maranellored

Hello!

I've been reading up a lot on the forum for the past 3 days about the Rx8. I've read the FAQs and most of the posts.
So, I've come across this 2005 Rx8 GT with leather interior, moonroof, bose audio and pretty much everything from the high end model.
I even drove it for about 20-25 mins on the Interstate and was impressed with its performance.

The car has 70k miles on it and has never had the engine replaced. I even called Mazda and they told me that there were no major issues with the car. They had a fuel tank(MS-13/ms-16?) replaced sometime back in 2005 but other than that, the car has not seen any major issues. The engine has roughly about 1 year of warranty left on it.

I've checked the carfax out and it has the history of the car till about 46000 miles and after that, there is no service history on the car. It mentions no accidents or any faults with the car.
The owner did tell me that he once bumped the car against the wall in the snow but it was a slow speed crash and the airbags were never deployed. The carfax report doesnt mention that crash at all.
Also, the owner tells me that he once had the engine flooded and had to get it drained out.

Other than that, there are no issues with the car according to the owner.

I really want to get the car but some part of me keeps holding me back. Here's a little background on me:
- I've never owned a car before but I've driven a lot for the past 6-7 years. I've been driving my dad's stick shift for a long time.
- This is going to be my car for the weekends. I stay right beside my workplace and thus, only plan to take the car out on weekends for the grocery trip, dinner etc.
- I also plan to drive long, a couple of times in a month. (200-400miles on hiking trips)
- I need a car thats reliable when I'm out hiking. It'd be hell if the car broke down on me in the middle of nowhere. I know this depends on me to a large extent.

The person selling the car is a colleague of mine.
I was planning to take it to a dealership and get it checked out before I buy it- the usual list of compression test, maintenance records etc.

So, in a nutshell, I do love the car but I see myself having a couple of doubts regarding it. I think I need someone to finally convince me to get the car. My heart says get it, but my brain asks me to tread very carefully,

Would you guys recommend on this car and if I should be buying it?
Also, do you think the price is good? Or should I try and bargain?

Thanks in advance.
Sorry if I've made any errors posting. This is my first post here and I'm learning!

mrl84

price seems a bit high to me for an 05.

HiFlite999

iTrader: (2)

I agree that the price is a bit high for the year/miles. Your use pattern is ideal except for the hiking thing. Hiking = poor roads. Even with the stock suspension, ground clearance is rather minimal.

Wingznut

iTrader: (1)

That's actually not a bad price for an RX-8 in the NW.

But yeah, taking to remote hiking locations isn't this car's forte.

maranellored

Thanks guys.

So, if I keep the car out of the bumpy and muddy off road places, I should be good, right?

What about cold weather. I stay in Seattle and it rains almost every other day. The weather shouldnt be an issue afaik. but i would like a confirmation just in case if there are any special precautions to be taken?

The thing is I'm really taken by this car. I long for it but then some part of me reminds me that this can become a white elephant in my pocket

ZumnRx8

For that price youre better off buying an FD- RX7... Which will always holds value, but definetely not an 05 RX8, id cough up another $3k and buy an R3 ... which is way better anyways and hold value because in the future they will be Super Rare (the R3 trim)

Wingznut

iTrader: (1)

$16k for an R3??? Hahahahaha! I challenge you to find that available in the Pacific NW!

maranellored

So, I got the compression test and the car checkup done at the local mazda dealer.
The engine was low on compression (4.9 and 5.8 in the two rotaries). So, the dealer said that he could replace the engine for me.
Also, the car would need a new clutch plate and a starter motor, since the one in the car is the old one and had never been replaced. The dealer mentioned that it'd cost me about 2k to fix the whole thing up and the car would be as good as new after that.

I spoke to the owner and he's ready to give me a 2k discount on the car. hes desperate to sell the car. What do you guys think?
Is it worth taking the car and fixing it up and taking the dealer's word for it, as for it being as good as new, once fixed?

HiFlite999

iTrader: (2)

As I understand it, a dealer cannot approve a "free" replacement engine, Mazda North America has to. From the threads on this subject, MANO is not automatically approving them as they have in the past, proper maintenence must be documented. Also, $2k from you seems a bit fishy, most replacement engine recipients seem to be paying much less ~$500. You could end up buying the car, then getting rejected for the replacement engine.

Risky.

why not this? 38k miles, $10k:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/2550765312.html

Take your time. Miles matter on these cars, so does a documented maintenance history.

Wingznut

iTrader: (1)

Salvaged title.

maranellored

I'd dropped the car off at the dealer and asked him to change the engine.
I told the owner that I would buy the car only if the dealer was able to change the engine under warranty.

Today, I got a call from the dealer saying that he was able to put in a new engine into the car and everything is in place and the car is ready to go. Just out of curiousity, though, I called up mazda usa and asked them if they knew anything about this engine replacement.
But, they said they have no information about this at all.

My questions to you guys is- is there something I need to look at to make sure that a new reman engine was put in the car?
I would like to make sure that the dealer is not cheating me.

Thanks in advance!

Bladecutter

Ask to see the old engine.
Since they just changed it, it should be sitting on the floor of their shop right now.

If they try and tell you that they've already sent it off to parts unknown, I would question it, unless they can show you some form of proof.

Also, look at the engine in the car to see if it looks like it has a mixture of freshly painted engine parts, and not so freshly painted engine parts. Remans look like this most of the time.

BC.

maranellored

Thanks for the reply.

I have no way to get to the dealership right now since they are closed.
I was going to check the car tomorrow and will ask them to show me the old engine.

But other than just checking the current engine in the car for any kind of signs of it being a reman, is there anything else like in the form of documentation that I would receive from them?

It seems logical to me that the dealership should provide me with a copy of the engine order form and also write down in my invoice that he'd changed the engine.

Also, he had to put in a new clutch pressure plate and the new starter motor in the car. he said that he wouldnt charge me labor for this because he was already getting the engine removed and replacing it.

I'm guessing that he would charge me for labor if he wasnt going to change the engine, but then again, I do not know.

Any more pointers would be great, before I check the car tomorrow and pick it up at his word.

Thanks again!