Mazda rx-7

G_H

hi im turning 17 in a few weeks and my dad is buying me a car im looking at mazda rx-7 the 1.3 liter one i was hopeing to get a jap import but dont who to go to has anyone bought a jap import of a dealer wich dealer did you use also when trying to get online qoutes none of the seach engines reconise a 1.3 liter it only comes up as 2.5 or 1.5 also who would be best to get insurnce of

Gary ITR

G_H wrote: »

hi im turning 17 in a few weeks and my dad is buying me a car im looking at mazda rx-7 the 1.3 liter one i was hopeing to get a jap import but dont who to go to has anyone bought a jap import of a dealer wich dealer did you use also when trying to get online qoutes none of the seach engines reconise a 1.3 liter it only comes up as 2.5 or 1.5 also who would be best to get insurnce of

You'll find it very hard to get an RX-7 insured at 17. I can't think of anybody that would touch you tbh.

zero19

You may as well forget about that buddy, insurance companies know they are a powerful car that's why you see them as 2.5 online so unless you want to pay stupid money i'd look at something else

omb0wyn5ehpij9

zero19 wrote: »

You may as well forget about that buddy, insurance companies know they are a powerful car that's why you see them as 2.5 online so unless you want to pay stupid money i'd look at something else

Agreed. There is no way you could get insured on one of these. Look at something a lot less powerful for your first car!

copeyhagen

mazda claim there a 1.3 but there basically twice that!!

and as they may be a sexeh car, theyre engines are extremely soft and need to be rebuilt very regularly.

at 17, if you want something sporty get a civic coupe vtec or something. nice to start off in.

no need to jump straight into something very powerful, though the civic would have a nice kick

DaveyGem

G_H wrote: »

hi im turning 17 in a few weeks and my dad is buying me a car im looking at mazda rx-7 the 1.3 liter one i was hopeing to get a jap import but dont who to go to has anyone bought a jap import of a dealer wich dealer did you use also when trying to get online qoutes none of the seach engines reconise a 1.3 liter it only comes up as 2.5 or 1.5 also who would be best to get insurnce of

the ONLY way you ll get insured on it is if.

1) if your dad transfers his insurance onto the RX-7 and then adds you as a named driver.

2) your dad takes out a brand new policy on the RX-7 and has you as a named driver.

the first option will probably work out cheaper over all. He will have to set up a new policy for his actual car though. but the insurance on that wouldn be that much anyway presuming he has an Avensis/A4 etc.

But sure you wouldn be able to drive it. An unaccompainied learner driver in an RX-7 is a Gardas wet dream..

Edit- Prepare for heavy premium though

guil

the insurance co probably wouldnt even insure him as a named driver

DaveyGem

guil07 wrote: »

the insurance co probably wouldnt even insure him as a named driver

Ah they would if his Dads NCB was good enough and if he was a long term customer. They'd charge a fair bit aswell expect approx 2000+ for the "cheaper" first option...

G_H

copeyhagen wrote: »

mazda claim there a 1.3 but there basically twice that!!

and as they may be a sexeh car, theyre engines are extremely soft and need to be rebuilt very regularly.

at 17, if you want something sporty get a civic coupe vtec or something. nice to start off in.

no need to jump straight into something very powerful, though the civic would have a nice kick

How much would a engine rebuild cost

unkel

G_H wrote: »

How much would a engine rebuild cost

I reckon it's more efficient if you'll find out first how much your insurance will cost

Duff

G_H wrote: »

How much would a engine rebuild cost

Well if your gonna rebuild it may aswell forge it aswell..cost anywhere from 3-5k for a decent rebuild!..An rx-7 at 17 is coffin..Just take mine and everyone elses advice mate and go for something less powerful for a first car, get some driving experience on the road then after you have built up 2 or 3 NCB maybe start looking and something with a bit of power. Thats my 2 cents..

colm_mcm

an RX7 can be a handful for even an experienced driver. they also require extraordinary maintainance.
Whilst every 17 year old would love an RX7, no responsibe parent should give an unexperienced driver a high powered RWD car.

(Jeez I sound about 50!)

SV

You're not getting an rx-7.
Stop dreaming.


Start looking at a nice polo for yourself.

ExoduS 18.11

G_H wrote: »

How much would a engine rebuild cost

maybe even a few driving lessons before you start talking about rx-7s and civic rebuilds! better off getting a nice solid car to start off with, too much power in an rx-7 for someone beginning driving

challengemaster

ClioV6 wrote: »

You're not getting an rx-7.
Stop dreaming.


Start looking at a nice polo for yourself.

After just turning 17 a few months ago, and also getting my first car. I'll completly agree with this. Stop dreaming. Get an rx-7 when you're like, 23 or something.

edit: actually, does your dad even know you want him to buy you a 10~grand car..as your first car? ROFL.

ExoduS 18.11

challengemaster wrote: »

edit: actually, does your dad even know you want him to buy you a 10~grand car..as your first car? ROFL.

the matter of how much he is spending isnt the issue, the concern with the replies isnt over the money he's spending, its the fact he'd kill himself if he got one. He came looking for an opinion on his car choice, not financial situation.

