85Scorpion

Well it's just a 2dr rx-7 (havent talked to the dealer about it other than he says 'it runs and drives great') and my dad who's a mechanic (though with pistons) says it's super clean, shows no real sign of rust other than a spec or two, and it's all original aside the paint and seats (which were replaced with mazdaspeed racing seats). The carb/filter looked okay. And all the lights (aside the signals for some reason) worked including the flip up lights. And had no apparent leaks of any sort.



But there was a belt in the behind driver storage thing, and upon inspecting the engine bay again we notice it's most likely the A/C belt (?)



Only downside is the 300,000 miles on it , though how its gone this far without being noticeably in need for a (major mechanical) tune up is weird being I hear they need one after just 100,000. I'll ask him if the engines ever been rebuilt also when i get a chance to go back. And he's asking $2,200 for it though we're definately shooting for a bit less.



(My dad says we might as well drive it till the engine dies and from there decide to rebuilt/swap the motor for the new one or go all out and drop a small block in it, being the condition the body is in.. o_O)



And the picture i took of the engine messed up so i never got it, but it looks similar to most carb'ed rx7 bays i've seen in photos.



**carfax says it's a 12A and has no buyback or lemon problems, but 24 things otherwise.

jobber

I'd buy it in a second for maybe $2000 just for the external condition alone.

j9fd3s

ive seen 12a's last for over 300k... most likely though its had an engine...



300 is a lot of miles, but these cars just dont have that much stuff to wear out (compared to say, my bmw)

Kentetsu

As long as there is no rust, jump on it. Definitely drive it though, and check the brakes and feel for any "looseness". With that many miles, bushings and tie rod ends etc. will probably be pretty worn out. But really, they would be worn based on age alone.



Watch for any smoking or odd noises from the motor while you're at it...

85Scorpion

Well I'm deciding between this(most exotic), a 95 civic ex(safest), and a 90 integra ls(cheapest). And both honda's have under 200k miles..



This would be my only car also, and rx7's tend to get lower mpg (from what i've read)



Can anyone tell me how much it would cost to replace/rebuild the 12a engine? I know all about 4-cylinders but nothing on rotary..





(plus i'd buy it to hold and re-sell for like 2,500 but with those miles it might be hard..)

jobber

It's about enjoying the ride. A Honda or Acura would be boring for me personally.

I would look forward to driving the RX7 every day. If you get bored, you might just need to waste money on another car.

85Scorpion

Yeah, my first(and only) car was a 93 civic si hatchback. And honestly it was a hell of alot of fun, and it never made it past stock, but comparing it to a same-weight RWD rotary I'm sure makes it seem lacking.

I'm just worried I'll buy the rx7 and a month later the whole engine will need replaced.. from what the carfax said (got one) it's never been in an accident NOR has had the engine replaced or even overhauled, just serviced which could mean as little as an oil change.



But my dad says, based on his 35+ some years of buying, building, and racing older cars, (Pontiacs mostly, though he did buy that '93 honda and liked it 'but fwd cars dont give you the rush of launching, etc etc') that the engine and everything attached looks as though it's never been replaced, so at the most it COULD have been internally rebuilt but I don't know..



I wish mazda engines had the same reliability as honda's (mileage wise, no offense!)! my si had 330+ thousand miles and i still raced THAT, but everyone always says 100k is the limit on these rotaries..

jobber

my GSL-SE I just bought last week has 170k on it.. I worry about the engine blowing every day too. Just something you gotta live with.

jobber

LOL.. dood.. ask people here. that know about rotaries. Most of them make it to 200k with care, and occasionally 300k..

85Scorpion

Oh, that's news to me, lol, but yeah that makes it a little different.