Ok I am looking at buying an '82 GLX and I have a couple questions. First I know that the engine and car is unreliable, so I was wondering if I could put a 3rd generation engine in without or minimal modifications. Second is the car is an '82 GLX, sunroof, good condition, with 75k miles the seller is asking $6K for it. Is this a good price or should he be haggled down to around 2 thousand. And is there anything else I need to now about the car before I buy it. I have never owned or worked on a rotory engine before.

 

Let me guess, this guy also told you that his Granmother only drove it to church and to the store once a week- 6k seems a little ridiculous even if the car only has 75k on it(which would make me suspicious right there) I would also make sure that the body is in superb condition. If you're planning on doing an engine swap anyway I would make sure that the car is as structurally close to spotless as is possible, no rust, decent interior, undercarriage in good repair, etc. And yes, haggle the price down. Never take anyones first asking price- this guy is probably really only trying to get 4k for it but he is inflating the price to get as much as he can. ALso find out why this 20 year old car only has 75k on the odometer- if his story sounds fishy its probably a hose job.



As far as the question of swapping an FD engine into your first gen- I don't know for sure but really you can fit almost any engine in any car if you really wanted to (and had enough $$$$) It would probably be easier than putting a 302 in like I'm doing. And you'll be keeping a rotary in her so the purists wont have anything to worry about.

 

The frame, undercarriage, body, interior is clean, spotless, and sound. Would 4K be a good price or are most good old rx-7s cheaper than this one. How long do the rotary engines last? More than 100k miles or less? And what are some of the things I should be looking at on the car if I want to buy it?

 

I did a Kelly Blue book search and just put in some average options and rated the car as "good" condition since you said it has some engine reliability problems.



As you can see from the blue book price 6 grand is A LOT higher than the value- This is the private party pricing so if you're buying froma dealer expect a higher price



Go to http://www.kbb.com/ to do your own search with exactly wha the car has



1982 Mazda RX-7 GSL Coupe 2D



Engine: 1.2 Liter Rotary

Trans: 5 Speed Manual

Drive: Rear Wheel Drive

Mileage: 75,000



Equipment

Air Conditioning

Power Steering

AM/FM Stereo

Cassette

Flip-Up Roof

Alloy Wheels



Consumer Rated Condition: Good

"Good" condition means that the vehicle is free of any major defects. The paint, body and interior have only minor (if any) blemishes, and there are no major mechanical problems. In states where rust is a problem, this should be very minimal, and a deduction should be made to correct it. The tires match and have substantial tread wear left. A clean title history. A "good" vehicle will need some reconditioning to be sold at retail; however major reconditioning should be deducted from the value. Most recent model cars owned by consumers fall into this category.





Private Party Value $1,180



Private Party value represents what you might expect to pay for a used car when purchasing from a private party. It may also represent the value you might expect to receive when selling your own used car to another private party.

 

A first gen for 6K? That's really high... or the seller is high I dunno which. With those miles and a bad engine I would be shooting closer to 1K or somewhere around there depending on the body condition. You pay 6K, then 2K for a motor and you have 8K in a $2,500 car.

 

i would pay $1-2k they aren't worth a bunch .....

 

Thanks for the feedback. I will see how low he will go and hopefully I will get my first rotary.

 

he better go pretty low- Give him a printout of the KBB listing and he wont be able to deny that he's asking too much. These cars aren't exactly Ferrari's that can be expected to keep a major resale value. Gather all teh facts that you can and then talk to this guy like you know what you're talking about- If he's asking 6K he's got to know that he's not really going to get it, treat him that way- after all, you are the customer.

 

Thats alot of money for an 82. I have an 85 GSL w/146,000 miles on it. I paid 1,700 for it here in NY. I still think that was a little high but the car is in super mint condition. No rust ,no dents, no rips,no leaks.and alot of new parts. So this guy is really trying to jerk you on that price. Pay no more than 2,000 thats what I say.