G_H

challengemaster wrote: »

After just turning 17 a few months ago, and also getting my first car. I'll completly agree with this. Stop dreaming. Get an rx-7 when you're like, 23 or something.

edit: actually, does your dad even know you want him to buy you a 10~grand car..as your first car? ROFL.

you can get one imported handy enough for 4-5 grand

as it was a 1.3 liter car i didnt think it would be that fast or hard to handle any advice on what car i should get

S.I.R

G_H wrote: »

hi im turning 17 in a few weeks and my dad is buying me a car im looking at mazda rx-7 the 1.3 liter one i was hopeing to get a jap import but dont who to go to has anyone bought a jap import of a dealer wich dealer did you use also when trying to get online qoutes none of the seach engines reconise a 1.3 liter it only comes up as 2.5 or 1.5 also who would be best to get insurnce of

its a 2.4 as far as insurance companys are concerned, even the non turbo 1.3, they wont insure you, tryed it already, its a sports car.

full leisence with 2 years no claims you'll get a turbo for 2.5ish depending ( i.e if you have a garage, a Good alarm ( not the clarion rubbish ) )

road tax on it would be 2k anyways, so yeah, can get a early Fd model ( 92 onwards ) starting at around the 4-7ish, 4 being the non painted, half built to the 7k minter... All upto you,

ive a prefferance on the late spirit R's myself.


Also, even with the low power 1.3 ( only really useful at high revs ) you will not be able to handle it, trust me, Kick the clutch and you'll end up in a bush, Fact.

oeb

G_H wrote: »

you can get one imported handy enough for 4-5 grand

as it was a 1.3 liter car i didnt think it would be that fast or hard to handle any advice on what car i should get

I would suggest for your first car getting something basic. Make the process of learning to drive and passing your test easy on yourself.

Personally I can not stand hatchbacks so I would recomend something like a corrolla or a primera. It's a hell of alot cheaper, and a hell of alot easier to drive when you are starting off.

Rear wheel drives have much different handling than fwd or 4wd cars. I'm sure I am not the only person here who nearly killed themselves the first time they drove one when they tried to overtake someone by dropping down to third and slamming down the accelerator the exact same way as they would on a fwd =/


With regard to rebuilds, I have been told by rx-7 owners that realisticly you are looking at a rebuild every 50k miles, and that it can set you back 3 grand or more.

Biro

G_H wrote: »

you can get one imported handy enough for 4-5 grand

as it was a 1.3 liter car i didnt think it would be that fast or hard to handle any advice on what car i should get

Going by that sentence, it sounds like you don't know anything about them. They're a twin rotor engine, which is completely different to normal engines. Each chamber is around 650cc, which equates to approximately 1300cc (actually a bit more). But this is completely different to a 1300 cc engine in a piston engine. A normal 1.3 litre car will produce in the region of 50 - 80bhp. In something like a Glanza where it's a 1.3 with a turbo it produces something around 120 odd bhp. The engine in the RX7 with the turbo is putting out around 250 bhp, making it 5 times more powerful than a "normal" 1.3 shopping trolley. That, combined with the fact that it's rear wheel drive makes it a handful. It'll struggle to do 18 miles to the gallon. Inurance companies treat it differently, and most have it down as a 2.5 cause they calculate that that's roughly what it's equivalent to. It's taxed as a 1.8.
To say that the engine is soft is not really fair. Because of the nature of the rotary engine, the rotor is providing the "compartment" for compression, combustion and exhaust. It's triangular shaped, so the points of the triangle are the parts that seperate the "compartments". These are made from a material that has to cope with sealing each compartment completely, while spinning at 8,000 rpm. Thus the tips wear out and need to be replaced. Because they're on the rotor, the heart of the engine, the whole lot needs to come out and opened out, basically a rebuild. In the RX8, advancements in materials technology means that they last far far longer. They're designed to consume a bit of oil to lubricate the rotor tips to help them last longer.
So basically, don't get one till you are experienced and know more about them and how to maintain them.
There's plenty of other things out there to start off in.

G_H

Biro wrote: »

Going by that sentence, it sounds like you don't know anything about them. They're a twin rotor engine, which is completely different to normal engines. Each chamber is around 650cc, which equates to approximately 1300cc (actually a bit more). But this is completely different to a 1300 cc engine in a piston engine. A normal 1.3 litre car will produce in the region of 50 - 80bhp. In something like a Glanza where it's a 1.3 with a turbo it produces something around 120 odd bhp. The engine in the RX7 with the turbo is putting out around 250 bhp, making it 5 times more powerful than a "normal" 1.3 shopping trolley. That, combined with the fact that it's rear wheel drive makes it a handful. It'll struggle to do 18 miles to the gallon. Inurance companies treat it differently, and most have it down as a 2.5 cause they calculate that that's roughly what it's equivalent to. It's taxed as a 1.8.
To say that the engine is soft is not really fair. Because of the nature of the rotary engine, the rotor is providing the "compartment" for compression, combustion and exhaust. It's triangular shaped, so the points of the triangle are the parts that seperate the "compartments". These are made from a material that has to cope with sealing each compartment completely, while spinning at 8,000 rpm. Thus the tips wear out and need to be replaced. Because they're on the rotor, the heart of the engine, the whole lot needs to come out and opened out, basically a rebuild. In the RX8, advancements in materials technology means that they last far far longer. They're designed to consume a bit of oil to lubricate the rotor tips to help them last longer.
So basically, don't get one till you are experienced and know more about them and how to maintain them.
There's plenty of other things out there to start off in.

