RX-7 for $2500

[Masamune]

http://spokane.craigslist.org/cto/1591863577.html

I'm on the fence on this. On the one hand I do like the look of the older RX-7 (FC I think?) But on the other hand it's a 21 year old car painted "pull me over" red. Whats some opinions on this?

[JoshM]

As much as I love them, I would never have that as my single car.They're really a hit or miss. My buddy has had one for 4 years now and has never had one single issue with it. But, some have problems every time you start the car.


So, as long as it's not your one and only car, go for it.

[Shag Wagon]

Yea I had somebody tell me there is a scheduled maintainence to rebuild the engine every 50k miles. They make some pretty good power, but like Josh said, hit and miss.

[Accrdwgnguy]

Pretty good deal. You really gotta be a rotorhead and know the ins and outs of the engine to drive it every day without blowing it up. And rotories are insanely expensive to rebuild.

[gloryaccordy]

Like any 21 year old car there's potential for a truck load of issues. But like Josh said it's really the luck of the draw. I would say go for something else that's newer but all the alternatives are stupid overpriced or too big. Go check it out, maybe have a mechanic look it over and go from there.

[Accrdwgnguy]

Yea I had somebody tell me there is a scheduled maintainence to rebuild the engine every 50k miles. They make some pretty good power, but like Josh said, hit and miss.

Bull, my buddy has 143k on his 04 RX-8, runs like a charm. And 239k on his 83 RX-7, same deal.

However you have to replace the plugs and wires every 60k, and it runs about $100 for just the 4 plugs. No joke. Uses special plugs because of the super high combustion temps (1800 - 2200 degrees F)

[DJ metadelic]

Rotary. Take good care of them. They'll return the favor.

My friend has a 91 FC n/a. 180k, and it still runs like new.

Ultimately, your call meng.

[Masamune]

Bull, my buddy has 143k on his 04 RX-8, runs like a charm. And 239k on his 83 RX-7, same deal.

However you have to replace the plugs and wires every 60k, and it runs about $100 for just the 4 plugs. No joke. Uses special plugs because of the super high combustion temps (1800 - 2200 degrees F)

See this I didn't know at all. I know about how rotary engines work, I'm just not privvy to specifics like this. Think I'm gonna pass on this one

[Bcozzi71]

my friend has a 94 Rx7 and the motor ate oil and then oil started showing up in the turbos. It was always having its issues...
another friend had a 04 rx8 motor ran fine but he didnt like how there was no power

[ONEKLEAN91]

always loved these cars get it man

[crazymikey]

DO NOT buy it as a daily driver.

I had an 89 non turbo and an 88 turbo. They are awful on gas, very picky on when they want to start and run, super unreliable and not very practical.

They're fun to drive...when they aren't broken. Make sure you have deep pockets for repairs. My two were nightmares. I do not regret selling them.

[deevergote]

As a daily driver, it'd be very impractical. TERRIBLE gas mileage (even NA... you're looking at 21mpg tops), RWD, and 2+2 or not, you're not going to be carting around anyone but midgets in the back!

If you can afford it as a second car, something to play around with... then that looks well worth the $2500 if the little pics aren't hiding any major body issues. RX7s have very subtle body lines, so body damage can ruin that (and it's difficult for a shop to really fix it properly)

The fact that it's NA means that it was probably treated much better than the turbo models. Of course, there's no mileage listed (unless i'm somehow not seeing it...). If the clutch has been replaced, and it wasn't abused, then the car should have pretty high mileage. Rotaries generally need to be rebuilt after a certain amount of miles... so if it has 170k on it, you might be looking at a rebuild in the near future. I've been told that 100k is about right for a rebuild very often.

Check it out. Ask the seller if it burns oil. If he says no... walk away. Rotaries burn oil by design (about 1 quart every 3000 miles). If it doesn't burn oil, there's something wrong. If he's not aware that it is supposed to, or isn't aware that it does... then he doesn't know enough about the car to tell you truthfully that it's in good condition. That, or he's trying HARD to sell it to you... which means there's probably a serious reason why he wants it gone. Either use that to your advantage to talk down the price... or assume that he's hiding something, and again... walk.

[turbomaxx]

my friend just got an 87 turbo II.

GARBAGE.

Burns oil, won't start when hot, snapped a belt, runs with the temp gauge right above the C all day, and the steering is sloppier than my 83 camaro's was.

The good part- It's easy to do the roll start trick, where u push it and with the trans in first gear dump the clutch and she'll fire right up if u play with the pedal a lil bit! lol

And we got walked on by a v6 mustang on 81 the first day he had it. A sad day for RX7's indeed. I still love the car, and the body is straight as an arrow, but it's such a lemon.

[Tone-us]

Perfect candidate for an LS swap!!!! If i had the money I'd do it.

[gcvphoto]

So, apparently you are going to pass on it. Just to let you know they are NOT that expensive to work on and they are NOT hard to work on. You just have to know what you are doing, they work like any other kind of motor. The gas mileage isn't that bad (i've driven a 455 Oldsmobile 98 LS, 6mpg highway). I could deal with 20mpg. The condition of the care all depends on how you take care of it, and you must take care of this car very well or it will just start to fall apart on you. But, then again, you decided against it.