First off, I am proud to announce that I am now an RX-7 owner. 1984 GSL-SE with 131,000 km. Runs okay, but there is some minor engine work to be done. Paint has faded, but I can probably bring back some of the shine with a good wax.

Now for the interesting part:

RX-7 Heaven in Ottawa has had their assets seized by the Sheriff for non-payment of rent. There are about 150 cars in the yard and 4,500 sq. ft. of parts in a warehouse. I looked at the cars and they are in sad shape. However, the parts in the warehouse look good. Two complete motors, and many other parts are well organized in bins. I'm looking around for 3 or 4 people who can chip in a few thousand dollars to buy the parts and keep them here in Canada. The partners would then sell parts to RX-7 owners at a reasonable cost, and they would start to recoup their initial investment. Unfortunately, I cannot buy just part of the stock, it must be the whole lot.

The second issue I have to deal with is where to store the parts. The landlord will charge about $2000. per month to keep the parts there. I would prefer to move them elsewhere for cheaper rent. Once a website is established, it won't be long before sales start. As you are aware, Mazda parts are expensive, and some are difficult to find.

If there is anyone interested in participating in this venture, or if you know of anyone that might, PLEASE GET BACK TO ME ASAP, AS TIME IS VERY SHORT TO MAKE A DECISION.

Cell: 613-298-0083 or e-mail me.

Thanks,
Walter

 

unfortunately, some of those parts already "belong" to some of the people here who paid 1, 2, 3 thousand dollars for parts. I was able to get my car back, but not the parts that were supposed to go in it.

 

It's a good idea, but alot of work. Just organizing and testing parts for sale will be hard. Hopefully you can find some investors with exisiting shops and storage space. From what I remember alot of the parts they sold were of less then great condition.

Draw up a business model and go to the bank for the money. If you can demonstarte that there is a market for that business and that the previous owner mismanged it. They may give you the money. Less hasell when it comes to investors wanting there investment realized. Also people on this site tend to spend every dime they have the their cars.

Strip everything and sell it on ebay! It will be a full time job.

Good luck.

P.S. If you get a hold of the parts. I will take some factory 1st gen rear seats that are there.

Adam

 

If you buy them, Ill keep them for free........how much stuff are we talking about?

 

All I can say at this point is that the parts filled up most of a 4,500 sq. ft. warehouse, some parts on shelves, some in rubber tote bins stacked about 5 high. I will try to post some photos. If there is anyone in the Ottawa area that wants to see for themselves, I can probably arrange a quick visit. Serious replies only for 'the tour' please.

What also bothers me is that if the landlord cannot sell the cars in the yard to anyone and cannot establish ownership, they will be crushed for scrap value only. What a shame. If you know of anyone that has had their car seized, try to get in touch with them ASAP!

WM

 

Just wondering - what is your affiliation to the shop?

Are you just a rotary owner who wants to save the stock? Or are you somehow involved in the whole business - be it through friendship, legal matters or anything else? You eluded to the fact that the original investors want some of their money back - have you spoken to those individuals directly?

I just ask because the shop has done a great job of screwing over Rx7 owners for years - and it has made for a lot of jaded rx owners in the Ottawa Valley. Hell, I was one!

So I just wanted to clarify how it came about that you are now the driving force behind the effort to save what's left of this place.

Nick

 

You know, if they are still registered as a garage they could lein the cars and after 30 days (or whatever the period currently is) take over ownership. Crushing a tonne of 7's is bogus.....unless they are better off as cubes being that they are junk or something.

 

ok

there are like literally 150 cars there
and $250k in parts
these MUST be saved, they're going literally for the price of scrap if we can put together the money to take them all.

I spoke with the bank today, if I was either in ottawa or had $40+K (whatever money it would take) to blow I'd buy the whole lot. There's SO much stuff there that it would almost be criminal to let it go to waste.

hundreds of aluminum wheels, piles of FD parts, mountains of intake manifolds, etc.


dozens and dozens of motors, hundreds of rotors/irons/eshafts/stat gears/etc

I have a big pile of rx7 parts at home and probably don't have 1% of what is there.

 

I would say out of the 100+ rx7's in the back that probably 5-10 belong to other people (just from what I saw as to how they were laid out) and 20 or so are just scrap metal, roughly 60 would make great parts cars still and 20ish could be saved.

 

Reply to Nick86:
I am just a rotary owner who wants to save the stock. I am not connected to any business, nor have I been involved with RX-7 Heaven. I drove there to get parts and service, and was told of the situation. I am looking for people to assist me in purchasing the stock and selling the parts. If parts have somebody's name on it, I would attempt to contact that individual to find out the circumstances. I have a full time job and don't have much time to spare, so I would need help with this venture. It is the landlord that wants to get payment of rent by selling the parts and cars, and I have been speaking to him directly.

I'm sorry to hear that RX-7 owners have had bad experiences with the owner of RX-7 Heaven. I've never met the man but spoke to him on the phone once or twice.