Thanks biro after reading all the comments i decided not to get one coz i dont fancy killing myself and theres no way i would be able to afford 19 miles to the gallon or a engine rebuild i was getting it for its looks and dont have a clue about the mechanics i was looking at a 1.3 glanza aswell is there anything major wrong with them/are they a hard to drive

woop

S.I.R wrote: »

Also, even with the low power 1.3 ( only really useful at high revs ) you will not be able to handle it, trust me, Kick the clutch and you'll end up in a bush, Fact.

have you driven one?


get yourself something like a glanza s if you really dont want to start off in a 1litre mobile
although I would If I was you

challengemaster

G_H wrote: »

you can get one imported handy enough for 4-5 grand

as it was a 1.3 liter car i didnt think it would be that fast or hard to handle any advice on what car i should get

You can buy one abroad for that alright, but by the time it gets on the road, it'll be around 10k.. and then the insurance aswell.. lol...

Also, until you've got experience behind the wheel of a car, don't go assuming things. You'll probably end up dead.

colm_mcm

woop wrote: »

get yourself something like a glanza s if you really dont want to start off in a 1litre mobile
although I would If I was you

Strange choice. the only reason I'd put up with the Glanza's dodgy image is the turbo. The Glanza S doesn't even have this. I can't see the point in getting one.

ExoduS 18.11

aye but the glanza has the "cool" image i suppose. and also it'd be a lil bit more sportier than other 1.3s would i?

p-nut

i've owned a glanza turbo, a saxo vtr, a heavily tuned saxo vts and a 106 gti and the 106 is my favourite car so far. not hard to insure at 18, handy on petrol (26mpg made up of a mixture of driving easy and driving the rag out of the car), looks far nicer than the glanza imo, handles far better than a glanza ever will, power delivery is much better (after 4500 rpm as opposed to before 5000 rpm), nicer interior and reliable when maintained properly (which isnt hard because they're so simple to understand mechanically)

if you cant insure a 106 gti or saxo vts, can i recommend the 1.6 8v saxo vtr, a nice mix of power and cheap to run/insure

JimmyCrackCorn!

What Biro said is spot on. Theres allot of maintenance needed in the service oil and love department.(nearly all jap turbos anyway)

The Rx7 is not a soft engine and the tips on the rotor are not as bad of a job as people say. The issue is an unloved rotary where the rotor tips have been let go a while back and continued to be abused is where big problems arise.

To be honest if at 17 it was given 250bhp rwd and no traction control(no sense either) it would have been my last birthday. Im afraid no inurance company will quote you on one and i have to say with good reason.

I was an experienced driver when i had a nissan 200 and had written off three cars with old fashoned milage. The car was a handfull in the wet and even just the tiniest fraction too much of throttle would send the car into kill the muppet(me) at the wheel mode.

Just in case your thinking im exadurating my Nissan was written off by someone i lent it to who was experienced 40 years and had driven/owned rwd cars of the 80s. I did warn him many times to drive very slowly. 10 seconds later he nearly killed himself and his son @ about 60mph into his neighbours pier.

Wait a while and in the meantime learn to rebuild rotaries maintain them and mabe start a restoration project on one. These cars do not tolerate fools and every owners club is full of threads by some very good experienced drivers being caught out.

J.S. Pill

G_H wrote: »

Thanks biro after reading all the comments i decided not to get one coz i dont fancy killing myself and theres no way i would be able to afford 19 miles to the gallon or a engine rebuild i was getting it for its looks and dont have a clue about the mechanics i was looking at a 1.3 glanza aswell is there anything major wrong with them/are they a hard to drive

You may find that a lot of insurance companies will load these heavily despite the low cc

S.I.R

woop wrote: »

have you driven one?


get yourself something like a glanza s if you really dont want to start off in a 1litre mobile
although I would If I was you

yes i have, but thanks to the erm... " front mid mounting " of the little wanke.- rotary, its slowwer then a seicento till you hit 5k, come upto 7 and you litterally end up backwards, without trying.

strangly the turbos dont have this issue... nor does the 8...


must of been the More then ropey Fc.

hi_im_fil

S.I.R wrote: »

yes i have

I find it hard to believe a sixteen year old has driven one of these cars. How did you get the chance to drive one? I'd love to

SV

S.I.R wrote: »

its slowwer then a seicento till you hit 5k, come upto 7 and you litterally end up backwards, without trying.

My god you come out with a terrible lot of crap.