Hello, been looking at getting an rx7 for a while now and this one has popped up on ebay which I\'m considering buying.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130721813072#ht_674wt_1185
just wandering if it looks like its a good buy, to me it does but rx7\'s are quite different from other cars. It\'s had a relatively recent rebuild, looks nice and engine bay looks fairly standard/un molested and for £3500 it seems like it\'s at a pretty good price. any help would be appreciated.
It also doesn\'t show the damage to rear wing and paintwork, potentially needs a complete respray. Always get a genuine compression test done with a Mazda rotary tester no matter who or when it was built.
yeah, I\'ve asked for pics of the damage and paint blemish\'s. In regard to a compression check how difficult is it for them to get it done? would it be something someone might hesitate doing?
Quote from: KaiserDamz;827922yeah, I\'ve asked for pics of the damage and paint blemish\'s. In regard to a compression check how difficult is it for them to get it done? would it be something someone might hesitate doing?
Having a compression test done on a rotary is usually pretty essential to be able to sell the car, its done on a specalist machine and usually costs around £50 at Mazda main deals or a specalist, but will show the internal health of the engine - you can\'t use a normal piston compression tester as a piston has 1 bit of compression, the rotary has 3 per rotor.
Ask the seller if they have any compression results, they should still be very good if its only done 9k miles from a rebuild, they should come in sets of 3 like this:
Front rotor: 7.2,7.3,7.0
Rear rotor: 6.9,7.0,7.1
Basically you need to look for an even amount of compression over the values and the higher the number the better, if there is a sudden drop in compression in the results then it would indicate an issue with a seal on 1 of the tips - not ideal news.
Here are the numbers and idea of whats good and bad:
8+ = new engine
7-8 = Very good engine
6-7 = Good useable compression
5-6 = getting in need of a rebuild
<5 = rebuild needed
0 = blow tip
On my FC that is currently on 87k miles I have compressions of 7.2 on the front and 6.9s on the rear, my engine has been well looked after and is still on its original engine, if you look after it, there will be no issues and will last ages.
there was also this one, it states 8 bar compression, seems a little less detailed than the compression info you gave however
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120929829349?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_789wt_1185
at the moment the budget is around £4000 and aiming for a good condition standard car with as little done as possible.
Definately avoid that white one, it\'s been bought and sold a few times people trying to make a quick buck. Be warey
Quote from: KaiserDamz;827930there was also this one, it states 8 bar compression, seems a little less detailed than the compression info you gave however
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120929829349?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_789wt_1185
at the moment the budget is around £4000 and aiming for a good condition standard car with as little done as possible.
I would ask the owner who rebuilt the engine as if it has 8s on the engine it means its been rebuilt and they should have paperwork to support it.
glad you told me, in fact this is why I joined the forums to spot if theres any notorious cars that get passed about. Tbh i\'d prefer the red one as it looks nicer but still waiting for more details. annoyingly I live up in scotland and nearly all of the cars for sale are so far away it makes viewing before buying near enough impossible.
also I\'m curious about rebuild costs, some people mention a little over a grand and then some say over £3000, does it vary depending on how badly damaged the engine is?
I would say buy one from a long term member who has had it for a few years, that way the chances should be high of it being well looked after and in good condition.
I have checked the for sale section but couldnt see anything that has had a recent rebuild nor in my budget. owner of white car which had this compression in april Front rotor @267rpm 7.9, 8.1, 7.8 Rear rotor @257 rpm 7.6, 7.7,7.6. was rebuilt in 2009 before it was imported and has done 1700 miles since import
Hey Kaiserdamz, you seem to be in the same spot i was in over a year ago. I live just 70-80miles south of you and found most RX7\'s for sale in the south of england.
In fact i had to go down to Bath to collect mine. although my criteria were different to yours i was looking for a project so didnt mind to state or anything really. I got a nice FD with good body work and not too bad an engine.
Watch out for the rebuilds as it all depends on whats wrong with the car. If you just need the gaskets and seals etc then it will be more on the £1-2K mark. However if the engine has scored housings or damaged rotors etc thats when the costs mount up to £3K+
Workshops can only give you a base price and then a final price when they take out your engine and strip it down to see whats what. The only person who can tell you how much it\'ll be before stripping is Superman and unfortunately he dont build rotaries lol!
