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Hey I was gifted an RX-7 LS and I want to sell it because it’s collecting dust in my garage. Any idea what it’s worth? 28k miles with no work done, no rust, no accidents, and includes factory air that needs to be recharged.
issues: cracked trim piece on driver's door (I have replacement), power antena gone, paint cracking in small area pasenger rear near tail light.
I would be interested to hear how severe these issues are…
Oh and if anyone knows some history about the model, I would be interested in hearing!
Congrats, nice "gift" you got there. The LS cars were one of two special model Rx-7's offered in 1980 only. They were a limited run. It's generally thought that 1000 ea were available with Aurora White and Brilliant Black exteriors, while only 500 got Solar Gold. Those numbers have never been officially confirmed that I know of and today, some question their accuracy.
When LS cars come up today, probably 7 or 8 out of 10 cars are Solar Gold. The White and Black ones seem to be much more scarce. All three colors came with the same brown leather interior, gold colored waffle wheels and were identical in equipment and appointments.
Prices for 1st gens can vary greatly, condition and milage are the biggest determining factors. In general terms, prices for clean, well maintained and good condition cars have commonly fell btw $10 and $15K on Bring a Trailer (BaT) the last couple years. It only makes sense that special model, limited run variants like LS's would attract a bit of a premium to reflect the lower production numbers. However, how much more is very much a personal opinion. The cars are mechanically identical to the standard models of the same period, without any added performance, just cosmetic changes.
Again, condition and milage will be the major factors to determine value. This car looks to be very complete and unmolested. The interior looks to be in pretty good shape too, which is important because good replacement pieces for this interior are very hard to come by. The paint looks to be pretty decent, again a big plus because the cost of needing paint or body work today can very quickly add up to thousands of dollars.
Besides the inop A/C, you don't mention much about the mechanical condition. After sitting for long periods, these cars can have needs like faulty hydraulics (brake / clutch) and contaminated fuel systems that need attending. All things that can affect value. Like the stock market, the values of collector type vehicles experience regular fluctuations. They can go up when the economy is doing good and go down when things are bad so you need to consider that too.
One thing for certain is, If you are willing to put some effort into the car, clean it up good, fix the issues and replace a few worn parts, it will be worth more to prospective buyers. With only 27K miles, that will undoubtedly add greatly to its value. The key to this car I think is, to get it back in to running order and looking like what a 27K mile car should be. Cosmetic and mechanical condition should match the odo reading.
Congrats, nice "gift" you got there. The LS cars were one of two special model Rx-7's offered in 1980 only. They were a limited run. It's generally thought that 1000 ea were available with Aurora White and Brilliant Black exteriors, while only 500 got Solar Gold. Those numbers have never been officially confirmed that I know of and today, some question their accuracy.
When LS cars come up today, probably 7 or 8 out of 10 cars are Solar Gold. The White and Black ones seem to be much more scarce. All three colors came with the same brown leather interior, gold colored waffle wheels and were identical in equipment and appointments.
Prices for 1st gens can vary greatly, condition and milage are the biggest determining factors. In general terms, prices for clean, well maintained and good condition cars have commonly fell btw $10 and $15K on Bring a Trailer (BaT) the last couple years. It only makes sense that special model, limited run variants like LS's would attract a bit of a premium to reflect the lower production numbers. However, how much more is very much a personal opinion. The cars are mechanically identical to the standard models of the same period, without any added performance, just cosmetic changes.
Again, condition and milage will be the major factors to determine value. This car looks to be very complete and unmolested. The interior looks to be in pretty good shape too, which is important because good replacement pieces for this interior are very hard to come by. The paint looks to be pretty decent, again a big plus because the cost of needing paint or body work today can very quickly add up to thousands of dollars.
Besides the inop A/C, you don't mention much about the mechanical condition. After sitting for long periods, these cars can have needs like faulty hydraulics (brake / clutch) and contaminated fuel systems that need attending. All things that can affect value. Like the stock market, the values of collector type vehicles experience regular fluctuations. They can go up when the economy is doing good and go down when things are bad so you need to consider that too.
One thing for certain is, If you are willing to put some effort into the car, clean it up good, fix the issues and replace a few worn parts, it will be worth more to prospective buyers.
Firstly I want to thank you for your detailed reply.
Through my own research I would have to agree that the gold color paint comes up the most often.
I received the car around 2 years ago so I would need to get those things you mentioned checked out. At the time I believe everything was pretty good.
As for fixing up the car myself, I don’t have the skill set for that sadly. Would it be worth my time getting the car detailed and having the part replaced by a mechanic? Or leave it for the next owner?
Does the car start and /or run? If you don't have much invested in the car, it might be better to sell it as is and take the profit. The less the cars needs, the you will get more for it. But fixing it up will cost money as well. Hiring the repairs will only cost more and is not something the next owner is normally obligated to reimburse you for. They are paying for the car and its condition, not what it cost to get it there. Cleaning it up is always worth it in my opinion, gives it more appeal whether they buy it or not. Just my 2 cents.
