I need an unbiased opinion. As some of you might know, im in the market for a used car under $15k. For years i've been hearing the stories of 3rd Gen RX7's having horrible reliability. Overheating leading to catastrophic engine & turbo failure. Ive been doing some digging...some say that its avoidable if you do a few simple upgrades and this shouldnt scare you off (rx7 owners), others say its trouble fromt he start and the symptoms are virtually unnoticable until the minute your engine is already toast...(non-owners + some rx7 owners). Any experts on the subject here that might be about to share with me there opinions?
What do you guys think about 3rd Gen RX-7's
- Thread starter MF-DIF
- Start date
To be honest, I don't think it's worth the hassle. I've heard both good and bad about the RX but the majority of it being bad. Yeah there is preventive measures that can be taken blah blah blah. It just seems too much of a pain to work. Yes the RX7 is a great handling car and commands attention but the rotary engine isn't very effecient nor reliable. If you're willing to do your research and are willing to pay for parts, then go for it. However be aware that the rotary engine is not easy to work on. I know in the MD/DC/VA/NJ area there are only 6 or so people certified to work on the Wankel engine. Not trying to scare you off, but just point these things out ahead of time. Good luck with your search and hope your find something to suit your needs. Take care.
Conor
Conor
ctnsupra1 said:
I understand the car requires a great deal of attention. What im trying to do is weigh the amount of work involved to decide for myself if it is worth it. If the car can be properly maintained for a reasonable amount of work & $$ w/o engine failure then I would consider the vehicle. If I find more often than not, people are running into engine failure regardless of what precautionary measures where taken, then im going to pass.
I understand what you're trying to get at and wish I could offer some first hand experience. But I was in your shoes a few years ago. I like to work on my cars and I did not feel like learning how to work on a rotary. I had a few cars lined up but at the end of the day, I did not feel it would be a wise investment on my part. For the price, I'd say Toyota MR2 or for a little more, a Supra. Again, best of luck.
Conor
Conor
Those cars are great fun when they run right, but they are alot like going to vegas only the odds are slightly worse.
If you can't afford to buy one ***AND*** have a secret slush fund set aside that will pay for a new motor (just in case it happened) than you should not buy one. If they were reliable they would get twice the price that they do. If you are spending your last dollar on the car itself, I would say no way.
On the other hand, for 15 G's you can have a great time and you may get lucky. So I guess the the real question about a 3rd Gen RX-7 is.....do you feel lucky???
If you can't afford to buy one ***AND*** have a secret slush fund set aside that will pay for a new motor (just in case it happened) than you should not buy one. If they were reliable they would get twice the price that they do. If you are spending your last dollar on the car itself, I would say no way.
On the other hand, for 15 G's you can have a great time and you may get lucky. So I guess the the real question about a 3rd Gen RX-7 is.....do you feel lucky???
I figure it would be hard to find an RX7 without its engine having been rebuilt. I don't know, that's what I hear anyway.
I used to own a 93 RX7. I got mines up to 120k miles without an issue. And then my water seals went out on me and I had to get the motor rebuilt. Keep in mind that Turbo charged rotaries only last about 80k-150k tops!
For the time that I had my car I got it up to about 340 rwhp and did numerous track events with nasa. Not once did it let me down. Of course it had its minor quirks here and there, but what car doesnt, right? Anyway, from my experience, the reliability of the rx7 depends mostly on how you tune the car. It is very sensitive to modifications and the apex seals will let go at the slightest sign of detonation. As for the heat issue, its true. RX7's run HOT, but its nothing a >$500 aluminum radiator cant fix. Those Sequential twinturbos really do produce a lot of heat.
All in all, its a great car. If i could afford to have another car, it would definately be another RX7. If youre really considering buying one, think about gettin one with a blown motor. A fully built/ported motor should cost no more than $5k. Thats installed and everything. And considering that most of us here pay almost $2000 for a timing belt, $5k for a motor is very justifiable.
$10k for rx7 with blown motor.
$5k for a really nice motor + reliability mods
$2500 for a nice single T78 turbo kit.
$1000 for a stand alone ecu
= $18500 +/- $1000 for a lightweight, 400+rwhp, reliable track car made for the street.
hope this helps!
For the time that I had my car I got it up to about 340 rwhp and did numerous track events with nasa. Not once did it let me down. Of course it had its minor quirks here and there, but what car doesnt, right? Anyway, from my experience, the reliability of the rx7 depends mostly on how you tune the car. It is very sensitive to modifications and the apex seals will let go at the slightest sign of detonation. As for the heat issue, its true. RX7's run HOT, but its nothing a >$500 aluminum radiator cant fix. Those Sequential twinturbos really do produce a lot of heat.
