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Valuation · Mazda · SA22C/FB · 1981-1985
Mazda RX-7 Series 3
1.1L NA carburetted twin-rotor · 85 kW / 152 Nm · 5sp manual · RWD
CONSIDERRated within the under $30k band · 17 of 46 at this money
Model value
$27,000
Must gain each year to break even
+16.6%
The projection does not clear it, and nor does most of the library.
CarQuant score
47/100
Scored against the under $30k band, not the whole library
Evidence grade
Measured
Four or more recorded Australian sales
$27,000
$20,209 lowhigh $26,944
Calibrated to recorded sales
Six Australian results from May 2021 to July 2026, $18,400 to $46,000, and read in date order they fall. These prices reach this library through a third-party compiler rather than from the selling house: Collecting Cars publishes the car, the date, the suburb, the odometer and the condition report, and puts the final figure behind a login. They are carried as evidence on that basis and the provenance is stated here so it can be weighed.
Looking at an RX-7 for sale?
Put in the asking price and the odometer reading. You will see what this model should make at that reading.
Should make, typical example
$27,000
At about 130,000 km. Enter an asking price to compare.
Odometer only. Colour, options, history, condition and the photographs move it further, and that is what the report reads.
A person reads the advertisement and its photographs. Usually back within 48 hours. Read a real listing report
Price history
Today $27,000 · modelled median at five years $23,728
Solid line: the value this library has carriedDashed from 2026: modelled · even money $21,877 to $25,420
The green band is the even-money range and the one to plan on: half of outcomes land inside it. The pale band behind it bounds eight in ten ($20,209 to $26,944). The path is this model's own: it starts along the momentum of its recorded history and bends toward its projected median as the horizon lengthens, so no two cars share a future curve.
The verdict
A defensible case with reservations. Scores 47/100, ranking 17 of 46 in the under $30k band. Liquidity is the strongest input, risk resilience the weakest.
Running it costs about $5,710 a year (21.1% of value), which is what the economics score measures. All in, including the projected value change, it is $6,720 a year.
The model's five year median is $23,728, a -12.1% move, with the tenth percentile at $20,209.
Value calibrated to recorded sales.
Evidence
Measured6 recorded sales
Off its peak
-30%
Value band
tight
Multiple recorded transactions plus an aggregate source. Treat the level as reliable.
Scored against every recent Australian sale this library holds, half its values land within 11.2 per cent of the price paid and the rest miss by more, in either direction. Projections are therefore damped toward flat in proportion to how little is known, and the plausible band is never narrower than the error the model is known to make.
Short term (1-5 years)$6,720 a year all in, -12.1% median value move
Long term (10-15 years)Scarcity case already formed
Negotiate from$27,000
Recorded sales
Every recorded observation, and when
7 rows on record$50k$32k$15k
202120222023202420252026
the value this record published, year by yearnow $27kwhat the model expects across 126k–324k kmsold1 row is undated and is not plotted
Every row, with its price and note (7) ↓
Library value against the sold record
6 sales · median $27,500Value $27,000
$18,400$46,000
Jul 2026AutoMarkets$18,400Sold
SOLD. 31 Jul 2026, Melbourne VIC, 323,641km. 1982 12A, manual; recorded result, not individually verified.
May 2026AutoMarketsNo saleNot a sale
NOT A SALE. 21 May 2026, Sydney NSW, 5,043km. 1982 Allan Moffat Tribute passed in unsold; no result price was published.
Jul 2024AutoMarkets$25,000Sold
SOLD. 3 Jul 2024, Sunshine Coast QLD, odometer not listed. 1983 Series 2 Greg Hansford Special; recorded result, not individually verified.
Jan 2024Collecting Cars$26,500Sold
SOLD. 22 Jan 2024, Revesby NSW, 191,632km. 1985 Series 3, 5sp manual, Australian-delivered, Space Yellow, 12A with extractors and exhaust, full respray and replaced dash by previous owners, seller renewed radiator core, water pump, carburettor rebuild, clutch kit and brake master cylinder; rego test Aug 2023 no advisories; cassette and cruise control inoperative, A/C needs regas.
