Hello all,

I've been considering buying an RX-8. I live in Chicago, so I understand that I will likely need winter and summer tires, or perhaps I can settle for something "in between". Would anyone strongly recommend either approach?

Now...my buddy has an RX-8 with about 27,000 miles that has been serviced very well. I've been interested in buying it. I've done some reading on the forums and have a few questions...Should I get most of these recommendations out of the way right now? And what should I/should I not have done at a Mazda dealer?

Car mileage over 30,000:
- Replace Ignition coils
- Replace Plug wires
- Replace Spark plugs
- Clean MAF (mass air flow sensor)
- Clean ESS (e-shaft sensor)
- Reset ESS profile
- Clean power steering connections
- Clean battery terminals and clamps
- Replace transmission fluid
- Replace coolant (Mazda FL-22 is highly recommended, read this thread for why: Issue Many Are Ignoring: Most Coolants Contain 2-EHA (which 'eats' silicone))
- Replace air filter
- Replace brake fluid (fluid in the brake lines AND the clutch line)

Would someone who isn't too familiar with cars (but is a quick learner and technically savvy in general) be able to take on most of these projects independently? I have help, but I'd rather do it solo if it fairly risk-free (i.e. headlamp replacement, oil change, etc).

I've also done some forecasting and plan to spend about $800/year on maintenance/parts/repairs/etc given about 10k miles of driving yearly. I'd likely plan to sell it around the 60-80k mile mark. I would also be getting a compression test before purchase.

Also, are there any warranty options I'd be eligible for?

I can pick up the Mazda for about $7500. Am I on the right track?

Thanks!

 

buy it to sell it huh? normally not going to be a payoff on your end in the long run with maintenance and the possibility of the engine going to the dark side whenever it feels like it.

 

Not buying to sell, just wanting to drive the car for 3-4 years. By then I'd be able to get another car I'd want. No sense in having 2 cars in the city, especially when there is higher risk towards 100k. Plus I can likely sell for $3-4k very easily once it is around 80k miles.

 

Yes you can do all those things yourself easily. What year is the car? Something you want to consider is that there is an 8 year / 100,000 mile warranty on the engine. Ideally you want a car that has some warranty left, like a 2010-2011.

At 27k miles and a known history, it sounds like a good deal. You may want a compression test before purchase to know the state of the engine, just in case.

You will want winter tires, yes. You can fit 17" rims for winter tires to save on cost of tires tires and the mount/dismount twice a year.

 

I'm also in Chicago (West Loop) and will have a compression tester as soon as RotaryCompressionTester.com finishes building and ships mine out. Actually, I'll have two as I built my own but haven't been able to test it to verify everything. As soon as the new one arrives, I'll have to decide which one to sell.

Let me know if you need any help.

 

Thanks for the response! Yes I do think it is a pretty fair deal all things considered. I think a 2011 would be ideal, but I haven't been able to find one with under 50k miles. I'll keep looking in the meantime though.

And yes I will definitely want to save on costs because in Chicago the past 2 years we really haven't had much snow. If that trend continues then going all out on a winter set isn't exactly ideal.

Nice, I work in the West Loop and live close enough so if I do go through with an RX-8 I'd be interested. My question is though, how accurate/reliable would those tests be on either of those two devices? Or is that something you will find out definitely?

 

What you're really asking is whether you should go with a) winter tires for winter and summer tires for spring, summer and fall, or b) all-season tires year-round.

I lived in Chicago over seven winters. The answer to your question is "it depends". In winter, if you must drive daily or regularly, I would urge to you to go with winter tires. In fact, I wouldn't even consider all-seasons for a daily driver. On the other hand, if you have the luxury of only taking out your RX-8 in winter now and then, i.e. only when the streets are relatively dry and clear of major snow, you can "get by" with all-seasons and not have to worry about having two sets of tires, switching them twice every year and, yes, finding a place to store the tires you're not using.

That said, also realize that while all-seasons are "good enough" for casual driving in the warmer months, they do not afford that extra grip and response that you can only get from dedicated summer tires. So if you're the kind of guy who will sometimes autocross your car - or simply drive "all out" from time to time, taking corners real fast - you should go with summer tires. But for just ordinary driving, even fast ordinary driving, all-seasons should be good enough.

Hope this helps.

 

Well, the one I built is an unknown. It returns plausible numbers but I don't know how accurate they are.

The one on the way from Rotary Compression Tester claims to have had its design tested against a Mazda tester. How do we know if it's any good? Well, that's the gamble you take when you buy a product.

 

pm me when you put one up for sale I may be interested