buying advice

[dann]

Hi all

After selling my fiat coupe 20VT I\'m now in the market for an RX7. All my freinds have told me I\'m daft due to this and that reason, but as a kid its a car I always dreamed of owning.
Now I\'ve got around 9k maximum to spend question really is, Ive seen a car on ebay(link below) that looks great and is close to me. Anybody know this car or the owner, any advice on the price. The only thing that worries me is that it\'s had no engine work done and has over 50k on the clock, should this be a worry or not.
It just seems like such a minefield out there..:confused:
Any help or advice that you peeps can give would be appreciated.

Thanks ,  Dan

Ebay link..
ebay car

[sadgoth]

I\'ve been watching that one for some time, it is a nice example, UK car with FSH which is good. 51k is getting near re-build time, however cars that have been well looked after with no mods have been known to last up to and over 75k. It is a tricky one, the car is mint with no mods and FSH, but the mileage is erring on the high side. I\'d say take someone with you off the forum who can give you an honest appraisal, get a compression test and haggle!

[James S]

that car was advertised on here about a month ago. Have a look if you’ve not already:

http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10820

[Abe]

I\'m in a similar state of affairs, the only difference really is Ive been doing my homework on these cars for several months.

If it was me I would go for a slightly cheaper example that cosmetically is mint, then if need be I have the £2-3K to spend on a rebuild which ultimately is everyones big unknown.

Why not have a look in the private ads section on this forum theres a number of really nice examples for a price which would allow you that piece of mind.

[sadgoth]

big difference which u ought to take into account is that the UK car could save u between 25% & 50% on insurance, as many insurers put an unfair loading on imports

[mattmaclennan]

But they\'re not as fast... My advice would be to buy a £7k car and have the 2k left over to maintain it properly. time after time after time people blow all their budget buying "the fastest car for the money" an end up having a real crap time owning it. I know £2K on maintenance seems a lot, but it does go a long way to rebuilding the motor. They\'re not very fast without apex seals!:D

[gsb876]

In truth Dan for 9K you can get a really good example which has already had a engine rebuild;)

Have a good look through //www.autotrader.co.uk or other similar importers / sellers to find the right RX7 for you, take your time though dont rush in;)

Gurj:)

//www.rotaryimports.com
//www.neweraimports.com
//www.powervehicles.co.uk
//www.spimports.co.uk
//www.dragonperformance.co.uk
//www.futurautos.co.uk
//www.nemesisperformance.co.uk
//www.torqueimports.co.uk
//www.carplanet.org
//www.linney.org
//www.autotrader.co.uk

[dann]

Thanks for all the replys. I think I\'ll take a miss on the ebay car and either look for somethink cheaper and pur some money away for a rainy day or pay my 9k limit for a car with a recent rebuild.
Better spend a few days searching around the forum first before I go to see any..

[Shark]

Originally posted by mattmaclennan
But they\'re not as fast... My advice would be to buy a £7k car and have the 2k left over to maintain it properly. time after time after time people blow all their budget buying "the fastest car for the money" an end up having a real crap time owning it. I know £2K on maintenance seems a lot, but it does go a long way to rebuilding the motor. They\'re not very fast without apex seals!:D

The UK cars were not tuned to run as quick as the Jap spec when they rolled off the production line, that is true.  The bits are all the same though!!!  As soon as you drop a PFC in there you\'ll have the same speed with the lucky addition of a designed in rear foglight for MOT time.

If you plan to do even basic mods then the UK/Jap spec difference means precisely nothing. (With the exceptions of the rear foglight and the insurance implications).
If you plan to mod heavily... well just look at Clive\'s!  I wouldn\'t call that \'slow\'

[sadgoth]

The other way to look at it is that a UK car will always have a price premium over an import dure to rarity and also that the history of the car is far easier to verify. So you buy a UK car for £2k more than an equivalent spec import (which is probably what we are really talking about in this case) and it is likely to always be worth that bit more than an import.

I agree though spend £8500-£9000 on a car with a recent rebuild FROM A REPUTABLE AND KNOWN SPECIALIST (RX Motors, Hayward Rotary, RE-Worx, Dragon, WGT) and you can be 99% sure that you\'ll be ok for many trouble free miles, or buy a car in good cond externally but maybe with a blown engine for say £4k and take it to one of the above, you\'ll have a car with a brand new engine for about £7k leaving you £2k to play with! I know one of the members on here has a nice RE-Amemiya kitted car with a blown engine for sale up in Scotland (user name Yonner)

[andrewrx7]

I agree with everything that has been said, but perhaps you shouldn\'t discount that one straight away.
If it really is in exceptional condition, then it maybe a very good buy. OK, 50k miles, but how are you going to use the car? How many miles per year? If only a few thousand, then you may have alot of years motoring left. Personally, my previous UK FD clocked 82k before a rebuild was needed. You just can\'t tell! It\'d be a gamble, but it may pay off (obviously it may not to - but then a modded motor with some miles on a rebuild...how long before that would need a rebuild?)
Although I don\'t know the bloke, I\'ve seen his name around the forums (here and FDUK), and if he is where I think he is, I\'ve seen the car on several occasions.
May be worth a look, if nothing else you get to see an FD and use it as a benchmark to judge others by.

Good luck!