Renegade3900

I am about to buy a '88 RX-7 GXL and I have a few concerns I would like to clear up before I cut the check. This car is in good shape it has 140,000 miles and has been driven 5 times in the last two years. Would the fact it has not been driven much in the last 2 years be a problem?

Can anyone tell me what dose GXL stand for and what makes it different from a regular RX-7?

What are common problems with an RX-7 I should look for when I go check it out and test drive it? I need to replace the driver seat it has a lage tear, how much would a replacement cost (the interior is black leather)?

Dose the car have back seats? When I looked at it there were to front seats and a flat surfaces after them, but there where to rectangle compartment that looked like they could be like pop up seats.

How much do you think a '88 GXL RX-7 with 140,000 miles in good shape should cost?

Renegade3900

Also what kinda of gas milage do they get? I use to have a '91 towncar that got 10, or below. So anything is a step up for me.

ImranQ

Hey there bro, I'm in a similar situation to you. I'm looking into buying my first rx-7, a 91 NA Coupe. From what I have read in the past 2 weeks, it seems as though RX-7's have alot of problems. It's not that the rotary engine is bad, or worse than a piston motor, but instead, it responds worse than a piston motor does to poor maintenence. If you are religious about keeping your engine in top shape, your problems will be limited, but if you slack even a little, it will hurt you in a big way. 140k miles is ALOT for a fc engine. I don't know a whole lot, but from what I have gathered, that engine, unless taken care of it's whole life by it's owner(s) is going to have alot of problems. Since it's only been driven 5 times in the past 2 years, I am going to venture and say the engine is no good and will need a rebuild. BUT, that is just my totally novice opinion that I do not suggest basing your purchase off of.

The car I'm looking at is a 91 NA auto with 97k miles, and I've thoroughly checked it out twice using the "how to buy an FC guide" that a rotary guru(Aaron i beleive?) has posted on these forums. The car passes the guide perfectly, but I am still weary of purchasing it because I am pretty sure there will be problems with the engine in the near future, based on what I have read on these forums.

Oh yeah, the car is only a 2-seater. It just has a large rear hatch area, it's NOT a 2-by-2. I love FC's, and I think they look great, and they serve as an original alternative to the more common honda's and acura's that you see everywhere, but they come with a large risk. I read a post just a few days ago that said if your car is in good condition, you will need to save $40 a month for unexpected occurances, and if you choose to mod the car, save $70 a month, although a few other board members thought those were pretty low estimates.

Good luck in your search bro, I hope I didn't scare you away lol. I'm in the same boat as you right now, and I really want to buy the car since it's a pretty good deal and I need a daily driver for college, but I just don't want the thing to die on me the week(day?) after I purchase it, which I have read about happening just this past week to a guy. Hope I gave you some helpful information, but I would wait on some of the more experienced FC guys to come chime in and let you know. Oh yeah, here's the link to that "how to buy an FC guide"... VERY HELPFUL

http://www.aaroncake.net/RX-7/buy1.htm

sectachrome

ummmm, FCs come in both 2 seaters and 2+2. the gxl is the luxury model (adjustable suspension, 5 lug, 4 piston brakes, leather, lsd). 140k is not too bad for an n/a. they have been known to last beyond 200.

read the 2nd Gen FAQ. it will answer a lot of questions.

oh, and its probably worth like ~2k

vipers

iTrader: (8)

ok..... first off... "gxl" is just a fancy way of saying "luxury model".... the gxl (depending on options) comes w/ power steering, abs, ac, power windows,sunroof, rear window wiper, lsd rear end, sport brakes, ect.... alot of options. in my eyes, more things to go wrong!!!
now, just because it hasnt been driven in 2 years, doesnt mean the motor is bad! sometimes, the car is just a 2nd car that never gets driven....SOMETIMES!!! now from there, you need to get picky!! if it passed the "what to look for when buying an fc" , then your probubly ok!
the leather seats need to go!! you can purchase 2 cloth seats for the price of one good leather seat!! and maintaining leather is a headache! seats are $40 each at the junkyard by my house, and fc seats are plentiful!!!
price range for an 88' gxl w/ 140k miles should be between (w/ a good running motor) $1,000 and $2,500.... but no more than that!! $2,500 and up is s5 territory!!
good luck w/ the purchase, i hope you dont get burned on the deal (it happens alot) (i think most of us got burned on our first cars)... but your smart for asking people who have been in your shoes!! good luck!!!

vipers

iTrader: (8)

if i were you..... i wouldnt buy an automatic!!!! stick it out until you find a manual!!! the performance differance is incredible!!! rx7 automatics are just plain slow!!! and i mean SLOW!!! i have a 91' t2, and i see quite a few 91' 5 speeds out there, so keep lookin'!! and if you dont know how to drive a stick....... learn!!! you wont be dissapointed!!

vipers

iTrader: (8)

lol.... you must have typed yours at the same time as i did...... oh well, at least he knows now!!

