Hi guys n girls,
not sure if this is the right place for this post as i cant seem to find an "Introduce yourself" thread!
Anyway i currently have a mk3 Golf VR6 that ive loved and cherished for the past 4yrs (and spent a fortune on lol).
Ive always fancied something Jap and ive decided its time to take the leap from 220bhp to something with a little more grunt!
Basically i will have around 4k (perhaps a bit more) to spend on an RX7. Being new to the scene and all and my knowledge of 7\'s being on the thin side, i wanted to buy a car preferably from someone on here. If you guys are anything like us guys on VR6OC i know you will have seriously cared for and looked after your cars.
Is 4-5k an unrealistic budget for a relatively sorted 3rd gen 7 (preferrably with a recent engine rebuild for obvious reasons!)?
If its not too unrealistic is there any on here that you would recommend?
cheers for any help or advice you guys have and i look forward to a future with you all! :Laugh
Hey dude Welcome to the club hopefully someone will reply with all the details you need,
best bet at the mo is to have a look in the for sale section on here and have a look at the cars available
Hope this helps you out mate
Cheers
Kris
Welcome! Take a peek at Hayward Rotary\'s page I believe he has one or two fresh examples.
Like Kris said too...keep you\'re eyes peeled on the for sale section.
Cheers guys,
Yer had a scan through the cars for sale but just wondered if anyone could recommend any of the cars. I.E trusted members etc (ofcourse im not insinuating any of you guys on here arent to be trusted but sometimes you get rogue members join JUST to sell their car to ppl like myself!)
Welcome to the club!
£4k should get you a reasonable car, though you will need to spend money on it. If you\'re all for working on the car yourself then this shouldn\'t be too much of a problem. If not, I\'d suggest you spend a bit more money on the car in the first place as this would be cheaper than buying a cheap car and spending more money on it. If £4k is pushing it budget wise, I\'d suggest an FC. They\'re a very similar car and for £4k you could get an absolute beast.
Cheers for the advice bud.
Only problem with working on the car myself (aside from having to learn the car lol) is space or should i say lack of it!
Might push my budget up to 6k to get one thats running round 300-350bhp but reliable bhp lol!
Seen a couple of gorgeous examples on here round the 11k mark that id give my right arm for but unfortunately limbs arent a legal tender :(
Will have a look at FC\'s though fella.
Welcome to the club. :wave
My advice to you is to go and see as many cars as you can before deciding on which one or what type you want to buy. 4k will get you a nice car but maybe not one with a recent engine rebuild. So if your thinking of increasing your budget dont think of it as a way of getting more power but as a way of getting a better all round car, and if it has more power then so be it
Adam
I personally dont think 4k is enough for your first fd, for that money it will be a bit of a dog unless your very lucky and you will leave fd ownership with only negative memories. Many people do the very same thing by attempting to get a nice fd for low cost and it bites them then they buy something else with "rotaries are sh!te" on their brain.
If you do buy one for 4k get a mint well sorted car with a blown motor and spend another 4k getting a trusted rebuilt engine.
Its my opinion because i spent the extra for the right car and at least 3 others i know of that bought around that price now spout rotaries are unreliable. Funny that as mine has been more reliable than my previous honda.
the age old saying " yo really do get what you pay for" applies to rotaries imo
This is the exact type of advice I was hoping for, cheers guys, really appreciate it. I don\'t mind upping my budget for the right car coz as you said "you get what you pay for". But possibly the safest option would be to just buy a standard well maintained FD for now and then up the power once I\'ve learnt a bit more about the car/engine.
Whats your advice on fresh imports? Steer clear or no need to worry?
Even though its a bit of a lottery. Read the threads on buying a used rx7 what to look for (comp test and gas bubble/hot start test essential) ignore what the seller says and do your tests and buy the most standard or near standard and most recent/newest FD with the least brittle pipes in the bay from the most mature owner dont buy the 1st one you see. thats what id do.
i looked at about 5 private and they were all dogs. i bought from a used dealer for 5500 it was mint.. sold for 7000 4 weeks later. Then i bought a modified example which has caused me nothing but trouble but been scream to drive and i have enjoyed working and learning about it.
FD ownership favours those who like reading and getting their hands dirty or people with $$$$$
I would say 80% of fds in the uk are imports. My fd is also an import, im the first owner in the uk, its almost 17yr old and not a spot of rust.
If you do go for a standard rex spend money on the cooling before you opt for more power as rotarys do get quite hot, a vented bonnet is a good idea aswell as a metal ast tank.
My ast imploded on its self causing it to overheat and whilst it was off the road for some time i decided to go down the modified road which has put me more and more in debt but on a plus note girls like it!
Mazda shoulda called it the cilla black cus the amount of clunge i`ve picked up init is unreal!!!:mmmm:mmmm:mmmm
QuoteWhats your advice on fresh imports? Steer clear or no need to worry?
