ZDan

I owned a perfectly maintained, never tracked '90 FC. Loved it. Blew apex seals during its second ever autoX run with 105k miles on the clock. Believe me, NO one in the rotary community is ever remotely surprised at these kinds of events even on well-maintained rotaries.

For every 200k mile rotary there are dozens that expired before 100k, and thousands of 500k mile piston-engined cars.

That said, I still think I'd go with the FC and run it as is (don't expect 26mpg on the highway, though!) until it expired. Then LSX...

hondafrvr

Just FYI 90-93 Miata use an older refrigerant for the AC that is no longer available/very expensive.
I think there are conversion kits to convert to the newer refrigerant.

fishfryer

A ragtop in Canada? I'm not sure you'd need A/C, but I don't know about softops and winter, maybe someone else can comment on how the top and rear window holds up.

I like the Miata, the RX is just to outside the box for me.

ZDan

On 2nd thought, that FCs blue interior is kinda ug. And are those vinyl seats? My '90 had a black interior/leather seats, looked a lot nicer...

Syn

Rotaries make no sense to me. Not nearly as reliable as piston motors and they get worse gas mileage.

Miata if you ask me. Drop top + no fear of apex seals = win. You can say RX-7s are reliable if maintained, but I've heard way too many people have issues even while keeping on top of maintenance.

Saki GT

Will it be your only car? If so, I'd get the RX-7. I had a turbo FC and loved it as a very versatile sports car - the hatchback design can hold a ton of stuff.

Once you either perform the fuel cut mod or know how to pull the fuel pump fuse to avoid flooded starts, the car is bullet proof. Only one thing breaks, but that thing is the engine lol. Both are old, have limitations, and are quirky, but both are fun cars. The RX-7 is unique too - finding an unmolested RX-7 is difficult anymore.

If you already have a car, I'd consider the Miata since its a roadster and will be a bit more reliable - its too small for an only car imo however.

If you buy a car out of fear, you might as well buy a Corolla.

billios996

look for a newer unpainted miata. What's he hiding with the respray?

rockville

Given the car is yellow and nearly 20 years old the respray is likely just hiding old faded paint.. but I would inspect carefully just in case.

Ryan2949

I only plan on driving 5000ish kms a year because I'll be living with my girlfriend, be less than 5kms from school and only travel home maybe once a month. If the car has 60k miles on it right now, 40k more will last me a long time and then after graduating college and getting a good paying job, I'll be able to afford rebuilds.

This is the kind of information I was expecting when making this thread. I'll look into costs. Thanks!

As stated the Miata comes with a hardtop that's also yellow. I may be in Northern Ontario where our winters get up to -40 celcius but we also get over 30 celcius in the summer, very often actually. The next few days will be 31,31,30,35,34,34. I use A/C every day in my current car.

I think the picture makes the interior look pretty ugly. Looks a bit nicer in real life. I always seem to get electric shocks getting out of cars with vinyl/cloth seats... -.-

That's also my fear considering I've never owned a rotary or know anyone with one. This will be my first car bought with my own money since my 97 Civic Si was handed down when I got my license.


Yes, the car will be my one and only vehicle. Driven daily, only 5,000ish kms a year as stated earlier in this reply and driven through 4-5 months of snow. I've read about flooding too. It's when you start the car but then shut it off right away, right? There are a few unmolested rx7's in Ontario but this is the ONLY Rx7 for sale within a 100kms radius of my town. The only time I've seen a car look this clean after 95,000kms is when I was buying a 2001 Spa S2000 (71,000kms, hardtop, 5zigen wheels) from a dealer but I couldn't get the loan. Even the exhaust tips are still incredibly shiny and the exhaust piping is still clean.

Newer Miata go for a lot more unless I pick one up with issues. I've always hated buying cars that have been repainted. I'm also looking at a few 96-00 Civic's but it's so difficult to know which ones haven't had engines swapped with 350,000kms on the body or to find one without rust or even one with A/C for god sakes. And most of them have been repainted, and very badly at that.

That's my assumption as well.

japhethwar

Miata without even a second thought. A worn out miata is a better car than the rx7 was new. Rotary's suck balls. Maintainence nightmare. Plus the miata will embaress the rx7 in the twisties.