ImranQ

WOHOO My newb-ness gets owned again! I told you to wait for the experienced guys LOL. Thanks for teaching me even more about FC's guys, even when I thought I had most of it down, there's always more to learn!

Vipers- Yeah bro, everyone has been telling me that. I know how to drive stick, no worries there, but the car is a daily driver, and in SoCal traffic, I'd really just rather have an auto. Also performance isn't what I'm worried about with the car, reliabilty is. I drove a stick NA and you are absolutely right, the performance is leaps and bounds better. The only thing that worries me is that I saw in another post that the RX-7 auto tranny sucks The car I found is a great deal IMO, and even if it was stick I would buy it, but since it's going to be a daily driver auto is better for me. Also, the other cars I'm looking at right now are like CRX's so even the auto NA is faster than those matchbox toys LOL.

Jaime Enriquez

I have an '89 GXL The original motor went 130,000+ It ran pretty hard with a simple headeer/presilencer/bolra exhaust combo, Air filter and light flywheel. Probably in the neighborhood of 15+ MPG with all the mods and using a heavy right foot. If that motor truly has 140,000, do a compression check or a rebuild will come pretty quick, especially after prolonged sitting with that many miles....I would think the rubber seals may have become more brittle than the usual high-milage motor.

The GXL has leather seats (heavy as ****) power windows (often brake and parts are $$), and 4-piston calipers in front. Overall the whole car is pretty heavy....heavier than GTU models (no power stuff). If you can find a GTUs model they have all the turbo parts like brakes, wheels, and aluminum hood, and LSD.

THEY DO: handle great when set up properly, look great with or without kits, nice examples are rare and get props.

I would definately stay away from Automatics....there are too many little pain in the *** parts to change over, not to mention finding a good condition 5-speed as rebuilding them is quite expensive.

I have since swapped out the 6-port n/a motor to a 4-port TurboII block with TO4 setup, but I still love the car...if you can get one at a good price, I'd say go for it. There are a shitload more aftermarket parts for them then there was 8 years ago!

ImranQ

Hmm... is the auto tranny really that bad? Or is it only bad if it is run hard? Because I'm buying this car to drive me about 30 miles or less a day for college. About a total of 100-125 miles per week I would say. Big-time traffic both ways, once early in the morning when it's cooler and then later in the evening where it's warmer but not "too" hot. I will NOT be racing it, or running it hard. I will redline it like once a week because I was told you need to for a rotary. Is the auto tranny really going to cause me alot of problems? Or will it run fine, and just not be ideal?

The car is in Los Angeles(Sepulveda and National are the main streets, it's off the 405 at Olympic/Pico exit), and I noticed your location tag says you are in LA as well. I've been looking for someone knowledgable about FC's who has some free time and wouldn't mind taking a look at it for a few minutes and giving me some feedback about it before I purchase it. Are you nearby there and willing? Or perhaps give me some tips on what to look for that the "how to buy an FC guide" doesn't mention. Thanks (You can PM me if you would rather not respond here)

Aesop Rock

I bought an automatic, its now a 5-speed. Anyway good luck man, welcome to the rotary world.

Icemark

Model information including what came with what options is found in the options and standard features thread at the top of the FC section.

Please read that and the FAQ for FC threads (also a sticky thread at the top of the FC section) before posting

vrooom305

^ awesome sig it's right on topic too

vipers

iTrader: (8)

rx7 automatics arent very reliable, for 1..... for 2, the redline of the motor drops 1k ....for 3, trust me, i live in southern cali also, and a 5-speed is not hard at all to deal w/ in traffic... if you notice on this site, there are quite a few people switching their 7's to 5-speed, there is a reason for that.. ..... i just dont want you to make the same mistake some of them made!! odds are, your inevidably gonna want to do a 5-speed swap, and it would have been easier to just find a manual car!! try looking in autotrader.com or recycler.com..... there are quite a few in our area!!

Renegade3900

So do would you guys buy this car? ('88 GXL 140k, ladies 3rd car, driven rarely.) She says it never really has had many problems. The only thing it needs is a new battery, a change if tires, and an oil change.

