Hi there, im considering buying an RX-7 and....

[hogg920]

Hi, I live in Darlington and am considering buying an RX-7, however other than what ive heard from "the man in the pub" types im not sure about what to look for when buying one.
The only information that ive repeatedly heard is that they need an engine rebuild every 50k and that finding somewhere to service them is a bit of a chew on.
Basically what id like to know is what are the faults i should be looking for when purchasing an RX, what faults/rattles etc i should be aware of when test driving one, whats the cost/availability of spares and where can i go to get it serviced (i live in darlington in the North east), preferably without having to drive 200 miles to find someone. I heard the fuel consumptions pretty savage as well so any info regarding that would be appreciated. also i want to know what sort of condition RX i can get for my initial budget, ive been looking at a few on autotrader at about the 5 grand mark but at a pinch i may be able to stretch to 6 (of course all this hinges on how fast i can get a job post graduation!!!) can i get a decent motor for that or will i get saddled with a pup? if so its back to the drawing board?  also one final thing although it may seem odd, whats the space like in the car, im 6\'2 and have size 14 feet and some cars especially those with a narrow pedal area are really uncomfortable to drive and im not gonna buy a car that going to leave me crippled no matter how good it is lol.
anyway i can\'t think of anything else to ask now, but any help i can get would be great.

thanks in advance.
Ian

[robedwards99]

Some quick answers.

1) Engines need a rebuild on average 60k but can go on longer or pop sooner depending what life they\'ve had.

2) Faults: Best thing to do is find one of the friendly folk on here to go and look at it with you. It\'s a minefield and there are lots of ****e cars out there.

3) Fuel: Costs £60 to fill the tank and if you\'re lucky you might get 250 miles out of that, usually more like 150-200.

4) You can get a good car for that money, take a look at the sales forum on here. You are better to buy from a known member than out of the trader.

5) You\'ll need to sit in one for size TBH. I\'ve heard of people having to modify the seat runners to fit them in.

Hope that helps a little

Rob.

[interloper393]

buy mine lol.. id agree with the above comments, if your buying else where deffo take someone along that knows rotarys, last thing u want is to buy a 6k car then find out u gotta rebuild it..

[hogg920]

Thanks for the info guys, i\'ll keep my eyes peeled on the site for anyone looking to sell, hopefully i\'ll be looking to buy around august time (provided i graduate and can get a decent enough job to cover insurance and running costs!!) ive been getting quotes for plenty of different Jap Motors and ive narrowed down my choices to An RX and a Mitsubishi FTO (mainly cos both were affordable insurance wise, i got a quote for a skyline and nearly had a fit), my first choice is obviously the RX, so i figured the smartest thing would be to chat to some people who are passionate about them and find out what its like living with them day to day, cos to be honest, im ashamed to admit it, but all i know about cars is the accelerator makes them go and the brake makes them stop.
anyway thanks for the advice, and i\'ll be keeping a close eye on any RX\'s coming up for sale!!

[shaunwil]

The two cars are completly different. I originally had an FTO and the fuel consumption is better but they suffer from not being very quick. The rex is a serious step up from the fto gpx. If I had the choice the rex would win every time, but i only use the fd at the weekends. I have a n/a rotary as a daily driver !

Shaun

[hogg920]

thats somthing that i have to consider, because whatevr car it will be my day to day car (running 2 cars isn\'t an option financially) so im gonna need to put some serious thought into this over the next month!!