I agree with Banzai on the post above, not being able to do the work yourself leaves you at the mercy of mechanics, and with the price of parts, and their availability, it "can" be a long, expensive process, once it starts it never seems to end. If it starts, and runs, having it detailed and selling it make the most sense. I have had my 85 GSL-SE for thirty years and it took me twenty-eight to get it to exactly how I wanted it. If the car doesn't "move" you, you "move" the car, Just my two cents, good luck!
Last edited by Seniorchief; 09-12-24 at 06:13 AM.
Reason: forgot something
I will say that you have a very nice example. As a fellow LS owner, I will point out a few things that a collector would look for when purchasing an LS. And these may sound a little nitpicky, but they are important to a collector.
The first thing is how modified is the exhaust system? I see the car has an older Pacesetter muffler and those haven't been seen in quite some time. Was the exhaust modified quite a bit to accept the muffler or is the entire exhaust a custom job?
The non working power antenna kind of takes away a little of the value. I see it's gone as far as being an aftermarket replacement. This was common, as the antennas were power operated, but it was the operators response to retract them. They would often he lost to automatic car washes or vandals.
Do rhe power mirrors work and is the switch still in good condition? These can be notoriously difficult to find and replacement switches are few and far between.
The cracking paint may indicate some previous bodywork in that area. I'd be curious to see a closer picture of the crack.
Is the original spare tire still in place? Should be a gold waffle wheel with a Bridgestone Steel Belted 70 tire. The tire should have colored lined around the perimeter of the tread.
The seats look amazing, as does the dash from what I can see, both indicative of the lower mileage. The plastics are nice and bright, which indicate the car was stored in a garage. The radio is original and in incredible shape!
Overall, you have a great car! With a little work, it can be incredible! It will be extremely hard to replace if you sell it. Reconsider before doing so. If you do decide to sell, bring the car back up to par, fix the issues it has, and it will sell for more.
Banzai covered the basics as far as describing the trim level. No official numbers that i have read from Mazda state the actual production numbers. We have read that the spread was 1000, 1000, and 500. It was likely closer to 1000 or 1500 in Solar Gold. But who knows, as I'm not sure Mazda ever released a production number by color. It could be a crazy mix. It is definitely a 1 of 2500 and a very rare car today. Much less than 2500 are still out there. Here's hoping you can get the car sorted out. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. From one fellow LS owner to another, I wish you well!
Hey, wanted to update saying the car is running after a battery replacement. Sounds pretty good, just as it was a few years ago. Next step is getting it detailed.
Switches work, power mirrors work, and opening the trunk works.
I was able to get some photos of the paint cracking and the exhaust. Anything to be said about them? I am not sure what they imply.
Looking at the paint, it appears as if the paint is all original. Cracks like that can happen with single stage paint. The Brilliant Black is a single stage color so that makes sense. I'm confident that the paint is original.
As for the exhaust, it has a Pacesetter muffler for sure. I can't tell if the rest of the original exhaust is in place. I suspect that just the muffler was replaced. Often times, the tip section rots off on the early cars. It's actually a replaceable section of the muffler. Mazda calls is a diffuser. You would replace the diffuser and muffler tip covers and the tip hardware. The Pacesetter muffler sounds pretty good but does not have the longevity of a Racing Beat muffler. I had one on an RX-7 in 99 or 00. I liked it. Nothing to be concerned about as it is period correct.
Looking at the paint, it appears as if the paint is all original. Cracks like that can happen with single stage paint. The Brilliant Black is a single stage color so that makes sense. I'm confident that the paint is original.
As for the exhaust, it has a Pacesetter muffler for sure. I can't tell if the rest of the original exhaust is in place. I suspect that just the muffler was replaced. Often times, the tip section rots off on the early cars. It's actually a replaceable section of the muffler. Mazda calls is a diffuser. You would replace the diffuser and muffler tip covers and the tip hardware. The Pacesetter muffler sounds pretty good but does not have the longevity of a Racing Beat muffler. I had one on an RX-7 in 99 or 00. I liked it. Nothing to be concerned about as it is period correct.
That’s great to hear!
I also took out the paper work for the car and other manuals. Maybe you’re interested, maybe not…
So it runs and drives good? That would be a big plus. Not sure if it would be worth it to fix the paint issue. A quality repair for just that one spot could be $1000. If thats the only spot and the rest of the paint looks great then yes, I'd at least get an estimate or two. That Victoria British (Black Dragon) catalog is nostalgic, but not worth much other than that. The owners manual, warranty book and any other factory literature helps the value and should go with the car.
12613166[/url]]So it runs and drives good? That would be a big plus. Not sure if it would be worth it to fix the paint issue. A quality repair for just that one spot could be $1000. If thats the only spot and the rest of the paint looks great then yes, I'd at least get an estimate or two. That Victoria British (Black Dragon) catalog is nostalgic, but not worth much other than that. The owners manual, warranty book and any other factory literature helps the value and should go with the car.
yep, glad it still runs great. Will be sure to throw those papers back in and will probably list the car soon. Hopefully the right owner comes along… Thanks for your help!
yep, glad it still runs great. Will be sure to throw those papers back in and will probably list the car soon. Hopefully the right owner comes along… Thanks for your help!
Every RX-7 seems to find it's owner eventually, and you have a very nice one at that, I'm sure someone will want her, good luck!
09-10-24, 08:41 PM