I don't really know much about cars I rarely personal fix my own car. My dad knows tons about cars, but is not very familiar with rotary engines. So he told me he was not sure if he could fix a problem it had. How hard is it to fix common problems with a 2nd gen. RX-7, if you don't know much about rotary engines?

sectachrome

if youre not rebuilding the engine or something, its not really that different from a regular engine. if you dont know much about rotary engines, thats what this forum is for. pick up the haynes manual for it, it shows you how to do all the basic maintenece stuff.

Marcus_F

If I bought that car it would get the battery, tires, oil, AND

Coolant change
Brake fluid change
Transmission fluid change
Rear axle oil change
Brake fluid in the clutch hydraulics changed
Spark plugs and wires
Radiator cap
Thermostat

If you do the work yourself this is about $100. It will be the best $100 you can spend. The second $100 would go toward replacing all the belts, hoses, and O2 sensor. This is all assuming the current owner doesn't have receipts for ongoing mintenance. If they do have receipts, the car wa probably very well taken care of.

Before purchasing the car, I would also check all the electronics. Especially the headlamps (make sure all the lights turn on), wipers, windows, and AC (in west LA, you've got to have AC). The switches go bad over time and they can be quite expensive (you might as well write down IceMark's URL now, there's a good possiblilty you'll use it).

If the car has the original AAS parts, be forewarned that they are about $800 in parts to replace and they are way past dead at this point. The AAS parts can easily be replaced by non-adjustable struts/shocks for less than half that price. Have someone else start the car while you stand behind it. Tons of smoke is a bad sign. Smoke that smells like cooland is a VERY BAD SIGN. Don't worry about the mileage, well maintained cars last a very long time. 300,000+ is not unheard of.

Lastly, you may want to consider joining the SoCal RX-Club. We have regular monthly meets all over southern California and there are plenty of members who can give you a lot of advice regarding diagnostics, maintenance, and upgrades.

Of course, you already knew that because you decided to buy an Rx-7 after attending SevenStock, right?

Renegade3900

So I am kinda worried about owning one of those, it sounds like they have tons of problems.

So I got one more question:

Dose a RX-7 break down more then cars? Like could I buy this car change all the fluids, change the tires, change the spakplug, and get a new battery, then just drive it and not worry about it breaking down? Or do I have to ruin my driving experience and have to worry about problems every time I go to drive it?

sectachrome

depends on the condition its already in and how you take care of it. you have to be on top of oil changes etc. i daily drive my n/a with 155k miles on it, and i dont worry about it. though, i do keep extra coolant and oil in my car so you could say im paranoid

inflatablepets

meh... I bought a project car in April, Started driving it in May and I've had no real problems with the car. I've ran it pretty hard too. Just gettin it ready for paint and adding a few little things.

Marcus_F

Look at what you're buying. It's a seventeen year old sports car. Does it break more than other cars? Not when maintained. Go ask a 1988 Mustang GT owner if anything ever broke on his car. Then look at Camaros, Z cars, Supras, etc. If you want a really dependable car, there are better choices available, but it won't be a sports car. The FC is very dependable for a 15 year old sports car. It's not very dependable when compared to a 2004 Corolla.

EfiniGirl

I should've waited to pick up a better conditioned fc, but now that I've got mine I'm pretty happy. No regrets. =) I don't suggest getting an automatic though. If you're really as into rx7s as much as you say you are, eventually you will either want to do the auto to manual conversion or will end up shelling out for another manual rx7. Stick it out, I'm sure you'll find a stick in your area...

Renegade3900

I think your post completely cleared it up for me. I have never owned a sports car before. I have had a '92 accord and a '91 Towncar. They both are far from sports car especially the Towncar, it is like your driving a very slow school bus.

Also thank you guys a ton for the help. Once I purchase the car and need help getting familiar with the engine is there a guide anywhere that you guys recommend?

ImranQ

exactly... this is what I needed to hear as well to finalize my decision on going ahead and buying an FC. I am going to save your quote(if you don't mind) and read it anytime something goes wrong with my FC. For some reason, what you said never even crossed my mind during the past 3 weeks I've been looking at FC's. All I kept reading was all the negative things people were posting about how their FC has this or that broken. Thanks Marcus_F, and if anything goes wrong with my FC after I buy it, I'm coming after you LOL (j/k). Thanks bro

Bob_The_Normal

I think I know the car you're talking about... seen it for sale for a while... if I remember correctly she's taken care of it, but three years ago it overheated a little when the radiator sprung a leak, she replaced it.

I probably would have bought it if I hadn't read the **** on a manual swap... you have to weld the manual tranny mounts on and there are all kinds of problems associated with that if you're going to be doing hard driving. I want an AutoX future for my car, so that wasn't an option.

GL searching... btw SoCal is probably one of the best places to find an RX7. (I'm in the valley btw.. Sunland)

--Gary