Jan 2023AutoMarkets$43,000Sold
SOLD. 12 Jan 2023, Melbourne VIC, 125,575km. 1985 Series 3; recorded result, not individually verified.
Aug 2022AutoMarkets$28,500Sold
SOLD. 25 Aug 2022, Mahogany Creek WA, 258,057km. 1985 Limited, manual; recorded result, not individually verified.
May 2021WhichCar$46,000Sold
SOLD. 15 May 2021, Shannons Winter Timed Online Auction (national online sale), odometer not reported. 1983 Series 3 described as a well-presented first-generation example; the price was published in WhichCar's report of the auction.
6 completed Australian sales of 7 rows. Rows marked asking, no sale, or context are shown for honesty but do not count toward the evidence grade: an ask is not a transaction, a pass-in is a refusal, and a provenance or overseas result does not price the ordinary local car. The badge on every row is computed by the same rule as the grade, so the two cannot drift apart.
Score breakdown
Against the under $30k band median
46 cars in band · ink tick marks the medianOwnership economics30% of total
32/100-3
Scarcity25% of total
45/100+4
Demand durability20% of total
66/100+10
Liquidity15% of total
68/100+9
Risk resilience10% of total
26/100-11
Sub-scores run 0-100 before weighting; the weighted total is 47/100. Medians are computed live from the 46 cars currently in the under $30k band, so this picture moves when the library does.
The working behind each factor: baseline and drivers ↓
Ownership economics30% weight
32/100Baseline84 pts
− 21.1% of value a year to run-52 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)32 pts
Scarcity25% weight
45/100Baseline20 pts
+ 2,250 survivors estimated in Australia+25 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)45 pts
Demand durability20% weight
66/100Baseline56 pts
+ Sold here in genuine volume and remembered fondly+12 pts
+ The cheap entry to classic rotary ownership+8 pts
− 85kW is slow by any modern measure-10 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)66 pts
Liquidity15% weight
68/100Baseline12 pts
+ 55 days on market+37 pts
+ 115 sales a year+19 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)68 pts
Risk resilience10% weight
26/100Baseline48 pts
− Structural rust is the defining cost and it has no ceiling-16 pts
− Series nomenclature is applied loosely by sellers-6 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)26 pts
Model output, not advice or a valuation. Verify independently before acting.
What it costs to own · about 3,023 km a year
Annual cost of access, excl. fuel
$5,710a year
Share of value per year
21.1%
Scheduled servicing$1,29023%
Tyres, annualised$87015%
Registration and CTP$69012%
Insurance$1,63029%
Sinking fund (failure table)$1,23022%
All-in annualised (a different number)
Purchase (model value plus duty)$28,080
Running costs × 5 years$28,550
Median exit, net of selling cost$23,028
All-in annualised over 5 years$6,720/yr
Share of value per year24.9%
Cost of access is what the car costs to run. All-in annualised adds depreciation, duty and selling costs across a five year hold. They answer different questions and are labelled separately for that reason.
Break-even appreciation, 5 year hold
16.6%a year, only to get the money back
This library projects
-2.6%a year
The projection falls 19.1 points a year short of the hurdle. On these assumptions this car is a cost, not an asset, which can be an entirely rational thing to buy but should be bought knowing it.
Purchase$27,000
Stamp duty$1,080
Running costs x 5 years$28,550
Selling cost at exit, 2.6% of the salescales with price
Sale price needed at +5 years$58,137
Storage
Bought at
No forecast is used to compute the hurdle. It is the purchase, the duty, any premium and 5 years of running cost, grossed up for the cost of selling and spread back over the hold. The projection it is measured against is the weakest number in this product and is drawn that way in the chart above. Transport, finance and any restoration spend sit outside it.
Specification
Engine1.1L NA carburetted twin-rotor
Power / torque85 kW / 152 Nm
0-100 km/h9.4 s
Transmission5sp manual
DriveRWD
Kerb weight1,075 kg
Built worldwide471,018
Delivered to AustraliaNot established
Effective AU survivors2,250
Australian sales / year115
Typical days on market55 days
Launch priceNot established
What moves the price on this model
Colour hierarchy
Original factory colour, unresprayed+6%
Solar Gold or Space Yellow, period-correct+4%
Repainted in a non-original colour-6%
Options
Documented rust-free shell with underbody photographs+25%
Original 12A with the metering pump intact+12%
Australian-delivered with continuous registration history+8%
Odometer sensitivity±1.6% per 10,000 km vs 130,000 km
Applied on top of these
Condition, history, originality, ownership, delivery and modification multipliers apply to every car in the library. They are applied automatically when an advertisement is analysed, and the schedule is set out once, on the analyser page.
