I'm planning to buy a 91 RX-7 auto 97K miles for $2500. I was wondering if its a reliable car. I have no experience with RX-7's thats why I'm asking u guys. What do i expect from this car? Is it hard to look for a mechanic that works on rotary engines?

 

I think the question you should ask is if the auto tranny is reliable....

 

It's reliable to the extent that you take care of it, and that it's been taken care of in its past life. Some of our cars are very reliable, others are shitboxes, it just depends on how its been maintained in the past. Also, yes a good rotary mechanic is semi-hard to coem by, and you always want to have a rotary car worked on at a rotary shop. the automatic cars are slower than the 5 speeds, but if you want automatic, youll still love the car. Back to the beginning, my main point is, if you like tooling with cars, and don't mind is something small occasionally goes wrong, you'll love the RX-7. If you don't like tooling or doing maintenance by yourself, don't buy it.

-Ian

 

As a daily driver/ NO

As a weekend fun sports car you can drop some money in / Yes

Do you want to buy it and think it will be out at the traffic lights winning races / Hell No

I would never recommend anyone buy a NA unless its a vert. All other NA's suck ***.

 

So you recommend the heaviest, slowest N/A there is? (vert)

Heh.

 

funny, i was thinking the same thing^^^

 

yeah..i'll be using it as a daily driver.

 

it should be relatively reliable

do a compression test on the engine with the Mazda compression tester (either at dealer or a good rotary shop)

as a daily driver, be expected to have to put in some money in fixing things here and there simply due to age.

 

hell, i split time with mine and my Protege for driving to work every day, and then track/autox it on weekends.

 

I drive my '91 'vert every day and frequently make 2 1/2 hour drives to VA. I have owned it for a bit over a year now and put about 27,000 miles on it. It has never left me stranded.

 

Mine was a daily driver for 2 years, even in winter untill it finally gave out after plenty of abuse a couple of weeks ago. They are great cars as long as you don't mind tweaking a few things yourself every so often. Mine never left me stranded even when the engine blew it still got me home. I'm working on it now and when it's running again it'll be a daily driver again. There was also 240 000 + Kms on the original engine before it blew.

 

compare to a 2001 civic ? no

 

Yeh, there are many cars that are much more reliable.

I highly reccomend against buying an automatic RX-7.

 

They are reliable, if you take care of it of course. Yes they can be a bit more sensitive to overdue oil changes than a piston engine, but just change the oil every 3k! My only advice is to look for a 5 speed if you want to have any fun in the car.

-Joe

 

what's worng with the verts. Yeah they may be heavy but they are still awesome rx7's but yeah mine is a five speed. yeah man **** the auto. Yeah if you buy the vert remember you have to take care of that damn vinyl top

 

^ that's a lot of yeah's in such short reply lol

 

Yeah

 

mine is a daily driven n/a and weekend drift car. for over a year now. preventative maintenance is the key.

 

I'd also pass on the automatic. As for reliability and a great car to own, I wouldn't have a problem. I just retired an 88 ragtop with 160,000 miles and it never gave me a bit of trouble till the motor gave up the ghost. I only sold it cause I wanted a low mileage version that I could drive any time I wanted to. My trick is maintain the car to the hilt and never let it see a snow flake...

As for being the heaviest, not everything good in life is being the fastest. Just ask your girlfriend or wife...

 

Reliable?... NO. Don’t let anyone trick you into thinking otherwise.

The engines can last a long time buy typically do not.

I wouldn’t buy an auto anyway.

 

the people who tell you its not reliable have HUGE miles and there car probably hasnt been taken care of.

 

My cars a 91 N/A manual and she's my daily driver. Shes taken me everywhere, including trips to kentucky and back every year. Take care of her and she'll take care of you.

 

Wrong
Right
Function of money
Well verts are cool but NA suck *** - you base this on what? How many verts, tii's and NA's ahve you owned?

Wrong
function of manitenance - Honda rice rockets will blow sooner if not manitained so your statement is not accurate.

on the auto part - i agree.

You guys are giving poor advise here - relibility is strictly a function of maintenance and wear and tear - you beat on it and not check the oil - well you blow the engine, however, explain to me how this differs from other cars? I would be willing to bet that 90% of the cars owned here are daily drivers.

 

Well, the Corolla SR5 I picked up needs a lot less 'maintenence' then my 7, thats for sure

Also gets like, twice the fuel economy... well, not really :-p

SR5 Hwy: 37MPG RX-7 Hwy: 26MPG