All in all, its a great car. If i could afford to have another car, it would definately be another RX7. If youre really considering buying one, think about gettin one with a blown motor. A fully built/ported motor should cost no more than $5k. Thats installed and everything. And considering that most of us here pay almost $2000 for a timing belt, $5k for a motor is very justifiable.
$10k for rx7 with blown motor.
$5k for a really nice motor + reliability mods
$2500 for a nice single T78 turbo kit.
$1000 for a stand alone ecu
= $18500 +/- $1000 for a lightweight, 400+rwhp, reliable track car made for the street.
hope this helps!
I had one too. Great looking car even today still will turn many heads...my motor blew and I didnt even run it REAL hard , sucks cause it was fun AND fast...
I have known other owners over 100k on the same motor with higher boost, and others with a blown one at 50k with stock boost...so good luck...its hard to find one now that is taken care of as it should.
I have known other owners over 100k on the same motor with higher boost, and others with a blown one at 50k with stock boost...so good luck...its hard to find one now that is taken care of as it should.
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My 94 RX-7....
I had a 94 RX-7 for 5 years. I put on 95,000 miles on it when I sold it to buy a bigger car ( the things we have to do when we get divorced!)
Despite all of the stuff that I heard from other owners, I didn't have any major problems with it. It was fun, fast , and like my NSX, rare.
Having said that, I was concerned about the fact that many of the third generation RX-7's had engine fires due to the turbos overheating. Despite the recall that allowed the fan to cool off the engine and turbos after the car had been turned off, I was still wary about the car. The idea that I could park my car in the garage and then have my house burn down as a result of an engine fire was more than a bit disconcerting ( and yes, several houses did burn down due to this).
So when my attempt to purchase a 95 RX-7 failed a few years ago, I took it as a sign and bought my NSX.
They are both great cars, but reliability wise, you can't be the NSX.
Joel 91 Black/Ivory
I had a 94 RX-7 for 5 years. I put on 95,000 miles on it when I sold it to buy a bigger car ( the things we have to do when we get divorced!)
Despite all of the stuff that I heard from other owners, I didn't have any major problems with it. It was fun, fast , and like my NSX, rare.
Having said that, I was concerned about the fact that many of the third generation RX-7's had engine fires due to the turbos overheating. Despite the recall that allowed the fan to cool off the engine and turbos after the car had been turned off, I was still wary about the car. The idea that I could park my car in the garage and then have my house burn down as a result of an engine fire was more than a bit disconcerting ( and yes, several houses did burn down due to this).
So when my attempt to purchase a 95 RX-7 failed a few years ago, I took it as a sign and bought my NSX.
They are both great cars, but reliability wise, you can't be the NSX.
Joel 91 Black/Ivory
I know an instructor for the BMWCCA with one, and he did the bigger radiator and has no problems beating it every session. They do suck for gas milage though. With you in hot weather, the RX7 might still give you problems even with the bigger radiator. You will need to have a fan run constantly hooked up to the ignition switch.
For $15 if you look hard enough, you can find many nice cars. Heck I used to have a $9000 Audi A4 Quattro that I stuck $6000 in parts (18" wheels, lowering springs, c/f hood, Rs4 projectors, kamai badgeless grill, Reiger bumper) the $6000 was installed and painted too. I had a bad ass awd Audi for $15k!!!
Keep shopping.
What happened to the NSX??? still loan prob's?
For $15 if you look hard enough, you can find many nice cars. Heck I used to have a $9000 Audi A4 Quattro that I stuck $6000 in parts (18" wheels, lowering springs, c/f hood, Rs4 projectors, kamai badgeless grill, Reiger bumper) the $6000 was installed and painted too. I had a bad ass awd Audi for $15k!!!
Keep shopping.
What happened to the NSX??? still loan prob's?
I had a 93 Rx-7 R1 for about a year and a half. Bought it brand new and put 20k miles on it. I paid $26k for the car, it was badly crushed in the rear and took $10k to fix it.
I used to take it into Mazda once every two months and say that the power seemed low, or the car wasn't running right. The car was usually running ok but they would always find multiple things wrong. What I think basically happened was that Mazda designed a fantastic Rx-7 but skimped on the little things where they could save a buck or two to keep the price down (like hoses, etc).
The car was an absolute blast to own. It was a real head turner and a major chick magnet. One girl climbed in once and a minute later proclaimed "my god, this car is getting me wet!".
They seem to be holding their value pretty well. Mine sold for $24.5k 1.5 years after I bought it. Low miles Rx-7s sell for close to that price today (probably due to fast and furious). Yes they are a maintenance headache and you may put an engine in during ownership, but if the car holds it's value pretty well you're not going to suffer a depreciation hit.
