Hey,
I'm close to purchasing an RX8, drove a 2007 sport last week and was grinning ear to ear! But just found a 2009 R3 a in Connecticut and thats the model I really want. I live in Tampa, and over the years I've owned supercharged and turbo MR2's, a CRX, even an x1/9 but they are long gone, and I'm ready for the rotary! I've been lurking for awhile and reading stickies on this site which is great, and wanted to get your thoughts.

It's a 2009R3 with 31k miles, a clean carfax, pics look good, and I'm paying for a) compression test and b) overall check by the local mazda dealer today. I asked the service guy to provide the rpm speed in addition to the 6 rotor numbers, and if it was normalized with the chart. Is any reading over 8 good?

Maintenance wise the current owner says he's done oil changes every 3k, but not the 30k service, a few items like an O2 sensor, and coolent sensor/tank replacement were done. The tires are original also, so it appears I should immediatly replace the plugs, coils, wires, all fluids, and prob will need new tires shortly. What else? Cosmetically it looks pretty good, it needs a new driver seat (bolster is badly worn).

If everything checks out I was thinking of having the car shipped, which makes me a little nervous since I've always inspected and driven cars in person - am I crazy? I flew to wisconsin and drove the mr2 supercharged home 1400 miles! The current owner seems to be forthcoming, car looks good in the pics, and I would be relying on the mazda dealer for checking everything.

Assuming a good inspection, am I missing anything else to do before I proceed?

I can't wait!
thanks, Jeff

 

Sounds good, just make sure you get pics of everything. The compression test is a great idea as well. It's nice to see a new member who can read and practice due diligence Welcome aboard.

 

The R3 seat will be expensive to repair or replace , they seem to wear a lot when people slide into the seat.

Have you priced that out yet?

 

Got the compression numbers back, their conclusion on the paperwork was compression is good, but they didn't convert them. Any thoughts on these?
Rear Rotor at 305 rpm 8.8, 9.0, 9.0
Front Rotor at 298 rpm 9.0, 9.0, 8.8

9krpmrx8 - thanks I'm getting some additional pics this weekend.
JRx13 - no I haven't, most of seat is fine but that left side is really worn, maybe I can have someone rework the leather on the bolster? Color match is probably difficult, guess it's a car seat cover for now, and keep an eye out for a replacement.

Otherwise they found some expected items like tires, air filter, cabin filter need replacing, not much else of note.

thanks, Jeff

 

if it's an r3, it doesn't have leather stock, but cloth recaro race seats. might want to check on that..

Posted From RX8Club.com Android App

 

Yes it does,stock leather recaro's with side bolster air bags

 

Good luck and hope you'll get what you want. Keep us updated and post pics when you get it.