To buy or not to buy?

[24 VRT]

I have just looked at a 2001 fd3s, a manual RB-s pack with 11k miles on the clock :mmmm. Was imported from new by a Surrey Mazda dealer and since then has had 4 owners, including a dealer who had it registered to themselves for only a few months - so in effect only 3 true owners in 7 years. Its unmolested - totally original and in A1 (but not mint) nick inside and out :Thumbs-up.
 
Problem is the low mileage. Current owner has had it nearly 3 years but had done under a thousand miles in that time. He thought nothing of starting it up to take it out of the garage and onto the drive, let it run for 2 or 3 minutes and turned it off! :2eek When I left he started it up and put it back in the garage!!:eek:
 
Clearly the low mileage would indicate long periods laid up :Snoring and potentially lots of short trips. I\'ve therefore arranged for a compression test to ensure the engine is still sound :yes. In paperwork / service terms, the poor girl looks as though she\'s only had 4 oil changes in her life, and two of those were within 3 months on one another!!  
 
So - assuming the compression test comes out OK, the question is - should I buy or not. Haven\'t been able to take it for a run yet but if nothing untoward is evident in running/ride/handling, then I\'m minded to buy, as the price to me looks good at £11.5k. She\'ll need a good oil/filters/plugs change and an Italian tune up, but after that, and with treating the engine the way it should be, I think its still worth going ahead. Any thoughts / views / opinions would be welcome.:yes
 
Rod.

[philwhite]

Can’t understand why someone would by a car list this and not enjoy it?
 
Isthe compression test with an RX7 specialist? If so I’d get them to give it a once over, they’ll soon spot if there’s anything major wrong.
 
Sounds like a good price for a 2001 car which is very rare in the UK, especially considering the mileage.

[Nik da Greek]

IIRC long periods of being laid up without use allows corrosion to set in and the dread water seal failure can be a result...I\'d be wanting it cheap and budgeting for some kinda rebuild if it were me

[24 VRT]

The seller says he\'s an enthusiast and loves RX7\'s - yet apart from this one and a 2nd Gen one he owned, he hasn\'t had many and didn\'t seem to have any idea about the need to treat a rotary engine with care. He\'s selling it to buy a Spirit - lets hope he takes more care with that.
 
I had to arrange the compression test with the local Mazda dealer as its only up the road from the seller, and there isn\'t a rotary expert within reasonable distance of him.
 
I\'ll check the oil and water for contamination - there was no smoke of any real description when he started it up from cold - any other ways I can look for signs of water seal failure?
 
Some people may laugh, but I\'m going to take the extra precaution of a warranty direct policy - I should get some comfort if anything major happens as a result of long periods idle, although I accept their policies have exclusions everywhere! The seller won\'t budge on price so its a take it or leave it - and £11.5k for a 2001 is very attractive especially if the compression test comes through OK - so I\'ll probably go ahead. Heart ruling the head etc...
 
Thanks for the views/comments.
 
Rod.

[buckman67]

Sorry,I personally would\'nt go near it at that price.  Cars that stand still for long periods of time can develop lots of niggerly problems that could make it unreliable over time.  Petrol goes off if not used which can jam up your injectors, small rubber seals perish/ go brittle, internal channels can corrode/oxidise if the water system was not properly maintained , and damp gets in everywhere.
There are some great original RX7\'s out there at much lower prices, admittedly they don,t have the rarity of this car, but how much more is that worth........£5 - £6K ? not for me.

[Hi RX7]

The car sounds nice, as a recent new owner of an RX7 I bought a car which I thought was fully sorted, recent engine re-build etc. Only to find it blew on me less than about 6 weeks into new ownership and I do drive with a considerable amount of mechanical sympathy. Knowing what I know now I would say to any seller of a car I was looking at if there is no evidence and/or transferable warranty on the engine then you have to allow at least £3500 for a re-build from the day you take ownership and use that as part of your offer.

[dthebuk]

the only problem with a compression test is it wont tell you anything about the water seals will it?

but still, a mint 2001 rx7 even without an engine could be worth a reasonable amount couldn\'t it? The old ones are probably starting to rust, have worn paint etc

I presume the turbos will be working too. So stick in a new engine and you\'d have an absolutely sorted car.

would be awfully expensive mind

s