Mistahfreddie

Found someone selling a rx8 from a tire shop Saya he doesn't know anything about rotary engines and doesn't want to try and diagnose what's wrong. He says it runs and drives but it has a hard time starting somtimes he's selling for really cheap about 2500$ is it a bad idea to consider it for the fact it has a hard time starting?

200.mph

iTrader: (9)

hot starts usually (not always) mean low compression which means a rebuild or new engine. get a rotary specific compression test before buying any rx8 and dont buy an automatic (they suck)

Mistahfreddie

Side note it's a 04 with 105k miles I'm going to check it out tomorrow. Feels like it might be a win I've been seeing alot about just upgrading the starter usually fixes that. Anyway to know if it's bad compression without a test

Mistahfreddie

I hate ever having to consider a auto luckily this car is Manuel. And okay compression test before buying

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

See if it starts normally cold, note how long it takes, shouldn't be more than a second or 2.
If it does start right up, let it warm up to operating temperature, shut it off and try to start it again.
If it takes noticeably longer, then it's likely failing.

An updated starter is a bandaid on a bullet wound.
It might keep it running for a while, but you'd be on borrowed time.

If it takes a long time to start cold it could be a bad engine, or something simple, you'd be rolling the dice.
If you like the chassis and can afford $4k at least for a rebuild, then that's the only way you should buy it.

Unless you have troubleshooting skills and the owner will let you see if you can figure out if it's something simple like bad ignition components or grounding/battery issues.
A weak battery will give you fits also.