1984 Mazda RX7 Reviews

The car sat in a garage for twenty years, so seals and bushings needed to be replaced.

Runs beautifully just like my '81 RX7.

Speedometer floats at 80mph.

Oil Pressure Gage failed.

Poor Electrical output (i.e. Battery charge fluctuates with blinkers on)

Right headlight refuses to open (On occasion).

Pedal Wear as well as, brakes, tires, paint...etc.

Rear glass window latch loose.

Sunroof, minor water leak.

I just want to say that in my own opinion, this is a Great first car. It's reliable (Thus far), quick, and so much fun to drive. While it is by far not the fastest thing on the road, you can impress your friends by taking down their brand new Honda's with your 20+ year old POS. I kid you not.

It's got aggressive styling and girls seem to love it. The stock exhaust is throaty for a Japanese car and sounds ridiculously good with even a moderate exhaust system. In my eyes, this is a true sports car. It doesn't have tons of horsepower like a muscle car, but it does well on a track. It handles like a dream (Even without power steering or even assist!) it accelerates fairly quick for it's class, and it's just fun to drive. Period.

Like all cars, there are a few problems. First and foremost, the Power Steering. It would help, a lot. A speed, the unassisted steering is great. At low speeds (Say, in a parking lot), you better have done your push-ups, it's a pain.

While the car has a nice high red-line (7000rpm), the Wankel rotary engine doesn't shudder, shake, or groan when it approaches or surpasses the redzone. It's a little to easy to let each gear go a little high, because you don't catch the screams of the engine as you do with most other cars.

Manual Choke. Fun to mess with at first if you've never seen one... But it gets old. Really, really old.

I still have to say that this is the best car I ever owned. With more than 300,000 miles on the same tranny and engine and no overhauls, doubt many can contest it's reliability. But like all beauties, it has it's flaws.

Wheel bearings needed to be replaced at 170000 miles. Cost (with labor) $351.00.

Clutch needed replacement at 172000 cost (with labor $355.00).

Put new tires on last year for $270.00.

Tune up 3 years ago.

Harmonic balancer last year.

My car is the bomb!

This car was basically a piece of junk. The engine was virtually impossible to get started, it leaked oil, the body rattled from one end to the other, and my alignment shop informed me it could not be aligned because the frame had "sagged". Just the weight of the car (and it is NOT a heavy car) had caused it to bend, making alignment impossible without having the frame straightened. I was told this was typical of Japanese cars, which use much lighter and flimsier materials than American cars.

My previous car, a non-turbo Dodge Omni, would blow the RX-7 off the road without breathing hard. The RX-7 was the 2nd slowest car I ever owned (the first being an '81 Escort). The noise level inside the car at speed (what little speed it could muster) was deafening due to all the rattles and wind noise. Nothing about this car ever impressed me, and after only a year I traded it for a V-8 Mustang. It will be the least missed car (if you could actually call it a car) that I have ever owned. At least I learned a valuable lesson from it. I will never, as long as I live, buy another Japanese car...EVER!!