RX-8 Purchase
11-12-09, 05:51 PM
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RX-8 Purchase
I'm having difficulties getting my account (username=cBJr) fully activated over at RX8club.com, so I thought I'd see if anyone had an opinion here.
I've narrowed down the RX-8 as the primary choice for my next vehicle. I'm trying to get one with relatively low miles, for under $13k. I'm somewhat educated on the nuances of a rotary, mostly from reading this site on and off for 10 years, but I've never owned one myself.
I found one, with 17k miles on it, so I called the guy to ask about its history. He has owned the car for about 2-2.5 years, and only used the car as a weekend vehicle. He's old enough to have a couple kids in college and a 3rd entering college. During his time of ownership, he only put about 2k miles on it. As such, he never changed the oil. I didn't ask him if he checked his oil, as I'd rather get up there and pull the dipstick and see it empty, than alert him to the fact that he needs to fill it up before I look at it. Other than his potential lack of maintenance, the car seems cherry, and I'd hope I could pick it up for a good deal. Would not changing the oil over a couple year span, though only driving it 2k miles warrant walking away from a good deal?
I've narrowed down the RX-8 as the primary choice for my next vehicle. I'm trying to get one with relatively low miles, for under $13k. I'm somewhat educated on the nuances of a rotary, mostly from reading this site on and off for 10 years, but I've never owned one myself.
I found one, with 17k miles on it, so I called the guy to ask about its history. He has owned the car for about 2-2.5 years, and only used the car as a weekend vehicle. He's old enough to have a couple kids in college and a 3rd entering college. During his time of ownership, he only put about 2k miles on it. As such, he never changed the oil. I didn't ask him if he checked his oil, as I'd rather get up there and pull the dipstick and see it empty, than alert him to the fact that he needs to fill it up before I look at it. Other than his potential lack of maintenance, the car seems cherry, and I'd hope I could pick it up for a good deal. Would not changing the oil over a couple year span, though only driving it 2k miles warrant walking away from a good deal?
11-14-09, 11:44 PM
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ive heard to much negative stuff about the rx8's over the years and i personally wouldnt buy one without a nice warrenty on it..
and yeah thats a really long time for that oil to be sitting. who knows when it was even changed if hes owned it that long and the oil hasnt been changed. the previous owner prob didnt do an oil change and then sell it to him so.....
and yeah thats a really long time for that oil to be sitting. who knows when it was even changed if hes owned it that long and the oil hasnt been changed. the previous owner prob didnt do an oil change and then sell it to him so.....
11-15-09, 04:46 PM
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Rx-8's come with a internal engine warranty 100k/8 years from the first titled date which should give you some peace of mind depending on the year.
Oil sitting for that long should be changed but i doubt any damage has been done unless the car has been running on little to no oil.
10-13k is a good price range for a used 04-06. Gas mileage is varies on the car some get luck (18-22mpg) or less (13-17mpg).
Other than that it is an amazing all around car. I personally owned one for 2 1/2 years id buy it all over again. The aftermarket is a lot better now for the car also.
If you decide to buy have a compression test done by a mazda dealership.
Oil sitting for that long should be changed but i doubt any damage has been done unless the car has been running on little to no oil.
10-13k is a good price range for a used 04-06. Gas mileage is varies on the car some get luck (18-22mpg) or less (13-17mpg).
Other than that it is an amazing all around car. I personally owned one for 2 1/2 years id buy it all over again. The aftermarket is a lot better now for the car also.
If you decide to buy have a compression test done by a mazda dealership.
11-24-09, 06:40 AM
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I'm a rx8 owner....with a turbo...and yeah the engine has it's issues. so far I've found the engine really has a lot of down sides but they can be fixed...but it's not cheap. The transmission is known for issues too...but that can be fixed too. But all in all if you plan on getting some real power outta her..and she's fun as hell when you do. It will be a matter of time before you swap out the tranny. and it's better to swap it with the fd 5 speed and do the fix for 5th gear then to do another rx8 tranny. Secondly before going power I'd pull the engine and have the rotor's machined to the rx7 depth then get a set of unbreakable seals..such as ALS before you blow a seal and cost you thousand's of dollars in parts.
11-24-09, 01:50 PM
#7
as an owner, i'll say this ...
it's a great, fun and practical (compared to my Rx-7s and MR2) car. i love driving it. i may even love driving it as much as i love driving the Rx-7.
that said ... i must say i'm a bit disappointed in the reliability. i'm sorry, but i'm not used to ignition coils being maintenance items and on this car, they are. while that seems a bit benign, you have to understand that WHEN they fail, if you're unfortunate enough not to catch it, they will cause ridiculous amounts of damage (in terms of cost and headaches). a part of my experience is that this is the first time i've ever had a car where i've had to have contact with the manufacturer and obviously, in the chain of command, you have to go through the dealers first. that has left a really bad taste in my mouth, too.
overall, i think the car is way more complicated than it needed to be. however, i think my good and bad times are pretty much even. i have every intention of keeping it and doing my Renesis experimentation with it when the time comes.
however, if i had to do it all again, i probably would have gone with an S4 or a G35 Coupe. i don't hate Rx-8s by any stretch (they're still a part of the family to me), but for what i wanted at the time i bought mine, i think another car would have been a better fit.
it's a great, fun and practical (compared to my Rx-7s and MR2) car. i love driving it. i may even love driving it as much as i love driving the Rx-7.
that said ... i must say i'm a bit disappointed in the reliability. i'm sorry, but i'm not used to ignition coils being maintenance items and on this car, they are. while that seems a bit benign, you have to understand that WHEN they fail, if you're unfortunate enough not to catch it, they will cause ridiculous amounts of damage (in terms of cost and headaches). a part of my experience is that this is the first time i've ever had a car where i've had to have contact with the manufacturer and obviously, in the chain of command, you have to go through the dealers first. that has left a really bad taste in my mouth, too.
overall, i think the car is way more complicated than it needed to be. however, i think my good and bad times are pretty much even. i have every intention of keeping it and doing my Renesis experimentation with it when the time comes.
however, if i had to do it all again, i probably would have gone with an S4 or a G35 Coupe. i don't hate Rx-8s by any stretch (they're still a part of the family to me), but for what i wanted at the time i bought mine, i think another car would have been a better fit.
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