WM

 

I don't have an accurate estimate of the stock levels since I was in the yard and the warehouse briefly. I saw 2 or 3 complete motors, about 50 rims, and numerous engine parts.

WM

 

the pictures you sent me showed well more than 50 rims and more than a dozen motors... :P

 

What is the process here? Does the bank give a certain amount of time for people to claim their stuff and then after that it goes up for sale? Or does the whole lot get sold, but people still have the right to claim? Just don't want to see someone shell out 40k for 150k parts and have 90k reclaimed. If I had the real estate, I might be in. I'd say it would take a hell of a lot of $$ to haul that back here, though.

 

Thanks for clearing that up. If people thought you were involved in the business in one way or another, you'd have an uphill battle on your hands!

Good luck with the sale - sounds like it could be a goldmine. A quick question though, how open would the land lord be to entrusting someone with the parts to be sold on a consignment basis? I mean, if he sold it for scrap he'd get far less money than if it were sold as Rx parts. While coughing up $40K all at once might be hard, it would be easier to sell all the stuff online and give the landlord a cut. It's just a matter of would he rather a bit of money now, or more money later?

 

I might be interested in pitching in some money, would you be able to send me some pictures to samhammoudeh@hotmail.com. I need to see what there before I do a 6 hour trip to check things out. Thanks

 

Good idea!!

 

Like any prospective business, we should know why RX7 Heaven went under in the first place. If this is such a goldmine, why didn't the owners cash out before the landlord and sherriff got involved? The reason why I bring this up is because of the suggestion that the landlord could sign on to consignment. I don't know the whole story, but if the business failed once, why would the landlord trust someone else to make a profit and cover rent costs. I'd like to hear some detail.

 

Terrh, you are right. I looked at the pictures again, and the # of rims is more like 100. I saw several rotor housings and what looked like 2 rows of transmissions on wood shelves. They may have been engines. I should have looked closer when I was there and taken more photos.

WM

 

Sizzlenut, I don't know the whole story myself, but I've heard that the owner of RX-7 Heaven was injured by a drunk driver and couldn't operate the business. The landlord wants to recover what's owed to him, and feels that if all the parts and cars are sold at little more than scrap value, someone could make a successful go of the business. He has had several calls from people wanting to buy parts and cars, but doesn't want to sell the assets piecemeal. Regardless of whether I decide to rent the warehouse and the yard, he will be able to rent it to someone to bring in income once the parts are cleared out and the yard is empty. At any rate, I have to give him an answer tomorrow morning. It looks like I'll have to pass, since it's difficult to move all these parts and find cheap warehouse space, let alone for just one person to start this business up again. I'm going to the Place d'Orleans car/bike show tonight, so if anyone wants to meet with me, I'll be there in a cream coloured GSL-SE. My cell # is 613-298-0083.

Walter

 

after reading some threads about that place Im wondering these parts are even on the level...meaning stolen in some way shape or form.

Why is this guy in such a hurry? What is he going to do with 25 tonnes of scrap metal if he doesn't sell it? He'll get ******* peanuts if they melt it down, and be damn sure that this guy knows that.

He's probably trying to pressure you into something if you've talked to him about renting the space. Send him my number and I'll talk to him.

(905) 779-3969 - daytime....and most evenings (Im a work-a-holic)

 

Nick86, the landlord is under pressure to resolve this matter quickly. His fastest and most convenient method is to sell the parts to the highest bidder, and crush the cars if he can't get anyone to buy them or rent the property to continue the business. I haven't discussed any other forms of payment with the landlord, and if he has another buyer, he doesn't have to complicate his life. I think he would prefer to rent the property, but at $2000 per month, that's just adding to my costs.

Walter

 

Any chance he might want to sell the land and inventory?

Aren't there environmental issues with running a scrap yard? Don't you need licenses? Perhaps the owner was unaware of what was going on while it was being rented and doesn't want to pay for an environmental assessment and cleanup when he sells or rents to someone else.

For the right price, someone might be interested in buying the whole lot:
land and inventory. Has this been discussed, Walter? Any figures?

 

That is exactly what was going on - Doug was completely unaware. But long before the alleged accident with the drunk driver (who was probably Doug). I say alleged because not too long ago a story surfaced that he had died - but it was untrue.

The reason the company went under was from mismanagement pure and simple. This is the second iteration of the shop - previously Piranah Brothers, and it seems that both have now gone under, but there are oithers here who know the story better than I.

I just hope that some good can be made from all this and the parts go to a worthy use - not the scrap heap.

 

the land and buildings are for sale for $600,000

 

I would really hate to see Something like this Slip To the Scrap Pile..Hell..if that guy wants to Suck up the Rent.I'll come in there and Inventory everything and Post it up on Ebay!..I don't have a Job..so Walter you have my Number...It's far-fetched But As I said on the phone,I can only do so much Since I can't Financially Help,maybe I can Help in "another Way"..Misterstyx69