even so I've spent heaps on preventative maintenance parts and servicing over the past 6 months! Typical for an old and complex car though.
The fuel usage is ridiculous but it's a weekend car so no big deal.
It's so good on track too. A few friends have driven it and all have been properly impressed.
Not a bad RX-7 review in the UK. A 99 Type RS. Have a look.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbDyYjr8-go
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbDyYjr8-go
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