Projected value in five years
Projected value at five years
$23,728
-12.1% on today
The model's figure. Today it is $27,000.
Even odds it lands between $21,877 and $25,420.
$20,209 lowhigh $26,944
The shaded range is even money and 16% wide; the outer figures bound eight outcomes in ten. Band width follows the evidence - a model with a tight measured record carries a tight band.
A weaker five year outlook than 85% of the library.
-26.6% weakest projected move in the librarystrongest +73.1%
Five-year cost of ownership
Value change alone: -$3,272 across five years.
Running costs over the same period: $28,550.
Duty and expected selling costs: $1,780.
Net cost of five years of ownership: $33,600, or $6,720 a year.
The projected value fall is added to the running cost. Depreciation is the larger number here.
The case for and against
The case for
Australia bought these in numbers, so the survivor pool is the largest of any classic rotary here and a good one is still findable. The 12A is simple, and a rust-free shell is the whole game.
The case against
Off a 2021 to 2023 peak and softening, with a $46,000 result in 2021 against $18,400 in 2026. Rust in the sills and strut towers can exceed the value of the car.
Known faults and risks
Risk 1Structural rust in sills, floors, strut towers and screen surrounds
Risk 2Series claims by sellers are unreliable and need checking against build data
Risk 3Oil metering pump deleted or failed, which kills the engine quietly
Apex and side seal wear, 12A rebuild installed$12,000
Structural rust in sills, floors, strut towers and screen surrounds$10,500
Overheating from clogged radiator or weak fan clutch$1,750
Fuel tank rust contaminating the fuel system$1,450
Nikki carburettor wear, flooding and poor idle$1,200
Oil metering pump failure or incorrect deletion$900
Similar cars, and what they cost to run
Evidence behind this valueMeasured · 6 recorded sales
Carried value
$27,000
Historical price
2016 · $28,4002026 · $27,000
Measured
Multiple recorded transactions plus an aggregate source. Treat the level as reliable.
Six results and they fall in date order
$46,000 at Shannons in May 2021, $43,000 in January 2023, $28,500 in August 2022, $26,500 in January 2024, $25,000 in July 2024 and $18,400 in July 2026. The model peaked around 2021 to 2023 and has given back roughly a third, and the series says so without needing anything fitted to it.
Read the rest of the evidence notes (2 more)
The shell is the asset
A 12A rebuild is $12,000 installed and structural rust runs from $3,000 to five figures with no natural ceiling, so a rust-free car with a tired engine is worth more than a rusty car with a fresh one. Every value in the band above assumes a sound shell and states the assumption because the assumption is doing most of the work.
Australian Series numbering is not reliable
Local usage runs Series 1 for 1979 to 1980, Series 2 for 1981 to 1983 and Series 3 for 1984 to 1985, but auction catalogues have described a 1983 car as a Series 3 and sellers follow the catalogues. Check the build plate, not the advertisement.
This page prices the model.
The report prices the car in the advertisement.
The report prices the car in the advertisement.
Send the link. A person reads the advertisement and its photographs and sends back what that Mazda RX-7 Series 3 is worth, what to offer and when to walk away, with five years of costs at the distance you drive.
Backed by 6 recorded Australian sales of this model. Read a complete one on a real car first. Seventeen sections, no account, nothing to pay.
This model, today$27,000
Half of sales are further out than$3,018
The report$249
12×
the price of the report: what half of real sales of this model sit further from this page's number than, on this car
Watch this model
Told when the next one is called.
One line of email when this desk publishes a call on a Mazda RX-7 Series 3, or records a new Australian sale of one. Nothing else, no schedule, and on a quiet model you may hear nothing for months, which is itself worth knowing about a car you are chasing.
Free. One address, one model, and no account.