| SilverFire |
Ever since I got my rex, it's been a money pit. I've had it since March and I've spent more money fixing it than I paid for it.
I love it, but I've decided that if it needs a significant part or to go to Abbey Road one more time before the end of January, it's going away. I just can't afford to spend that much on repairs (Avg. $500/mo. since March)
Like I said, I love it (The NA is a little anemic, but otherwise great). I was thinking to try moving to a TII, but I'm wondering how much I'd need to spend to get one that would be reasonably reliable. I expect it'll be more than I can afford, but you never know unless you ask... |
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| now |
what kinds of things have been going wrong?
matt |
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| ozzmodan |
"Reliable" is a fairly relative term. The S4 RX-7s are now twenty years old, pretty well the only reliable twenty year old vehicles you'll find are ones that have been well maintained & not driven hard by their (probably older) owners. The FC RX-7s are a cheap to buy sports car, so chances are the people that owned it before you were young guys like us, that drove it hard & left it out wet. Add to all this the fact that even the majority of rotary owners don't know how to properly maintain them, I think relatively speaking most FCs are reliable.
As a side, adding to turbo to the mix I think would decreases that reliability factor further, especially if your using it as a winter car.
Kyle |
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| Transporter |
well relaible rotory car i have them...
my first rx7 a gold gxl i bought from matt . nothing went wrong with it ... not one thing no matter how lilttle i knew about rotaries then , i did not spend more tahn for fog lamps and regualr oilchages on the car and when it got broken into.
then i had t11 mind you it was no stock car in fact the only stock car part(factory stock are like the most of the interior and exterior bits)
like from day one it was hacker do it yourself car .. i have loose cables and open wires taht i don't know where they go or where theya re coming from.. i have an engine from another car and transmissiosn taht is has funny looking welded home made bracket to hold it up and drive shat that is one of a kind.. is it relaible i must say for the amout of stuff floating in thin air it is quite reliable.
so yeah there are relaible rotaries out there and i have owned quite a few from 2nd gen to first gen |
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| ehos |
Have to agree with ozzmodan 100%
It's how you originally buy the car that counts the most. They are reliable, but they need more time/care than just your average daily driver.
Check out rx7club.com and you can get alot more advice/tips on how to keep her purring.
Personally (knock on wood), I've never had a problem with any Rexy. (1G, 2G NA, 2G turbo, FD). |
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| Graham |
I bought my S4 in February 2005. It was in a really poor state of maintenance unfortunately.
I wouldn't say its been a money pit but I definitely got what I paid for. (1200$)
Once I got it there were tons of things wrong so I started fixing them one at a time. All of them were because of poor maintenance and care.
I think I've pretty much caught up to the maintenance now.
I guess the bottom line is if you take care of the car it will be easier on your pocket book. Ozz is totally right. These cars are almost 20yrs old. Some of them, depending on how they were treated over the years, will need some work. |
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| PraxGTI |
My Turbo II was great when I had it...
The only problems that arose were usually caused by me in the first place...:dunno: |
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| Wookey |
| my 87 turboII ran great and had no problems. |
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| SilverFire |
quote:
Originally posted by now
what kinds of things have been going wrong?
matt
Died:
Starter - Old
Alternator - Old
Battery - Old
Engine - Mistreated/lack of maintainance (Overheated BADLY - only 25K km on rebuild)
Radiator - Clogged
Oil Cooler Line - Leaking at fitting
Oil Cooler - Cracked Hardline
Vacuum line - leaking (Old?)
Door Handle/latch - Not fixed yet, or looked at properly
Windshield wiper Fluid Reservoir - Leaking, not fixed yet
6 x Wheel studs - Overtorqued/Stripped - Next work planned
Driver's Seat - Old, upholstry coming apart at seam
Going:
5th Gear in Trany - whining under acceleration
Rear shocks - on the way out, still ok, but barely
Tranny Mount - Not fixed yet, Gonna wait for summer
I guess people are right, it's all just old or not taken care of. I was mostly just venting. I'm also thinking there isn't that much major left to go. I've already replaced it all...
I WOULD like to go turbo though. I probably won't though, not unless I come into a whole bunch of money somehow. I just can't afford the extra cost. It's all I can do to pay for this one...(Not counting the repairs) |
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| now |
i guess it comes down to
you get what you pay for, if you got the car for very little $
you have to expect that all this stuff would need to be done.
which = money + what you paid = you could have paid more to start with, for a better car and not had to do this work.
end result might be the same.
if you cant do the work yourself its always better to find a
car that is in better shape and pay a little more to start with
than to have to pay someone to fix it all .
matt |
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| REFLUX |
from what you just listed, your FC was not maintained properly and is just old
a lot of what's on the list are wear & tear items that any old car needs to have fixed/replaced
sounds like the previous owner didn't keep up w/ the maintenance
really, it isn't a big deal, besides the overheating bit
and my TII has been quite the money pit as well....and it's STOCK
majority of the money put into it has been maintenance |
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| David Beale |
| My 3rd gen has been reliable. It's been seven years without a failure. Not even a belt or a hose, though I have replaced them as they were looking a little ratty. 3rd gens. are "known" for unreliability, but I suspect it's just ignorant owners messing with them or not doing standard maintenance. Anyway, 75,000 km so far by me without a failure, 100,000 km on the car. |
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