By David Lane, dlane@peabody.jhu.edu
| Every now and again we get a message from someone who is probably just trying to yank our chains with this "blown engine" stuff. I will use the most recent one in a very loose way as a model, but there is nothing personal here. |
| First its: |
"Should I buy an RX-7? I hear the engines break all the time." |
| Then we hear a bunch of justification to somehow "prove" this is the case by comparing the number of times the term "rebuild" is mentioned in various news groups. Finally, we get a whole list of high mileage cars that have been owned for a period of time by the writer--and the implied challenge: "Will an RX-7 be as reliable as this BMW/Volvo/Toyota/etc?" |
| I think we are asking the wrong question here. But to answer directly, PLEASE do not buy an RX-7. Buy anything else but an RX-7. You will hate it, and you will bombard this list of generally caring people with question after question about why your car does this or that. Eventually you will probably blame all of us for "convincing" you to do something you were in doubt about in the first place. Don't do it. |
| You see, people who own RX-7s are not conflicted about them. We don't have to justify our choice of car by bragging that it went a zillion miles without an oil change. Normally we brag that we change the oil religiously. We also brag about the aesthetics of owning, driving, and competing in our cars--even though some of them barely produce a hundred horsepower. While some of us may eventually decide to buy a Supra, or a Volvo, or a BMW, we almost always end up regretting the loss of our rotaries. We consider it to be a sacrifice to the gods of practicality, maybe, but never "trading up to something better." |
| Next time you are out on the street, check out the number of older RX-7s there are out there. See who is driving them. You might be surprised to notice that many of these high mileage cars on the road are still in use as daily drivers by secretaries and college students--not just enthusiasts. Also, most of these cars were not originally bought by BMW types--rather they were purchased by "value oriented" people who are not always the sort who baby their cars. Many have had a rough life, and have soldered on amazingly well. You can see it in the faded paint and door dings. |
| The 3rd gens were not designed for that crowd. They were priced out of that range. Besides, most of their capabilities are wasted doing yeoman duty as stop and go machines in rush hour traffic. |
| Can you overheat them and have them keep going? Nope. |
| Can you let them knock like a New York Taxicab and have them survive forever? Nope. |
| Can you hop them up to double their horsepower and expect them to live as long as a stock engine? Hardly. |
| Then why might you want one? |
| Maybe because every RX-7 is a well balanced, responsive, rear wheel drive sports/GT car that is a delight to flick around. |
| Maybe because with average care, a stock machine is quite durable and does, in fact, last a long time. |
| Maybe because, as I have said before, the great cars are not the perfect ones. The great cars are the ones worth repairing. |
| So, if you are going to put a Toyota Camry in the same sentence with an RX-7, buy the Camry. If you think a Volvo is a better car than an RX-7 because the engine is more likely to survive a broken coolant hose, buy the Volvo. |
| If you think a Supra is a better car because you prefer its balance of attributes--fine. Buy the Supra. |
| There is only one reason to buy an RX-7. It is simple, really. You drive it. You grin. You want it. You buy it. If you are unlucky and you lose an engine due to age, abuse, or simple bad luck, you start pouring over the catalogs and drool about the extra power you can have built into the new one. Most owners fret for only a few days before getting to that stage. |
| Earlier I said I thought questions about reliability were the wrong questions when considering an RX-7. The right questions are: How do you want your car to respond to you? What excites you? In addition to transportation, what would you like to do with your car? |
| If the answer to these questions does not differentiate between an RX-7 and a Camry or Volvo or BMW, there is no reason to buy the RX-7--or to waste our time. |
| If, on the other hand, the answers to those questions point you to an RX-7, we will stick by you as you bring your older car up to snuff. Once there it will last a long time. You will be proud of it. You and your car will work together to make driving much more than just "getting there." |
| And you will get frustrated when people try to boil the entire experience of sports/GT car ownership into something as monolithic as "is the engine more likely to need replacement in an RX-7 than in another type of car. |
| If you have to ask, you are trying to judge something with your head which was designed to be treasured by your emotions. |
| It's not going to work. |