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I'm set on trying to find myself a GT trim RX-8 in manual with a recently replaced or rebuilt engine somewhere in the greater toronto area (willing to drive up to around 60km from the woodbridge/brampton area). So far haven't had too much luck yet.. all the ads ive found that match my criteria are old, and the owners don't even respond to my questions, which I wouldnt mind asking in person instead of over messages if most of these cars weren't located so far from me. I've decided to try and be patient with my search, and am wondering what a "good" price would be for a decent example with not too many kms on the engine since it's last rebuild/replacement. I don't want to spend too much on the car so I can have some cash leftover for the maintenance items and whatever else I might need to fix. I don't mind things like a little rust or other small things that I can fix myself easily enough. If anyone knows of where I can find a good deal within my area/driving distance please let me know!
Unfortunately you just need to have patience. I spent about $500 in compression tests for other people’s vehicles so I could walk away from them. Hard to bargain with a person when you just supplied information their engine is on the way out. Had 2 good ones get sold before I got a chance. It took almost 5 months for me to get my R3 - worth the wait.
Yeah, around this time you have to watch autotrader like a hawk.
I got extremely lucky since I only glanced at an ad 1 day. It just so happens to be the exact day they posted the ad. The Ad was already showing hot viewership since it opened up with a price of $18999 with about 52k on the clock. This was in 2018. The very next day, the ad got dropped to $15999. I jumped all over it. So I initially saw the Ad go up on a Tuesday, it got bumped down on Wednesday, I called them up immediately and made the appointment to check it out that Sat. The stars really aligned since it was the weekend where we had the freak snow fall and no one was coming out to test drive vehicles.
I managed to make the journey down and was the only 1 to show up. All the other potential buyers wanted to wait till the weather got better before they got to see the car.
I inspected it, and had them put it on a lift to inspect the undercarriage. Bought the car that day! Got a little better book value for my 10yr old 08 Miata PRHT as a trade. So the R3 came out at a super bargain.
After the weekend, everyone wanted to test drive the vehicle since the Ad wasn't brought down just yet. Takes a bit of time for the system to remove it. Everyone was really disappointed to find out I beat them to the punch. lol
I'm on the 3rd year with her and I couldn't be happier. Best trade in I've ever done.
Be patient. Don't settle for abused ones. Bring a seasoned rx8 owner if you have access to one. S1 or S2 don't matter these days. What matter are maintenance and pride of ownership.
Be patient. Don't settle for abused ones. Bring a seasoned rx8 owner if you have access to one. S1 or S2 don't matter these days. What matter are maintenance and pride of ownership.
Yes, definitely be patient. Especially in these times since we're all locked up at home. lol
If you know of a friend who currently owns one, definitely bring them along.
I would tend to disagree with you regarding S1's and S2's. I wouldn't bother with S1's. Yes, they're alot more tempting for the price. There's a reason for that. Alot of things got changed out with S2's. So much so, I would hold out for an S2 car. Especially if its an R3. Can't beat the Recaro's for fantastic seat support! Aside from the interior and special goodies, overall, the car was overhauled considerably. You can also find S2's with reasonable km's on them still. Not uncommon to find some with only 50-60k km's on the clocks.
Apart from all that, it's absolutely essential you can tell the car was taken care of. Both mechanically and cosmetically. Anyone who is proud of their ride won't let a dent appear on the car without getting it fixed asap.
As I mentioned, I really lucked out when I found my R3. Even then, I did manage to change out alot of things that were either slightly worn or showed signs of high wear. I know the previous person had his girl in the car alot of the time because for whatever reason, the rear dome light was scuffed up alot towards the passenger side. As well as the sills showing signs of heel scuffs and what not. However, a good clean up job and slight replacement of said plastics, the car looks brand new from inside again. Changed out all the incandescent lights for LED's really brought the interior into the modern era.
This must have sold already but a couple of weeks back I saw a really nice Mazdaspeed kitted one come up for sale in Ottawa. They were asking 8.5k which was more than reasonable IMO. If only I still lived in canada haha I would have snatched that up!
There is a nice white one for sale in Oshawa with a recently replaced engine from Mazda... was asking 3500. If you can't find the link on Kijiji message me and I'll dig it up for you
There is a nice white one for sale in Oshawa with a recently replaced engine from Mazda... was asking 3500. If you can't find the link on Kijiji message me and I'll dig it up for you
that's the one I wanted haha, he ended up selling it to someone else for 5.5k so my search continues. I'm an eying a black 04 gt trim with only 20k km on the engine for 4.5k, body has some rust and has 150k km on it though so I'm not in a rush to get it.. not a lot of good examples for sale lately I think. I wonder if they're starting to go up in price or if it's just cause of covid.
that one looks like it's the original engine, no rebuild which is a little worrying for me since that would be 100k on the engine. I think for that price I'd be better of buying one with bad seals good body for cheap than swapping a reman but I don't really want to spend that much if i.cam help it.
that one looks like it's the original engine, no rebuild which is a little worrying for me since that would be 100k on the engine. I think for that price I'd be better of buying one with bad seals good body for cheap than swapping a reman but I don't really want to spend that much if i.cam help it.
