Mazda Rotary Club

in my opinion the reson rx7\'s have become so cheap is because everyone sh*ts themselves about the engine.

I think if all members got together we could turn the value of our pride and joy around again.

any rx7 without a rebuild should be sold for no less than 5k and any with a rebuild 9k++ depending on mods etc.


they know spots off most modern sports cars in handling looks and pure power. never known anyone not to like how a good rx7 drives.  better than some of these 15k skybuses about lol:Thumbs-up

whats driving down the price to a lot of extent is people selling them for peanuts! but you know they have some value when you can sell a car that has a blown engine for 2.5k! yet one with an unknown engine sells for 3k upwards :2Rolleyes  

its like anything if you do your reserch the fact it has not had a engine rebuild is NOT a bad thing sometimes you can find a real gem. :wiggle

Quote from: james01ukin my opinion the reson rx7\'s have become so cheap is because everyone sh*ts themselves about the engine.

I think if all members got together we could turn the value of our pride and joy around again.

any rx7 without a rebuild should be sold for no less than 5k and any with a rebuild 9k++ depending on mods etc.


they know spots off most modern sports cars in handling looks and pure power. never known anyone not to like how a good rx7 drives.  better than some of these 15k skybuses about lol:Thumbs-up

To be honest bud, it aint the club members driving down the prices, its the importers with their cheap and dubious imports.

I remember when I bought mine 2 and a half years ago the price was much higher.  The car was very rare then.  Now the flood gates seem to have opened and the price has really dropped.  Competition between importers and all that.

Think they are still worth a fortune in the states tho?

Chris :)

I do think that there is an element of the Black Arts - not understanding the unknown when it comes to Rotaries too. It\'s very easy for a pistonhead to poo-poo the rotary powerplant with scare stories of these rebuilds. For those in the know, it\'s part of the running cost if you are considering the car long term. I just had mine rebuilt at 38k miles, even though it wasn\'t needed, as I was going single and felt it was best to port it and rebuild it at the same time to give my new install more longevity.

It\'s interesting that you never hear people talk about the cost of rebuilding piston engines when someone blows the top or bottom end out, crack the casing, bend a piston or some valves, when a cam belt pops. I made the mistake of buying a "cheap" Alfa 156 V6 for 4k, and after the belt going, and a repair of nearly £1500, I then suffered the clutch going at £900, followed by the gearbox blowing up, at another grand!!! Made me feel that the FD was actually somewhat of a sound investment.

It does annoy me when people talk of 2.5k rebuilds on the rotary engine as being the main issue, when it\'s probably less than a grand less for doing the same on a boinger, and that issue is conveniently ignored.

Craig

It\'s also down a lot to people buying them who can \'only just\' afford to run them. then when something goes wrong, they can\'t afford to put it right, because they also neglected to look after it properly because it costs a lot. So their easiest route out of owning a suddenly expensive car is to sell it off cheap.

There\'s a lot of shoddy ones out there.

Sadly not alot any of us can do anything about really,

When i sold the PurpleOne it was a case of the car was worth X amount of money but if you cant get that money back and put the RX up for sale for a daft amount then you wont sell it. A mate of mine in Derby actually managed to buy a 1995 rx from Japan with 29000miles on the clock for less than £3000 landed here in the UK, ok he had to do all the other relevant stuff to get it on the road and legal but if thats the cost of importing privately why is anyone gonna pay top money ??

When i was looking for the new RX there were very nice modified examples in JAPAN selling for approx £6000 - £8000 in the auction sites, obviously you add the shipping and VAT stuff on top to get them here but you get the picture.

If you take Chris Boids car as an example there so much work gone into it and so much money spent there would be no point selling it for what its worth as no one would pay that for it. So you kinda get stuck in a rut where if you try to hold out for the worth you may never sell it.

Hope that makes sense :D

Quote from: D2BBAThink they are still worth a fortune in the states tho?

They are, but that doesn\'t help - my wife\'s American and I looked into this a little while back as chances are that I\'ll end up over there eventually so I wondered if I could take my FD with me.

The answer was no, as it\'s a RHD RX-7 - would be easier if it\'s a LHD one but JDM cars are pretty much impossible to register. Importing cars & bikes seem to get a lot easier once they passed a classic vehicle threshold (can\'t remember how old they have to be but it\'s something like 25 years AFAIR) but until then, nada.

It\'s not only that but the cars themselves are getting older as well, a 15 year old car just is never going to be worth much sadly, until it goes through the curve that is!

Then petrol is going up and up so people are looking for more economical cars, diesels and suchlike, I mean even the yanks have started to buy small shopping trollies for run arounds!

