URGENT - Advice on the car in Aberdeen needed

[Mart160plus]

Evening all.

Before I watch the footy I\'ve just had the RAC man call me with regards to the inspection on the black RX-7 in Aberdeen that I am going to purchase this Saturday. I\'d be grateful if I could borrow on your experience guys before I make that purchase.
The following are the points the RAC chap made, the first two being the ones that concern me most :
1) The car\'s engine was running when the RAC man arrived ;
2) The coolant light was on. It came on when I drove the car at the weekend. The owner mailed me today to say he\'d filled the coolant up so the RAC man could go on a test drive. The RAC man said he believes the car is losing coolant but not anywhere externally. He doesn\'t know where it\'s going. This car only has 38,000 miles on the clock but should I be getting worried ?
3) Suspension was harsh and rattley
4) Small oil leak near the sump
5) Nails in two of the tyres
6) Condensation in the side lamps
7) Cigarette lighter inoperative
3 tyres of 1 type, 1 of another, the 1 being directional

So what do we think folks ? Is the coolant issue a big enough reason to walk away ? Do these cars have notorious starting problems, hence the engine was running ?

I look forward to your responses. I plan to go up to Aberdeen Saturday, so need to make a decision soon. There are at least several beers in exchange come JAE !!!

Thanks,

Mart.

[Gman]

I would say leave it, as the coolant could be going anywhere internally.  I\'m no mechanic but if i were you i would look for another.

[ScuttleRX]

No mechanic either, but losing coolant, plus possible poor starting would be indicators of a water seal failure which would be rebuild time...id be very wary

[Mart160plus]

Any more advice people, before I advise the guy selling the car to keep it ??
I\'m absolutely gutted, so close to getting my first RX, yet the brain is still in control of the heart, just.

Time to cancel that banker\'s draft and train ticket.....

Cheers for the responses I got.

Mart.

[J4P RX]

Leave it.

If its loosing coolant and youve seen the light come on, then you dont know if its ever over heated and if it has then its likely to be in a bit of a state.

Then you gonna need to buy 4 tyres too, do you really want to drive home on two you know have nails in?  And you have to find and fix the coolant leak too, which might be something small but then again...

[Donato]

LEAVE IT!! Find another, there are lovely cars that make you want to buy them, however, rush in and it could end up costing you. Its worth taking the time to find the right example. IMHO

Loosing coolant internally + Poor starting = probable rebuild

Ask yourself why is the car being sold? Perhaps the owner doesn\'t want the expense of the rebuild himself..?

Good luck

Donato

[Mart160plus]

Like with everything you can spin the facts to make it suit your opinion, and so this constant struggle has been going on in my head all week. The guy wants to sell it as he has a two year old and his missus wants him to have a car in which he can transport the family. Trouble is he only got the RX back in March, when his 2 year old still existed, so what has changed ?
The train ticket was non-refundable, I\'ve canned the bankers draft, it cost me trains plus £140 RAC inspection but just think what the costs could have been !

The search begins again......

Cheers guys.

[Initial-D]

Hi, I agree with the general opinion of leaving it and going for another.

The coolant prob could be due to a faulty water pump - this can cause big problems with overheating as mentioned in above posts, and unless you know for sure that it\'s never overheated your looking at a rebuild pretty soon.

There\'s some loverly cars up in the "for sale" section I\'d recommend getting in touch with some of the owners there.

Cheers


Ben

[iaint]

Just to re-iterate what others have said... WALK AWAY!

This type of coolant loss is almost certainly due to the water seals beginning to fail.  This will, depending on how bad it\'s getting, cause it to be poor to start - often starting on 1 rotor (sounds like a tractor when this happens).

It will need a rebuild if that is the case and will only get worse.

One test for this is to put the coolant system under pressure test adn remove the bottom plugs.  If there\'s a leak then water will eventually run out of the plug-holes.  This will most likely finish off the seals though!  

Another test is to run the car up from cold without the main filler-cap on.  You should see bubbles coming up through the coolant.  This is what causes the coolant to be pushed out of the system!

You could get these tests done and if it looks like it is a seal failure make a very low offer (some £3k less than asking price) and have it rebuilt - that way you get peace of mind!

Iain

[gsb876]

Yes listen to the other leave this one alone, the chaps most likely selling to save money.

Closest rx7 dealer near you would be //www.powervehicles.co.uk , have alook on there for some rx7\'s i believe they are located in Edinburgh.

Goodluck
Gurj

[Mart160plus]

Cheers Gurj, been to that site before, not a bad spread of stock, maybe a little pricey.
I did walk away from the car in Aberdeen, the guy selling it was not best pleased, but I\'m sure he got over this as it was back on Ebay the following day.
Got several days off work now and travelling down the country so I shall be going to see quite a few motors.

Will I have one by JAE though

Cheers.

[gsb876]

I guess the problem you have is the location? as you\'re too far north for all the main importers.

Unfortunately most of the importers are down south, i\'m in the midlands and even i had to travel for 4 hrs to get mine from Ross whos in Exeter!!!

Heres a few others to check off the top of me head:

//www.rotaryimports.com
//www.neweraimports.com
//www.linney.org
//www.dragonperformance.co.uk
//www.spimports.co.uk
//www.nemesisperformance.co.uk
//www.autotrader.co.uk - theres a quite a few links to other importers off there too.

Also check the forsale section on this site and //www.fduk.org.

Goodluck with your search, obviously dependant on your budget but you will find something, took me 8 months to find mine!!!

[Mart160plus]

Thanks !

Been looking for a while now, visited the majority of the websites you listed, plus used AutoTrader and Ebay quite a lot too.
I\'ve been down to the New Forest to test the beast Ant had from Sterte Garage, and then been to the other end of the country for the one in Aberdeen that I nearly bought.
There are ten I have listed that I am considering, from those for sale within the club to Rotary Imports to Bonsai. I\'m trying to focus on low mileage above anything else, did you consider getting your car Compression checked before you bought it ??

Still, 11 days away from work now, plenty of time to catch up with friends ands motors in the South East. Does anyone go to the Ace Cafe meets in London ? I\'ll be there next Tuesday.

Mart.