Me and my girlfriend are going to look at a 3g RX-7 later today, and I was wondering if the forum denizens had any suggestions as to good questions to ask, and specific things to look for to indicate the quality of what we're going to be looking at..
I know the obvious things like checking to see if it's straight, I'm thinking more along the lines of rotary specific issues, and 3rd gen possible problems and easy wear areas to be specific. Help would be grossly appreciated :D

 

Read the Newbie sticky.

 

read the newb stickies. give some details on the car also. if you don't get stuff checked out first, you're in for a real treat within the first year.

things you should check:
miles on chassis
miles on engine
miles on turbos
title (clean, salvage, rebuilt)
maintinance record (fluids, filters [oil, fuel], etc.)
compression test
boost pattern (stock is 10-8-10, the 8 is when the sequential system switches from the secondary to the primary turbo)
mods
if it has been in an accident, ask the owner what happened and check to make sure that the car has been repaired correctly (if you get pictures of questionable spots, there's a guy on the forum named TurboJeff that has re-built [read replaced the front half of the car, roof, frame rails, floor pan, big stuff] a bunch of FD's)


and be prepared to drop alot of money for maintinance (oil change ever 1500-2000 miles, fuel filter every 10-15k, spark plugs every 10k, batteries being cooked by underhood heat), for repairs, and just in general.

good compression numbers are normally 90+psi (and make sure that the compression test is performed correctly, you should get three readings per rotor, the needle should bounce as the apex seals pass the spark plug). if your compression is in the mid-to-low 80's, be ready with at least 3k for a rebuild (if you're lucky and your turbos don't eat a piece of apex seal when your motor throws one). most people on here drop between 5k and 10k when they blow a motor, because of porting, turbos, etc. if your compression is below 80psi, i'd try and get the guy to drop the price 500 to 1k, and if the compression is down in the 60's, have him drop his price 3k because that motor is toast and will need to be replaced very soon after you buy the car.

 

http://rx7.voodoobox.net/infofaq/bguide3g/bguide3g.html