So if you have a good mechanic nearby and can find a good car and you really want one I would say go for it. If you can find a competition yellow mica one it will hold it's value better then any other color (very rare and very nice yellow).
There is one here at Buxtom Motorsports that has been for sale for a while. You may be able to get it for $15k. I believe it has 20k miles.
http://www.buxtonmotorsports.com/bmi_inve.htm#top
Btw, there is also a twin turbo 91 NSX for sale there for an unbelievable price.
NSX-Stalker
I used to take it into Mazda once every two months and say that the power seemed low, or the car wasn't running right. The car was usually running ok but they would always find multiple things wrong. What I think basically happened was that Mazda designed a fantastic Rx-7 but skimped on the little things where they could save a buck or two to keep the price down (like hoses, etc).
The car was an absolute blast to own. It was a real head turner and a major chick magnet. One girl climbed in once and a minute later proclaimed "my god, this car is getting me wet!".
They seem to be holding their value pretty well. Mine sold for $24.5k 1.5 years after I bought it. Low miles Rx-7s sell for close to that price today (probably due to fast and furious). Yes they are a maintenance headache and you may put an engine in during ownership, but if the car holds it's value pretty well you're not going to suffer a depreciation hit.
So if you have a good mechanic nearby and can find a good car and you really want one I would say go for it. If you can find a competition yellow mica one it will hold it's value better then any other color (very rare and very nice yellow).
There is one here at Buxtom Motorsports that has been for sale for a while. You may be able to get it for $15k. I believe it has 20k miles.
http://www.buxtonmotorsports.com/bmi_inve.htm#top
Btw, there is also a twin turbo 91 NSX for sale there for an unbelievable price.
NSX-Stalker
I used to own a '93. Loved it, but I just could not sleep at night. Everytime I drove it, there was a little voice in my head that said "Somethings gonna go, somethings gonna go!!"
It had numerous problems...it was stock except for RELIABILITY Mods. Mazda just skimped out on the quality of parts in order to make it lighter. I'm not just talking about turbo or motor problems. I changed EVERYTHING...silicone hoses, rebuilt leaking turbo, Air Seperation Tank blew up so I replaced it with an aluminum one, aluminum radiator, fan mod, downpipe (precat is one of the biggest reasons for the over heating...they don't have those in Japan...U.S. only
) I changed the pulsatio dampner because it was leaking gas The number one reason for engine fires, changed all the one way valves and solenoids, heated it up and cooled it down properly and it still gave me problems.
At 80K the bushings started to give out, the interior had creaks and peeling problems, paint sucked.....Its a shame really. I liked its size, feeling and power more than the NSX, but at the end, the NSX, though slower, is still miles ahead of the FD in terms of quality and reliability.
If you still one it, by all means go get it. The only place I would own an FD would be in California, Texas or Florida. Since your in FL, they have many great tuners there....
It had numerous problems...it was stock except for RELIABILITY Mods. Mazda just skimped out on the quality of parts in order to make it lighter. I'm not just talking about turbo or motor problems. I changed EVERYTHING...silicone hoses, rebuilt leaking turbo, Air Seperation Tank blew up so I replaced it with an aluminum one, aluminum radiator, fan mod, downpipe (precat is one of the biggest reasons for the over heating...they don't have those in Japan...U.S. only
) I changed the pulsatio dampner because it was leaking gas The number one reason for engine fires, changed all the one way valves and solenoids, heated it up and cooled it down properly and it still gave me problems. At 80K the bushings started to give out, the interior had creaks and peeling problems, paint sucked.....Its a shame really. I liked its size, feeling and power more than the NSX, but at the end, the NSX, though slower, is still miles ahead of the FD in terms of quality and reliability.
If you still one it, by all means go get it. The only place I would own an FD would be in California, Texas or Florida. Since your in FL, they have many great tuners there....
I've owned two of them a 93 R1 and a 94 Base. Lots of fun to drive--I'd say more so than my NSX. You'll need to spend a couple thousand on precautionary upgrades but after that, it should be reliable. Yes, it's kinda like driving a time-bomb but engine rebuilds are cheaper than with an NSX. $4k?
If it is going to be your only car (no daily driver), I wouldn't buy it. If I could only have one sports car, it would be an NSX, if two, then I'd get an RX7 also.
Try to find a 94+, they are significantly better, IMO.
If it is going to be your only car (no daily driver), I wouldn't buy it. If I could only have one sports car, it would be an NSX, if two, then I'd get an RX7 also.
Try to find a 94+, they are significantly better, IMO.
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