And sadly something is only worth what someone will pay as said, but then there\'ll be someone out there who\'ll want to spend 11k on an absolute minter, but it\'s just finding that one person that becomes hard ;)

Another factor is new cars are getting cheaper and cheaper, 0% finance deals and the fact the country is obsessed with new cars... People would rather buy a sh1theap with no options, winding windows and a crank handle to start that\'s on a 07 plate, just because it\'s on an 07 plate than a 5 year old car that\'s still decent, or even a 15 year old car that\'s the nuts!

But that\'s something that the ol\' advertising men have managed to push into the public psyche quite sucessfully!

Quote from: RemarkLimaIt\'s not only that but the cars themselves are getting older as well, a 15 year old car just is never going to be worth much sadly, until it goes through the curve that is!

Then petrol is going up and up so people are looking for more economical cars, diesels and suchlike, I mean even the yanks have started to buy small shopping trollies for run arounds!

And sadly something is only worth what someone will pay as said, but then there\'ll be someone out there who\'ll want to spend 11k on an absolute minter, but it\'s just finding that one person that becomes hard ;)

Another factor is new cars are getting cheaper and cheaper, 0% finance deals and the fact the country is obsessed with new cars... People would rather buy a sh1theap with no options, winding windows and a crank handle to start that\'s on a 07 plate, just because it\'s on an 07 plate than a 5 year old car that\'s still decent, or even a 15 year old car that\'s the nuts!

But that\'s something that the ol\' advertising men have managed to push into the public psyche quite sucessfully!

Funny that, a chap at work bought a brand new Toyota Avensis and is forever swearing at it being like a bus and rubbish :Thumbsup!

lets make a pact to onle sell at the above prices then :)

Quote from: m4drxlets make a pact to onle sell at the above prices then :)

oooooooh price fixing allegations may follow :eek: :rollin :rollin :rollin

Problem is if someone needs to sell asap then the right price would be the best offer which may be lower than expected.

I know when i sold my rx there were a few unhappy people as i let it go fairly cheap when others car weren\'t as good but were asking for more money than i did, but to sell the rx i had to make the price competitive :spank

Quote from: gsb876oooooooh price fixing allegations may follow :eek: :rollin :rollin :rollin

Problem is if someone needs to sell asap then the right price would be the best offer which may be lower than expected.

I know when i sold my rx there were a few unhappy people as i let it go fairly cheap when others car weren\'t as good but were asking for more money than i did, but to sell the rx i had to make the price competitive :spank

thats no excuse! :spank

i do understand though its how things are plus these cars have no market value as none are standard so worth whatever someone is willing to pay, just wish it was more.

its dropped since ive bought mine but i cant bare to part with it so i am going against all common sense. :(

It\'s the same foe most older jap turbo cars, I sold my syline for peanuts compared to what I spent on her over 3 years, R32 Gtr\'s are going for under 5k now!
I paid £5750 for my single turbo rx7 with a brand new engine rebuild and turbo then spen £1700 almost straight away on \' bits and bobs\' but I would not recover that money if I was selling her tomorrow.

Dread to think what Id get back on mine

I cant see the market picking up tbh. There are far too many complete turds in the UK from when every man and his dog realised they could make \'000s importing them 5 years ago. And its a vicious circle now; you can get them so cheap that 17 year olds can buy them - just about afford a years insurance - and then have nothing to spend on keeping it in at least average condition. So you end up with even more unloved ****ters on the market :(

If you are going to pay good $ for an FD - you really need to know you are in it for the long haul as its financial suicide otherwise.

The good part about this is you can buy a turd for a few quid and put together a pretty decent track car for not a lot :D

Quote from: 20B_boyThe good part about this is you can buy a turd for a few quid and put together a pretty decent track car for not a lot :D

It\'s tempting for next year :D

There\'s an All Nippon Challenge starting, anything Japanese goes! Could be good fun!

time and tide waits for no man .... face it 3rd gens are an old car now, the majority are over 10 years old and some are knocking on for 15.

Just keep the car and drive to it fall apart:) thats my plan.... I gonna give it to my children when i get old/Or take it with me to the grave! And when i read the newspaper about clima problems, i just feel like drive the car more!! I gonna use my co2 quote!

you know the funny thing tho...if peeps are selling them on at silly prices you would imagine there would be a lot of interest in them- i\'ve seen one (1!) rex in the last 6 months!

however, now i come to think about it - the prices are low \'cos nobody wants to buy - that makes a bit more sense... never mind - if they\'re going cheap all the better for me! :D :driving

anyone know of a white FD twni-tub for sale? :2Rolleyes

There\'s a nice looking one on fleabay here. (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TWIN-TUB-WASHING-MACHINE-BRAND-NEW_W0QQitemZ190124741266QQihZ009QQcategoryZ71256QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Steve

Quote from: efinisteThere\'s a nice looking one on fleabay here. (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TWIN-TUB-WASHING-MACHINE-BRAND-NEW_W0QQitemZ190124741266QQihZ009QQcategoryZ71256QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Steve

Lol!

