Written off.......HELP!!!!

[Alex28]

My rx7 has been recently written off after a crash:( a few questions the first being i believe there was a problem with the car only having it a week, i cant be 100% sure but, there was a bad knocking sound coming from the rear of the car which got worse, also the car was unusually light on the backend, i know being a rwd car this is possible, but would it be usual for the backend to step out at about 4 mph goin round a corner in traffic?!?! which inevitably led me to crash doin this at about 35mph in damp weather, also the car spun to the left everytime i put my foot down in wet weather (very very very dodgy and dangerous) now not knowing much about these cars is this normal???

2nd question: where is a good place to get rid of the car, ie break for bits or sell to a breakers, roof has been cut off to get me out of the car also front right hand side of car very badly damaged due to impact with a tree.......

Any help with this is much appreciated
thanks
Alex

[bnaellis]

Hi Alex,
shame about your car, but main thing you got out ok.
An rx7 should not not step out that easy whether wet or dry.
Where did you get the car from ? was it like that when you test drove it ? did you check the wheels were done up properly, if you bought it yourself from Japan do you know if it was crash damage and repaired one ? The knocking could of been quite a few things, I'm suprised you drove it like that.
What aftermarket stuff did you have on the car? you could probably sell them on here easy enough. Any pics of the car ??

rgds

Brian

[Alex28]

the car is bog standard except the wheels, i checked all the usual things, on test drive seemed perfect then this sound developed, as i said i only had it for a week, and that was being driven on the evenings so didnt have much time to check out. I bought the car from james Baum on here, and everything seemed in order, although when i took the car to my local bodyshop to show it off to them they did point out it had had a respray on the rear end so.............what can i do.
I will post some pics when i have courage to go and look at it:(it was the tourer model with all electrics and red leather etc etc, although the dash was still in kmh etc

[clive]

Hi Alex ,

Before you make any decisions please get a 4 wheel geometry check done on your car ,if you don't know of any one who can carry this out your body shop people should know of a firm that can help.

Hope this helps

All the Best Clive
e-mail: clive@mazdarotaryclub.com
web: www.mazdarotaryclub.com

[Alex28]

Would this kind of test still be possible if one of the front wheels is smashed and the suspension all bent etc? from what i can see the rear looks ok

Cheers the help people, its much appreciated
Alex

[Fish]

Alex, welcome and deepest sympathy. I think it would be worth getting a qualified engineer to check it over, and get them to do a detailed report. If there was something wrong with the car, then they should see it.

As for disposing of the car, it depends on what part of the country you are in.

Dan

[HPI_UK]

Sorry to hear of your crash :( must have been bad yto have to be cut out, just glad your here to tell the tale.

Adam.

[clive]

Hi Alex ,

l know in a previous post l l suggested that you get a 4 wheel geometry check done as although the front is damaged they would hopefully be able to set their equipment to check the back , however l have been thinking about this one and as l know James l would say that with his Gen3 experience i.e. he has done track days etc ( not with your car ) he would have noticed if something was seriously amiss with this car and further more l believe he would not have sold on a knowingly dangerous car from the dealings that l have had with James.

Having had 2 life threatening incidents with my RX-7 ( both with vehicles coming from behind whilst stationery) l hope like me you will view this as it's only a car , because thankfully your walking around O/K and that's what really matters.

Sorry l know this is probably not what you wish to hear but unfortunately these cars will catch you out at low speeds and are very tail happy , most Gen3 owners seem to have had at least one bad experience from these cars , because especially in the wet they command respect.

BTW Pip from WGT is probably your best man to contact to despose of your car and be fair with you.


All the Best Clive
e-mail: clive@mazdarotaryclub.com
web: www.mazdarotaryclub.com

[Alex28]

Cheers for all the information, im goin to go about gettin the car checked for my own peace of mind. James was a very nice guy and i wouldnt for a moment believe that he would of sold me a dodgy car its just that you never know what could of previously happened to a car especially when its coming from another country etc Im in the midlands area so as far as disposal go's i dont know of any local places, how can i contact Pip from WGT?
Cheers
Alex

[t2rew]

at the top of this page there is a purple bit with members, click it then click p and a list of members with p comes up. you want pip gardner

[JamesFD3]

Alex,

I've only just read the posts regarding your accident and I'm shocked and upset.
Firstly I hope you are OK and am very sorry to hear of what happened.As a few people who know me through the club will know(Clive & Glen) I'm a huge RX-7 fan and decided to import an RX-7 to find out all about the import process and learn about the stages required to get the car on the road.

I asked my friend in Japan - Miguel at Newera who alot of club members are famliar with to find me a nice standard example and he eventually found the 92' example you bought.The car was found at auction and was of a 3.5 auction grade and was not an accident grade car although a couple of panels had been replaired in the past for cosmetic reasons hence the slighty lower grade.Alot of cars tend to suffer from parking damage etc in Tokyo due to the nature of the enviroment.

When I first got the car I was very pleased with it,nice heathly engine,drove nicely and everything pointed to a nice fit RX-7.The car had been fitted with some front lowering springs which would require reset geometry at some point but generally the car seemed OK.In fact I drove the car all the way back from Southampton to my home in Leicestershire.The only slight niggle I had was the clutch felt a little tired so I booked the car in at WGT so Pip could have a look.The clutch was found to be worn so Pip fitted a replacement clutch and gave the car a once over and commented it was a nice tidy example.

One thing RX-7's are famous for though is there tail happiness in slippery conditions and this car felt no different to my own 94'RS model - too much throttle and the tail will pitch into oversteer requiring skilled imputs to correct.

I just cannot believe this has happened though,I was really fond of that car :-(( if there's anything I can do Alex please get in touch.....

Best wishes

James Baum

[Alex28]

I was just as fond of the car James as you well know:)but i came out of the incident ok well broken ankle but thats the main point that i was okay. The car was fine in every single way its just that one time the backend went at less than 10mph on a slightly damp day(no rain) that i started to get suspicious, then another time when i was with a passenger i put my foot down ever so slightly on a very long straight and the backend just flew to the left everytime i did this, which again i got very worried, the speed i was doin when it slid on me when i crashed was just under 50kmh on a slight bend again in damp weather, i wasnt on the throttle at all just gliding round and it just completely went and i was unable to correct it,