Looks well looked after. Get the usual compression test and look into it. About what I got my R3 for a year ago with similar km. Probably jinxing things but, good so far. Your area has more rust issues than where I live.
Looks well looked after. Get the usual compression test and look into it. About what I got my R3 for a year ago with similar km. Probably jinxing things but, good so far. Your area has more rust issues than where I live.
I would always want a vehicle that's well taken care of and doesn't show an excessive amount of wear. I can understand his worry it being close to 100k on the engine. However, if the previous owner was ontop of maintenance, I don't see the engine being an issue for another 80-100k easy.
I was fortunate enough to find my R3 3yrs ago with only 53k on the clock. At a hell of a bargain for sure. She's sitting at just shy of 90k on the clock now. I think If I can get another 4-5yrs out of her without anything catastrophic happening, I've gotten my monies worth and more. On top of that, I enjoy it so much, I might look into getting a rebuilt done and keep on driving her. For sure by then the body will probably need to get repainted. Our winters are brutal!
Been patiently sitting and waiting for a good deal to pop up and l think I finally found a good potential one.
Blue '07 GT trim
148k km on body
16k km on motor
Mazda speed intake
says clutch and transmission are healthy
was never winter driven, body has little to no rust
he says it just needs break pads, fluid flush, and 02 censor
Doesnt sound like too much work or money to fix up but im wondering what other potential issues there might be.
He's asking for 4k CAD, gonna go see it this monday, hopefully all is well and I become a new rx8 owner this monday.
Originally Posted by Meat Head
Looks well looked after. Get the usual compression test and look into it. About what I got my R3 for a year ago with similar km. Probably jinxing things but, good so far. Your area has more rust issues than where I live.
Yeah the rust here is bad! I was fully prepared to have to watch some youtube videos so I can try fixing the rust on my own.
Originally Posted by Neo
I would always want a vehicle that's well taken care of and doesn't show an excessive amount of wear. I can understand his worry it being close to 100k on the engine. However, if the previous owner was ontop of maintenance, I don't see the engine being an issue for another 80-100k easy.
I was fortunate enough to find my R3 3yrs ago with only 53k on the clock. At a hell of a bargain for sure. She's sitting at just shy of 90k on the clock now. I think If I can get another 4-5yrs out of her without anything catastrophic happening, I've gotten my monies worth and more. On top of that, I enjoy it so much, I might look into getting a rebuilt done and keep on driving her. For sure by then the body will probably need to get repainted. Our winters are brutal!
I was surprised to find so many rx8's with 150k-200k+ km on the original engine still driving good in my area. Noticed that all of these were were the S2 gen and newer, looks like reliability isnt as bad as people say past the first gen. Most of the ones needing a rebuild or swap, or already had one done in my area were the 04 model.
I will be selling my 2005 RX8 GT once I bring it out of storage later this month. I’ve owned this car since new in 2005 and have treated it very well. It’s has never been driven in the winter and is in amazing condition. I’ve stored it in my garage under its custom car cover (also included in the sale). It has 103 000 km and includes the following upgrades:
2005 Velocity Red, Red & Black Leather Interior, Black Fender Strakes : Clear Corners : Pilot 4S : Racing Brake Rotors and SS lines : Red Calipers : Front/Rear rotary crests : Screens : RB A/C & Oil cooler : AFE Short Shifter : Redline Black leather : Red Stitching Shift Boot : Oil catch can, Greddy SP2 exhaust, AEM CAI : BHR ignition : Catch Can : Performance HSD Coil Overs.
I will place a proper sales add once I take it out of storage, thought I’d take this opportunity to add this information to this thread...
I was surprised to find so many rx8's with 150k-200k+ km on the original engine still driving good in my area. Noticed that all of these were were the S2 gen and newer, looks like reliability isnt as bad as people say past the first gen. Most of the ones needing a rebuild or swap, or already had one done in my area were the 04 model.
This is why I wouldn't bother with any S1's. Sure, you can find a hell of a deal for them and yeah, you'll have to rebuild the engine for sure. However, there were so many things that were fixed for S2's, I would definitely hold out for an S2 model. If you're really lucky, find an R3.
04-17-2021, 10:28 PM
Good Price for an RX8 in the GTA?
Aside from the interior and special goodies, overall, the car was overhauled considerably. You can also find S2's with reasonable km's on them still. Not uncommon to find some with only 50-60k km's on the clocks.