:Laugh :Giggle :rollin :King

Quote from: trotteryou know the funny thing tho...if peeps are selling them on at silly prices you would imagine there would be a lot of interest in them- i\'ve seen one (1!) rex in the last 6 months!

Actually, the silly prices are likely a reaction to the demand situation. In other words, people outside the circle of dedicated rotary nutters will have to lower the prices until it meets the demand curve. If there is no (or hardly any) demand, you\'ll have to lower prices considerably in the hope to sell it to someone/anyone.

And on top of this we\'re into the lemon situation, where the price of the turds is dragging down the price of decent cars because a lot of Joe Punter can\'t tell the two apart.

Quote from: trotteryou know the funny thing tho...if peeps are selling them on at silly prices you would imagine there would be a lot of interest in them- i\'ve seen one (1!) rex in the last 6 months!

<puts economist hat on>
Actually, the silly prices are likely a reaction to the demand situation. In other words, people outside the circle of dedicated rotary nutters will have to lower the prices until it meets the demand curve. If there is no (or hardly any) demand, you\'ll have to lower prices considerably in the hope to sell it to someone/anyone.

And on top of this we\'re into the lemon situation, where the price of the turds is dragging down the price of decent cars because a lot of Joe Punter can\'t tell the two apart.
<takes economist hat off>

lol, yeah i\'m with you. :)

- efiniste, its nice but not quite what im after. heard thru the grapevine that the water seals have gone! :D

Quote from: RemarkLimaAnother factor is new cars are getting cheaper and cheaper, 0% finance deals and the fact the country is obsessed with new cars... People would rather buy a sh1theap with no options, winding windows and a crank handle to start that\'s on a 07 plate, just because it\'s on an 07 plate than a 5 year old car that\'s still decent, or even a 15 year old car that\'s the nuts!

I always get a smug feeling when it comes down to owning my rex. I brought her before the prices dropped considerably, and granted I could have brought another cheaper car out of the running costs but hey, what would that be then --woow he owns a focus look at him everyone - YEAH RIGHT.

We are the smart ones for having a head turning heart pounding car whilst all the rest of the numpties use thier alarm to pick thier\'s out in a car park.

Quote from: efinisteThere\'s a nice looking one on fleabay here. (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TWIN-TUB-WASHING-MACHINE-BRAND-NEW_W0QQitemZ190124741266QQihZ009QQcategoryZ71256QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Steve

very good, thats what my mate calls mine and i always point out how upseting it must be having a twin tub beat his MR2!
Mark

Quote from: RochoI always get a smug feeling when it comes down to owning my rex. I brought her before the prices dropped considerably, and granted I could have brought another cheaper car out of the running costs but hey, what would that be then --woow he owns a focus look at him everyone - YEAH RIGHT.

We are the smart ones for having a head turning heart pounding car whilst all the rest of the numpties use thier alarm to pick thier\'s out in a car park.

:rollin :King

Quote from: elford_timThey are, but that doesn\'t help - my wife\'s American and I looked into this a little while back as chances are that I\'ll end up over there eventually so I wondered if I could take my FD with me.

The answer was no, as it\'s a RHD RX-7 - would be easier if it\'s a LHD one but JDM cars are pretty much impossible to register. Importing cars & bikes seem to get a lot easier once they passed a classic vehicle threshold (can\'t remember how old they have to be but it\'s something like 25 years AFAIR) but until then, nada.

I know Canada has a 15 year rule, then you can import JDM cars no problem (i looked into this when the move to Canada was on).
So, could you get it imported to Canada and register it there, then get it over the border?....would that work?

Quote from: RochoI always get a smug feeling when it comes down to owning my rex. I brought her before the prices dropped considerably, and granted I could have brought another cheaper car out of the running costs but hey, what would that be then --woow he owns a focus look at him everyone - YEAH RIGHT.

We are the smart ones for having a head turning heart pounding car whilst all the rest of the numpties use thier alarm to pick thier\'s out in a car park.

Excellent post

Quote from: Dan NortonI know Canada has a 15 year rule, then you can import JDM cars no problem (i looked into this when the move to Canada was on).
So, could you get it imported to Canada and register it there, then get it over the border?....would that work?

From what I remember, the issue is that there is no Federal safety certification of some kind of other for these cars because they\'re saying that RHD and LHD cars are very different.

There is another "loophole" regarding some kind of 25 year \'classic vehicle\' exemption that I\'d need to look into. All I need to do for that is keep my FD for another 10 years :Thumbsup!.