With
fresh Imports i would only be happy if i could get proof on engine build or condition which isnt usually possible. The best examples imo is an imported model that has been cherished in this country for a while and if rebuilt then by one of our homegrown tuners which all offer warranties and proof of work carried out.
i was going to sell mine for around that price.
maybe i wont!
There\'s a nice looking 1997 RB on e-bay with 60K miles for £6.5K which is supposed to have had a rebuild, I bought a later year car like this having done loads of research and trying quite a few RX7\'s and I bought the most expensive one which I considered to be the best only to have it blow on me a month into ownership. This can put the new owner off even after doing quite a bit of research, having now spent in excess of £6K on both engine rebuild and suspension/polybush etc I now have a car I really love to drive. I suppose the one thing I have learnt is that I would still go out and buy the later model car run it and enjoy it but have the spare cash to have it re-built put to one side just in case then when it does blow you can up the spec on the re-build and get the car fully sorted over a period of time. I did consider putting a V8 in the car but now having run the re-built rotary for quite a while and having done quite a few trackdays I\'m back in love with the rotary engine the only important factor is to get a reputable tuner to do the re-build.
A shed more wealth and advice, cheers again chaps. Been doing some research and seen a number of decent looking, clean, straight examples round that 6k mark. Swaying towards trying to find a 97 onwards model (99 ideally) to do as you say; enjoy the car in it\'s standard form and keep a wedge aside to repair it when rebuild time comes along.
There was mention of a buyers/what to look out for guide earlier. Think I\'m being thick but can\'t find it?
You wont find a genuine 99 car for that money mate and if you do i personally wouldnt touch it as" if something looks to cheap" etc etc.
Also i wouldnt limit yourself to looking for a newer model as your gonna need a pfc really anyway so the benefits are minimal. The cleanest most well cared for car should be top priority regardless of age.
I turned down a 98S plate for my 95 bathurst as the owner of the 95 had clearly been a money-no-object kind of guy so it hadnt wanted for anything. Also the 98 i looked at ended up getting broke when the engine blew.
Best advice is look and LOOK well and at many cars and be willing to walk regardless how far you drove to see it.
If you go to General Equiries hints and tips on buying a rotatary and read through just about every post you will build up a picture of potential ownership, if you get the impression there are more negative posts about the RX7 its because these cars need to be bought with care, but I think if you were to go for a late say about 97 many have 99 spec front ends (which mine has) for about £6K you could get a reasonable one. The front end is a matter of personal taste when I was looking the cars with the 99 spec front end just looked more to my taste than the original front end. And as posted you won\'t get a genuine 99 for the sort of budget you have in mind.
They are still in my opinion one the nicest looking most enjoyable cars to drive when fully sorted, I speak as someone who tried one of the new Nissan GTR\'s the other day with a view to changing my RX7 but I can see me keeping the RX7 for quite some time. When I need the very clever drive systems the GTR has because I\'ve got a bit slow with my reactions then the RX7 will go but until then I\'ll stick to the seat of your pants feel the RX7 gives.
Personally I wouldn\'t bother with importing a car. Unless you assume that the engine is a gonner. Just not a chance i\'d take.
Also I\'d suggest driving a fair few before you buy. When i bought mine it was the only one I\'d driven. Comparing it to other 7\'s ive driven now, i was bloody lucky. Loads of them just arn\'t anywhere near as nice and all go for a similar price.
Additonally I agree with neil jdmr. I wouldn\'t bother with looking for a specific spec/year at that kind of budget. If you want a 99 spec, its much cheaper and easier to fit the 99 spec parts. Also its worth noting that pre 95 imports don\'t need a cat by law. The best thing to do is to go for something clean and well modified (if at all)
this is still for sale. An absolute bargain
http://www.driftworks.com/forum/drift-cars-sale-private-sales/113858-rx7-fc-500-bhp-sale-breaking.html
Have you seen the low mileage S reg blue one on Pistonheads low mileage late model I\'d say thats worth looking at that price.
^^Dude can you not see the massive dent in the rear quarter that he\'s attempting to hide in the pics?
Also, Id definitely go for getting as nice a car as possible. As with any car tho, price isnt an indicator as to how good the car is. There are some right bargains to be had for 4k but unless youve been looking at these cars a while it may be hard for you to pick them from the dogs. Similarly there are some right dogs for sale for top money...that link above being IMO one of them. sure its a 99 spec and it may well have 34000 miles but that dent in the rear quarter is massive (ive seen it in the flesh driving past me once as i live in middlesex).
