Hey guys I am looking into buying a 2004 this weekend, well actually trading my rx7 for it, Need something with 4 seats. I'm an ASE master tech and a few weeks ago had an rx8 in the shop for a no crank with a ton of wiring issues, fixed it and got his car back to him but noticed it was extremely hard to get it to start up before he got there to pick it up. Now hes having more issues with it and more trouble starting it so he brought it in and I did everything I could to get it unflooded and finally started with tons of white smoke. He is fed up with it and wants to sell it so im thinking about buying it, main concern is deciding if it needs a rebuild. Im concerned that it may have a coolant seal thats going, im used to checking head gaskets but have never lost a rotary on my 3 rx7's. Do all coolant seal issues usually just leak into the combustion chamber or do they also push combustion into the cooling system to bubble up the radiator? I am taking it into the shop this weekend to check it out entirely and am just looking for pointers on how to condemn the engine. Assuming that the hard starting is ignition related after all the searching Ive done but I dont work on rotaries with failures often, just my second gen rx7 tinkering.
unsure on mileage, I believe 110k. horribly maintained from what I can tell. No converter, manual trans. Difficult to start after warmed up, almost impossible when cold. doesnt smoke once its warmed up.

 

If you have the time/resources (ie shop, tools, etc)/patience to deal with replacing or building the engine, then have at it.
I recommend you read the stickies in the tech/discussions and troubleshooting sub-forums. You'll find most of the info regarding engine health and maintenance there