Yeah, it was always one of my favourite cars to drive in NFSSE and GT, due to the really nice handling, so it puts a smile on my face to grow up and discover that the games were realistic in this regard! Still love the looks, think it's the way they adopted and updated sixties proportions that makes it seem timeless in a way. The combo of looks/speed/handling and being a JDM icon of the era is why I've not been able to replace it, despite the running costs!
Sold. The new owner drove away in my RX-7 half an hour ago.
It's just a couple of months short of a decade since I got it. It's been a great car, expensive to keep going but lovely to have for the occasional blast or trackday. I still loved it, but I think with the chance I have now to make a step up, it's a good time to sell. It doesn't make sense to buy a new 'toy' car before selling the current incumbent, especially with limited parking, and it gives me a break from worrying about keeping up maintenance, tax, insurance, MoT etc on two old cars. I've also got one eye on the economic storm clouds on the horizon here in the UK, so it seems on balance better to sell it now than delay and end up trying to move it at a time when people's disposable income may be more restricted.
In the process of selling I found it had a rust hole in the floor, so sent it to a bodyshop for '3-4 days' to get that sorted. It ended up with them fabricating a whole new sill as well and four weeks and £2k of work. So that was a bit of a stress, but the new owner hung on and seems really happy. I do feel I sold it to a very genuine enthusiast who will enjoy it as much as I have.
I'd definitely recommend an RX-7, really really fun cars to drive. Just need to have a good rotary mechanic not too far away, pick your car carefully, and consider how to protect it from rust (!). And while they're more expensive now than they used to be, but I can easily see them being worth a lot more in the future too.
I'll always remember how it feels to drive, especially the way it slipped into a gentle drift on lift-off on corner entry, or how it rotated under trail braking. Not to mention the thrill of riding the sequential power curve in third on a damp road, waiting for the wheels to spin.
The end of an era! I hope the next thing can bring you even more joy, but that seems like a tall order.
Get that weak shit off my track
Btw, just wondering why was it expensive to keep? Are you referring to taxes and insurance for a rarely used car or does rx7 really have frequent repair/maintenance bills?
I spent five years taking it to a place that tended to do poor quality repairs or fit used parts, some of which then had to be re-done in the second five years at the better shop. Also some of it was upgrades too, but mainly just so the car could do trackdays without overheating something. Plus old Japanese cars rust in the UK climate.
Engine rebuild, twice (first place messed it up)
Turbo replacement /w used 99 spec, then rebuild
Sequential turbos piecemeal replacement of solenoids, finally whole new control unit
Upgrade rad and intercooler, then again because water temps were still too high on track
Rust, rust and rust again (rear arches, sills, floor)
Door locks (two or three times)
Endless futile attempts to get the A/C working
Bigger injectors, rails, fuel pump
I've probably spent maybe £35k on it over ten years of ownership, and got half that back in the appreciation having now sold it.
I think if I'd been taking it to the better garage from the start, would probably have saved about a third of the outlay perhaps? But it's still an old high mileage car in a damp climate, that was driven hard on occasion.
You can see that £250 a year road tax and £300-600 for insurance was the least of my worries!
Gotcha! Considering you guys have much higher gas prices, I thought perhaps you guys have insanely high taxes and insurance as well…
My S2k has definitely had it good in SoCal weather for the past 20 years, but now the pacific NW is kinda like your weather… hopefully I won’t experience too much rust issues. I definitely do not have money for upgrades… it will stay as factory for as long as possible!
Keep the receipts for the McLaren and tell us how much that costs in 10 years, won't you?
At least carbon fiber won't rust!
Yeah - no rust, lower road tax, better fuel consumption - will clearly be a great money-saver
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