Buying fresh imports isnt the minefield that it can be. If I was buying an Import, Id steer clear of these random generic import car places as theyre not really clued up on Rotaries. There are a fair few people with rotary knowledge importing FDs (myself, speedline imports to name my favorite 2 :D) who can help you out even if its just with sound advice (we\'ve seen near enough everything there is to see in FDs)
Well I guess if you were to turn up to look at it and see it you would have to be an idiot not to knock a few hundred/thousand off the asking price. If it does have the damage you state this would lead me or any buyer not to have a favourable opinion of the individual selling it, as there is no mention of it in the advert and like I say if I turned up and saw it without being told about it personally myself I\'d be tempted to walk away after perhaps offering £6K.
6k for any stock Fd with that sizeable a dent isn\'t a great deal either regardless of if it\'s a 99 spec.
if ya zoom in he has actually photoshopped it to make it so ya cant see it. lol he even went a little over the tyre.
have a look in the for sale section now theres an fd for £4500 that looks like a bargain even has compression test aswell, worth a look
Kris
Quote from: Jit;7202896k for any stock Fd with that sizeable a dent isn\'t a great deal either regardless of if it\'s a 99 spec.
Do you not think that if a potential buyer were able to take it along to a local RX7 specialist and get it checked out compression wise etc then along to a body shop to get a price for the work to the rear and deduct that from the asking price it would be a good buy for a late model car?
I\'d have thought with the car market as it is just about everyone knows cars are not selling well particularly a rather thirsty rotary so if a potential buyer doesn\'t mind putting themselves out, if all went well and you were able to get it for a good price you could have a good car in the end.
If this guy is trying to hide a dent that an insane chimp with poor eyesight would spot from 10 feet away what else would you find when you got there? There\'s bound to be more unseen issues there, some you may see and some you wouldn\'t.
There are plenty of nice cars available (at a price), take time to speak to the owner and see if he actually knows what he is talking about....always a good sign!! I recently spoke to a lad who was selling a single turbo rex with a \'new engine\'. After a 10 minute chat i discovered the \'new engine\' was bought 2nd hand and the reason he\'d replaced it was because "he had spun a shell on the crank" on the old engine...........i made my excuses and hung up :spank
Dave.
I might have just what you need, I have just finished my fd, And have a fb and fc to finish, I bought a single turbo auto with apexi a while back,And im running out of room and the misses is on at me constant.
Its a lovely car and goes great, Fastest auto ive been in, Good mods nice colour. Only let down is the seats.
Im looking for £3500 to take it of my hands, A great price for a solid honest car with a single turbo and apexi tax/mot. outher mods. And if anyone is serious i will get it comp tested.
Keith
Quote from: TRIND-FD;720468I might have just what you need, I have just finished my fd, And have a fb and fc to finish, I bought a single turbo auto with apexi a while back,And im running out of room and the misses is on at me constant.
Its a lovely car and goes great, Fastest auto ive been in, Good mods nice colour. Only let down is the seats.
Im looking for £3500 to take it of my hands, A great price for a solid honest car with a single turbo and apexi tax/mot. outher mods. And if anyone is serious i will get it comp tested.
Keith
k1trinder@msn.com (k1trinder@msn.com) for details.
Quote from: rx-dave;720408If this guy is trying to hide a dent that an insane chimp with poor eyesight would spot from 10 feet away what else would you find when you got there? There\'s bound to be more unseen issues there, some you may see and some you wouldn\'t.
There are plenty of nice cars available (at a price), take time to speak to the owner and see if he actually knows what he is talking about....always a good sign!!
That\'s the problem, I don\'t know what I\'m talking about when it comes to rotary!
As for the car with the huge dent, was that the blue one on PH you\'re talking about or the white FC?
Quote from: TRIND-FD;720468I might have just what you need, I have just finished my fd, And have a fb and fc to finish, I bought a single turbo auto with apexi a while back,And im running out of room and the misses is on at me constant.
Its a lovely car and goes great, Fastest auto ive been in, Good mods nice colour. Only let down is the seats.
Im looking for £3500 to take it of my hands, A great price for a solid honest car with a single turbo and apexi tax/mot. outher mods. And if anyone is serious i will get it comp tested.
Keith
Cheers mate but I\'m defo after a manual. It\'s just not driving if you\'re not shifting gears lol
Quote from: oliVeR6;720537That\'s the problem, I don\'t know what I\'m talking about when it comes to rotary!
As for the car with the huge dent, was that the blue one on PH you\'re talking about or the white FC?
Its the late blue one on Pistonheads and by the reaction on here its one to be even more careful about do remember its a buyers market with these cars at the moment so take your time and see as many as you can having said that a good one will sell if its going for a reasonable price.
Yes it was the late blue one not an FC. The auto (Keiths car) could be a good choice as it\'s not overly hard to get it converted to manual especially as it\'s a single turbo car.
i can convert it for you if you decide you want keiths car. I have the parts needed to do this.
there\'s a lovely red 92 plate in the classifieds at the moment! :D
Hmmm looks like the guy planning on buying my car was just talking sh*t so now my Rex ownership plans are going to have to be put on hold :(