Hello all I have been on this forum for about 2 months mostly lurking ever since I sold my last car a 1990 Miata. Now I am looking for a new car I can drive and my picks I did were a RX-7, S2000, MX-5 2006+, and the RX-8. My last car was a lemon and I know that the RX-7 isnt known for its reliability. I believe I can care for this car so it can last a lot longer.

Ok to the test drive. Last week Sat. I went to look at a 1993 RX-7 located in Carmel Valley. The car is a MB Tan/Black interior, touring model with 88,000 miles on it. The previous owner was a docter and he was the original owner but his nephew is now selling the car. The interior was cheap feeling. The drivers door was creeky from the plastic rubbing. I started the car and it started right away and the clutch felt good. The car shifted between gears great and seemed to have no grind between the gears. The factory alarm that was installed was turned off and the radio was done. Only one speaker was working.

After I got back from a 15 minute test drive. I turned the car off after letting the engine cool down after a minute or so. I opened the hood and there was a intense heat coming from the engine. The engine only has 32,000 miles on it same with the radiator, blow off valve, and turbos.

The real reason I am posting this is that I need to find someone to look at the car and make sure there is no other mechanical problems. The owner lives in Carmel Valley which is near Del Mar, CA. I dont want him to drive too far. I offered him $10500 from his posting. If you are a mechanic or know on that is keen on the rotary engine/RX-7/8 please post here. Also is there a way to increase airflow to the engine to decrease the tempeture?
Here is some pictures of teh car. http://www.flickr.com/photos/45871126@N05/

If you have questions that I may know but havent stated please PM or post in the thread. I have the Carfax.

If I am in the wrong thread please delete post thanks.

Edit:Forgot to mention I didnt check the boost/compression. Car is bone stock has no mods what so ever. I thought the car was going to have a boost guage installed.

 

you're not in the wrong thread.... you created it.... anyways.

Imma toss some things to consider on your new car purchase:
1) if this is your Daily Driver then do not purchase
2) do not purchase if you don't have a job and/or lost of money in the bank. FD stands for financial disaster for a reason
3) do not purchase if you do not possess the mechanical skills to work on it - void if you meet# 2, befriend a local rotary mechanic NOW.
4) FDs rarely make it into the 100k miles. Typical engine replacement is 70-100k.

Some mechanical things to look for if you can't find a rotary head in SD:
1) do a close visual check of the turbo area. specifically you are looking for signs of oil. if there's oil anywhere, the turbos are probably on their way out.
2) with the car cold, remove radiator cap, crank car. turn it off when the fluid starts to come up out of the filler neck. if you see any little bubbles in there, there is a coolant seal leak. engine rebuild required
3) go through all the gears. Make sure you get the car up in speed to test 5th gear. It's known to go out.

 

1) The car is my daily driver but I would not use it often. My brother has a RX-8, Dad a Porsche Cayman S and my mom a Honda Fit. I use the fit now. I work graveyards so I dont drive in the day much so teh tempeture would be lower outside.
2) I have a job and I got approved for a $15,000 loan.
3) I posses some mechanical skills but I am limited. My uncle is a semi-mechanic he builds rebuilds cars.
5) The engine was replaced at 50k or so it has 33k miles if I was to get a 3 or so years down the line I would redo the engine with a LS1 or something.

1) I did a visual check of the turbo area and there was no signs of oil I could see.
2) I was unable to see the car cold I visted the owners nephew a secondary location the car was already driven.
3)I tested all the gears and all of them were all great. Not as good as the RX-8 but it was pretty good for its age.

 

Your best bet is to take to a rotary mechanic for inspection or as you requested have one come out to check it out. You should get a compression check. Also, does it have a boost gauge? If so, you might want to see if the turbos are out putting a 10-8-10 psi pattern. If you end up buying the car 10.5k, be prepared to keep 10-15k, if not more, in a savings account for future repairs.

Like Grimple1 said, FD = Financial Disaster! The FD is a constant project.

 

dude a FD is not worth a loan lol

Nice try.

 

lol!!^^^

 

Skip out on the FD as a main daily driver.

Get the s2000 or rx8.

 

Whats the point of getting an RX-7 if you're gonna drop a piston engine in it? Might as well get something else. That's just me though. . .

 

Been daily driving my fd for a few years now. Woulnt reccomend it if you don't know what you're doing.

 

I daily drove mine for 2 years. I never left home without my tools b/c they were definitely needed.

If you got a 15k loan, then get something else. As a die hard FD fan, get something else b/c an FD is nothing but a weekend car. A reliable Daily Driver it is not.