To sell, or not to sell...

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 9:14

Damn that FB is sweet! I'd buy it! I mean, if I had the money that is haha.

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:14

Okay so, almost a year later, and I still have this thing, and still can't make up my mind :lol:

Does anyone pay attention to what modded FDs are going for in our region? I see two on craigslist right now, one going for $7500 (but it's a POS), the other going for $10k (but it doesn't have as much done to it as mine), and then there's Voodoo's car which is $12k but hasn't sold in a couple months. It's also nicer than mine. I'm thinking the most I could get for mine would be $12k...which if I sold it for that much, I'd be taking a $6k hit from what I put into it (purchase price + mods).

My situation has changed a lot since the time I originally made this thread. I don't have the 240 or the MR2 anymore. But I now have the S2000, which is my daily driver, and I'm making payments on that. I bought that car intending to sell the RX-7, but am having second thoughts. I did get a truck so I'm good on that front. But, unlike back then, I'm now getting desperate for money...I'm not broke, but I'm poorer than I have been in years, and if I were to get hit with some unexpected expenses, I don't know what I'd do.

Bottom line is, something has to go. I basically either HAVE to sell this, OR sell my race car. The thing is, if I sell the race car, I can get what I put into it, or at least very close. I can't say the same about the FD at all. Probably never will be able to, either. So it's either I part with a car that I purpose built for me, and have a blast with every time I take it to the track...or I take a huge loss by selling the FD.

I guess let me redo my list of things to consider.

Reasons to sell the FD...

- I could use the money to help pay off my other car, and have money in the bank for savings
- Can't ever drive it on the street, will not pass emissions and never will without a LOT of work
- It needs a good tune, and possibly a new wiring harness...can't afford that right now

Reasons to keep it...

- I still like the car and would love to be able to at least drive it at track events, if I can't make it street legal
- I've put a LOT of time and money into this car...more so than any other car I've owned
- It's paid for, and if I sell it, I will lose up to $7k off what I have put into it
- Selling it will be difficult, given that there's not much of a market up here, and that it does need some work
- I could sell the race car instead, and use some of that money to build up the FD

So once again I have to ask...if you were me, what would you do? Part with the RX-7 and take the loss of what I've invested into it, or part with the race car and take the loss of what is basically the most fun I've ever had on four wheels?

geo2maz · Postby **geo2maz** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:14

Ranger wrote:- Can't ever drive it on the street, will not pass emissions and never will without a LOT of work

That statement seems to trump all

no use in having a gem you can't show off.

Do you have a friend/family that lives in an out of-emmisions area? If so register it there, but it's kinda-sorta fraud, sorta-kinda-not-really-ish.

Maybe just patiently put it up for sale until you get what you want for it... (I think aprilish is a good time to sell bc people get tax money back...)

Postby **Huzer** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:14

Question, did the theft recovery affect the title status (salvage) ?

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:14

Nope. Clean title. The car wasn't totaled or damaged in any major cosmetic manner...just the blown engine which has been replaced, and a missing badge that was scraped off.

As a side note, in CO if a car that's more than 6 years old gets totaled, it doesn't get a salvage title. I know because I looked it up after the 240 got totaled

Justin · Postby **Justin** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:14

Why won't it pass emissions?

iani1.1 · Postby **iani1.1** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:14

id drift the hell out of it just because.

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:14

Oh I plan to, if at all possible haha. If it's running cool enough and if I can get tires I will definitely be driving it at the mall event at the end of the month

It won't pass emissions because all of the emissions stuff has been removed. I bought it from a place that had no emissions. I thought just the cats were removed, but it turns out that everything emissions related was removed...all the solenoids and hoses in the engine bay, the smog pump, even the EGR was blocked off and bypassed. Replacing all that stuff would cost me a couple grand in parts and labor...

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Tue Sep 14, 2010 9:14

Well, you have to figure you're never going to get back the money you've spent in mods on the car. I lost a good deal of money when I parted out and sold my RX-8.

If you have stock parts, you can try selling your aftermarket parts to recoup some money spent on mods. Really, I think you'd be lucky to $12k honestly. But I do think the FD will start appreciating money in just a few years, honestly.

Stealth01 · Postby **Stealth01** » Tue Sep 14, 2010 9:14

Get an address in El Paso County. No emissions required.

Postby **RX-7 Chris** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:14

Move to the Springs -> get a house with a 4 car garage -> come to CMZC springs meets -> be happy:D

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:14

chickenwafer wrote:Well, you have to figure you're never going to get back the money you've spent in mods on the car. I lost a good deal of money when I parted out and sold my RX-8.

If you have stock parts, you can try selling your aftermarket parts to recoup some money spent on mods. Really, I think you'd be lucky to $12k honestly. But I do think the FD will start appreciating money in just a few years, honestly.

I don't have any of the stock parts actually...aside from the coilovers and the delrin bushings (which I've still yet to install haha), I bought it with the mods it has. Most of the money I've put into it has been just getting it back into good shape after it was recovered. But yeah, I agree, I think in a few years it will start appreciating again. Or, if I build it into a street legal race car I could probably get a lot more for it.

Stealth01 wrote:Get an address in El Paso County. No emissions required.

Get an address how? I haven't tried the PO Box method but I'm fairly certain that doesn't work, you have to be a resident. I'm gonna call around today at lunch and get some more info.

And I can't move right now, nor do I really want to haha. Too many commitments right where I'm at

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:14

Ranger wrote:Or, if I build it into a street legal race car I could probably get a lot more for it.

I actually disagree. FD's that are fetching the most coin right now are unmolested, low mileage, very clean examples. A 1994 R1 with 66k miles sold for $22k recently, and it was pretty stock. But then again, a 1994 R2 with low miles (can't remember exact number) that was very clean, but did have a streetported motor, A-Spex GT35R kit, custom v-mount, Work wheels, etc, sold for $21k IIRC.

It's a difficult market to pin down, but I know FD's that labeled "projects", "race cars", or just plain aren't clean, aren't going to fetch good money. Also, since finding an FD in excellent running condition, with no issues whatsoever, is a rare find, so those fetch top dollar as well.

Honestly if I wanted to invest some money, I would buy a rare CYM or an R1/R2 with super low miles (under 60K for sure), restore it to minty freshness, maybe do some light reliability mods like a downpipe, radiator, AST, 99 spec twins, etc. Just put some wheels on it, keep it under a car cover in a climate controlled garage, and it would appreciate in value 2 fold in 5 years I bet.

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:14

I think it depends. If it's labeled as a project (which it is at this point), it definitely wouldn't sell for much money, or maybe not sell at all. But, if it were a fully caged, NASA and SCCA certified race car, it ought to fetch a pretty penny. To get it to that state would require another $3k or so in safety equipment, though.

I think my plan will be to hold onto it for as long as I can and fix all the little issues it has. The more I think about it the more I DON'T want to sell it. And the more I work on it, the more I feel like it's MY car, I'd have a really hard time selling it. I guess in my head I'm trying to justify selling the race car instead...because I could easily build another one of those. But if I were to build another FD, I'd likely run into just as many problems as I have with this one. Might as well keep mine, I already know what's wrong with it :lol:

To sell, or not to sell...

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