Sorry dude you won\'t get much for £4k.
The good ones at that price are very few and far between. If anything look towards the vendors on here. I can highly recommend Martin at speedline imports. Failing that keep an eye on here and FDuk for a car.
Sadly mate the ones around £4k are a little ropey and more than likely on the verge of needing a rebuild.
Happy hunting!.
I got my FD for £1800 so you can guess it wasnt in much a good state. However i must admit i\'ve had a lot of fun over the last year working on her. I\'ve learnt a hell of a lot and the thing with these cars that i\'ve noticed is you just keep on learning.
I know there\'s many people on here who will have forgotten more than i will ever know about rotaries. They\'re just great fun to work on.
So if you dont mind getting your hands dirty then you can lower your price bracket a bit. Otherwise like Matt p says you\'ll have to increase it to get an FD in the condition you want
My FC is up for sale :) more engine bay space and you don\'t have to worry about emissions as much :D plus the drive shafts and diffs don\'t explode like the FDs :rollin
Whoa hold the phone!!!.....FD\'s drive shafts and diffs explode???? Best up my budget then :rollin
Quote from: Mikey22;828019Whoa hold the phone!!!.....FD\'s drive shafts and diffs explode???? Best up my budget then :rollin
Well stuff on the FD seems to be smaller and thinner than the FC, eg the drive shafts are hollow vs the FCs, the diff is ok as long as you don\'t drift it lots lol
Quote from: matt p;828011Sorry dude you won\'t get much for £4k.
The good ones at that price are very few and far between. If anything look towards the vendors on here. I can highly recommend Martin at speedline imports. Failing that keep an eye on here and FDuk for a car.
Sadly mate the ones around £4k are a little ropey and more than likely on the verge of needing a rebuild.
Happy hunting!.
I personally think over the past 2/3 years the prices of FD\'s do not reflect what you get. As a buyer you are in a great position to negotiate and get the best deal for your money. Obviously if your looking for a single turbo 450 bhp etc then your budget is poo.....but if its a base model for you to learn, develop amd modify then it\'s a decent budget. For 4k I\'d reckon a bargain will come along that\'s a good purchase.
Don\'t accept a \'recent rebuild\' as gospel without a recent, up to date compression test from a genuine tester. For your money you\'ll need to travel. I flew down to Gatwick to collect my 1st one in 2004.
I\'m saving at the moment for what will be my 3rd. I\'ll be keeping my next one for a very long time. :Ladys-man
Quote from: m1tch;828034Well stuff on the FD seems to be smaller and thinner than the FC, eg the drive shafts are hollow vs the FCs, the diff is ok as long as you don\'t drift it lots lol
Lol Mitch, what you be smoking! FD drive shafts aren\'t hollow and the only diffs I have seen explode are on big power cars launching.
Quote from: Speedline Imports;828042Lol Mitch, what you be smoking! FD drive shafts aren\'t hollow and the only diffs I have seen explode are on big power cars launching.
Think he has been baking those funny smelling brownies and eating them again. :spank
The people in berkhamsted are little special, some say it\'s due to the posh people inter breeding :p
there appears to be a lot of rx7\'s for sale from a user called waqar salim, such as these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAZDA-RX7-1993-TWIN-TURBO-BLACK-300bhp-/120942918717?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item1c28c27c3d#ht_634wt_1185
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAZDA-RX7-1993-TWIN-TURBO-registered-2012-in-UK-/120942902143?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item1c28c23b7f#ht_1082wt_1185
the white one i mentioned earlier and another red one, has anyone had any experience or know much about this seller?
Quote from: KaiserDamz;828160there appears to be a lot of rx7\'s for sale from a user called waqar salim, such as these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAZDA-RX7-1993-TWIN-TURBO-BLACK-300bhp-/120942918717?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item1c28c27c3d#ht_634wt_1185
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAZDA-RX7-1993-TWIN-TURBO-registered-2012-in-UK-/120942902143?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item1c28c23b7f#ht_1082wt_1185
the white one i mentioned earlier and another red one, has anyone had any experience or know much about this seller?
why doesn\'t he list the compression results?!! :3Confused
Dude seriously,
People have already said if you want one thats been reasonably looked after buy one from this forum or FDuk.