I think that for the majority of the Rotary community, the car is fun,if it were a swear box it would be full but for some its the passion and joy it brings when you turn the key and the thing starts.  You do make more money by breaking them and thats so very sad.  However there are not so many RX\'s left now, they dont make them anymore and if yours is worth keeping them keep it as an investment. One day they will be worth it.  I always remember owning and scrapping all sorts of cars 15-20 years ago, heck even a running capri can get a couple of thousand.  Had a mk1 cortina, gave that away and now look at the market.  The investment might be realistically in 10-15 years ahead but in the mean time get in your cars, wind the windows down and floor the bloody thing, then you will realise why you had a rotary and why its worth keeping.
Had a dream the other night about being rich, did i dream of Ferraris and Porches etx.......nope !!  dreamed of getting a big warehouse and filling it with all the rotary cars that people were getting rid of cheap. I would have a large servicing and welding area and the whole lot would be a drop in centre for spares, education and the restoration of cars to their prime condition.  Who would work here ? people just like us, complete die hard rotary enthusiasts !!!

Quote from: RochoI always get a smug feeling when it comes down to owning my rex. I brought her before the prices dropped considerably, and granted I could have brought another cheaper car out of the running costs but hey, what would that be then --woow he owns a focus look at him everyone - YEAH RIGHT.

We are the smart ones for having a head turning heart pounding car whilst all the rest of the numpties use thier alarm to pick thier\'s out in a car park.

LOL! I like the cut of your jib :D

loving al the replies :-)

its an issue we can not do much about.

but I do think we can make a difference to the market.
if people realised that they should only buy off here to get decent cars which is tbh generally the casethen we could ask for more.

for example one of my other cars would be worht nearly £3500 more if it had been maintaind by Banks Europa instead of joe bloggs.
need to make sure our rotary specialist are being mentioned more and point out why we use them.

We should have a sticky on the front page stating a few facts for buyers about how much better they are than they have been told.

I have driven many expensive fast cars and this is by far one of my favourites for handling, power and general fun.
Not many come close.

Quote from: pdtaylor18I think that for the majority of the Rotary community, the car is fun,if it were a swear box it would be full but for some its the passion and joy it brings when you turn the key and the thing starts.  You do make more money by breaking them and thats so very sad.  However there are not so many RX\'s left now, they dont make them anymore and if yours is worth keeping them keep it as an investment. One day they will be worth it.  I always remember owning and scrapping all sorts of cars 15-20 years ago, heck even a running capri can get a couple of thousand.  Had a mk1 cortina, gave that away and now look at the market.  The investment might be realistically in 10-15 years ahead but in the mean time get in your cars, wind the windows down and floor the bloody thing, then you will realise why you had a rotary and why its worth keeping.
Had a dream the other night about being rich, did i dream of Ferraris and Porches etx.......nope !!  dreamed of getting a big warehouse and filling it with all the rotary cars that people were getting rid of cheap. I would have a large servicing and welding area and the whole lot would be a drop in centre for spares, education and the restoration of cars to their prime condition.  Who would work here ? people just like us, complete die hard rotary enthusiasts !!!

ditto.com!

give that man a cigar :bandit

Quote from: elford_timFrom what I remember, the issue is that there is no Federal safety certification of some kind of other for these cars because they\'re saying that RHD and LHD cars are very different.

There is another "loophole" regarding some kind of 25 year \'classic vehicle\' exemption that I\'d need to look into. All I need to do for that is keep my FD for another 10 years :Thumbsup!.

Ah yes, i think i remember reading about the RHD law in that applies to the USA.
If i remember rightly, the company that imports JDM Skyline GTR\'s into the USA (MotoRex), had to get everything tested on the vehicle to make it pass these laws....this includes crash testing and everything, a bit like a really haevy handed model report.

And crazy to think now that in only 10 years time the FD3 will be 25 years old :2eek

There\'s a lot of rubbish RX-7\'s that came into the UK via the Southampton and Liverpool import auctions, but also a lot of rubbish that was imported before that...

It stands to reason that the rare gems will be kept by their owners for years (Chris Bird\'s car, for example) and the cars which are troublesome will be the ones most likely to change hands as owners get fed up of throwing money into a bottomless pit.

For sure some of these money pits are very likely to appear for sale on this forum, so it\'s not always wise to recommend newbies to look at member\'s cars for sale, IMHO.

We\'re not importing as many RX-7\'s nowadays as before, since there\'s so very few left that are really nice appearing in auctions here in Japan - but a top condition low mileage 1996 example can retail for over £10,000 in UK.
Problem is it has to be a special car - and we can usually only find perhaps one RX-7 worth buying for stock every 2-3 months. There\'s still demand for this sort of car, from people who understand that it\'s worth getting the very best if you want trouble free RX-7 ownership.

Miguel.