Pistonheads quite frankly is a minefield, that guy has had a few up for sale over the past year and if it was me I wouldn\'t go near them with a barge pole.
At the end of the day it\'s your money dude but I\'d seriously look at looking around and not buying the first one you see :)
This one may have a warranty depending when it was built, wonder what TLC it needs? :D
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1992-MAZDA-RX-7-RED-/271011164033?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item3f19862f81
Why would he be waiting on a new logbook??? Bought it to sell it on????
Quote from: matt p;828226Dude seriously,
People have already said if you want one thats been reasonably looked after buy one from this forum or FDuk.
Pistonheads quite frankly is a minefield, that guy has had a few up for sale over the past year and if it was me I wouldn\'t go near them with a barge pole.
At the end of the day it\'s your money dude but I\'d seriously look at looking around and not buying the first one you see :)
checked on here already, check it every day but there does not seem to be much for sale let alone in a good condition for my budget, either have loads of stuff missing, rust or an engine with unknown history. Spotted that red one posted a few moments ago but mileage is at 110,000 miles so even if the engine is good theres going to be other stuff going after that much usage.
Quote from: KaiserDamz;828231checked on here already, check it every day but there does not seem to be much for sale let alone in a good condition for my budget, either have loads of stuff missing, rust or an engine with unknown history. Spotted that red one posted a few moments ago but mileage is at 110,000 miles so even if the engine is good theres going to be other stuff going after that much usage.
You\'re after a car that isn\'t exactly common. Not like you\'re going to find something that fits all your criteria immediately, if at all!
Unless you have a massive budget (you don\'t) you\'re going to struggle. I plumped for one that needs a respray at the very least and may have one or two other problems hidden in its midst. There is a single turbo one that jord13b has for sale and although it has very little on it mod wise besides the engine, it\'s a bargainous price and a solid base.
You\'re in for the long haul looking for anything, unless you broaden your criteria.
budget is not so much of an issue, £4k is what I\'m willing to spend on a car then I will fix it up myself if required. Resprays im fine with since my brother\'s job requires respraying and i can repair body work and electrical issues myself. Just rust and the engine that im focusing on. A lot of the cars for sale on this forum also seem to be fairly new people as well or dont have compression tests done.
Quote from: KaiserDamz;828290budget is not so much of an issue, £4k is what I\'m willing to spend on a car then I will fix it up myself if required. Resprays im fine with since my brother\'s job requires respraying and i can repair body work and electrical issues myself. Just rust and the engine that im focusing on. A lot of the cars for sale on this forum also seem to be fairly new people as well or dont have compression tests done.
Have you tried the specialists?? I think rotechnics have had a few cars about that budget with a warranty too...
In my experience your better to wait, I rushed into buying a car from these forums and ended up with water seal failure, and a few other problems too. That\'s definitely not a slate to the forum or people on them, the guy that sold me the car is long gone....
Take your time, be patient and a good car will come up eventually. Rush in And you\'ll have spent your £4k on a car that\'s needing a 3k rebuild and more...
Is there any chance of saving up 6-7k???
Richard
Quote from: KaiserDamz;828290budget is not so much of an issue, £4k is what I\'m willing to spend on a car then I will fix it up myself if required. Resprays im fine with since my brother\'s job requires respraying and i can repair body work and electrical issues myself. Just rust and the engine that im focusing on. A lot of the cars for sale on this forum also seem to be fairly new people as well or dont have compression tests done.
If you can do bodywork what about this one?
http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76604
Compression results included. Wee bit of rust but from what I can see easily repaired
yeah saw that car on here, looks good just a few issues, the rust seems to be coming from the inside then coming out the body work which means it could be a lot worse than it looks. also in the other ad for this car a potential buyer mentions that the inside of the wheel arches had been hammered back so bigger wheels could be fitted which may mean a poorly done bodge job or something that doesn\'t matter, asked for pics of these so i can make a decision.