i've been browsin this site for a few months and appreciate all the advise from everyone. i recently got a call from a local dealer (wayne mazda in new jersey). a dealer offered me a yellow rx-8 fully loaded grand touring edition with navigation system and 6 cd changer. i believe the msrp is over 33k. he's givin it to me for 24k!! however, there is a catch. the car is a demo car that has been driven over 2600 miles.

1. Do you think I am getting a good deal?
2. Its used mainly as a test drive vehicle, is this a bad thing? Can it be seriously damaged?
3. He saids its covered bumber to bumber so there shouldnt be any problems for the next 3 years.
4. This seems to be good to be true and would appreciate everyones input.

Thank you.

 

BTW, what are your opinions on the yellow color? others say its too loud but i think its perfect for the car....

 

I love the yellow and i think the price is right. i would do it. The yellow will be gone after 04 , so if you want yellow then enjoy it ,, cause i have .........

 

depends personally some people can get by with yellow others just can't. its a beautiful color especially in real life, regarding the offer i sounds like a very good deal. 33k car fully loaded for 24k... i mean technically its not really new new... but used new hehe i personally wouldn't mind savin 9k for mods tho =)

 

thats alot of money saved for 2600 miles. quite a good deal IMO. and yeh, u can spend that on mods and/or body kits and it'll look awesome

 

As long as it still has the warranty, DO IT! Just make sure you buy an extended warranty as well - demo cars are driven like ***...
And if you don't take it, I'll sell mine and buy that one :-D

 

I think it sounds like a good deal...but also think of it on the 'opposite' end. What if those 2600 miles are hard earned miles? Lots of high revs, high speed, hard driving, hard braking in a short amount of time...not to say that the RX8 can't handle it, but it's something to consider.

 

Considering next year yellow will not be available, I would go for it and keep it in premo condition. It will be worth more to the collectors in 20 years.

 

There could be significant engine and tranny damage in as little as 2,600 miles. At the very least do this. I say this because the demo that I test drove, which had only 1,100 miles, was destroyed by the time I got to it. The car bucked and shook all over the place and the shifter was rattling around like a BB in a box car. It wouldn't accelerate and had flat spots in the power curve. The one I drove was the first demo to arrive at this particular dealer last July or so. It was destroyed by the owner, his brother, and the salesmen. That said do be careful. I've always found that cars which were priced cheaply were priced that way because the dealer knew something you don't.

I would do this. Insist that they let you test drive another car that has only a few miles before you get into the demo. If the demo runs much rougher, well you'll know what you are getting into. Just a thought, and I hope that it works out for ya'. Oh yeah, as for the yellow. I've had mine since last October, and I couldn't imagine it in any other color. The yellow is very nice on the car.

 

Demo cars live the life of a rental but instead of being a POS Ford Focus or Dodge Neon, it's an RX8 that you will 0WN. Demos get abused like a red headed step child. $9000 saved now could turn into $9000+ in maintence in the NEAR future. Go with you BRAIN not your heart on this one.

Oh & about the warranty. Depending on the dealer & service people, if you should have problems & you take it in, they may try & get you to pay for it due to 0wner negilence/abuse vs. it was already thrashed when you got it & the probs didn't show up til now.

Let the buyer beware.

 

I think yellow looks great on the RX-8...

As for the demo, that is a great deal. I would just advise a couple things... Make sure it was not a lemon that can't be sold as a demo at a higher price due to multiple repairs (if carfax.com has information on demos as well as used cars it might be a good starting point)...

Also, as others have stated, an extended warranty is a must. I would suggest demanding the dealer sell you a bumper to bumper to 80,000 miles with a $0 deductable at true cost as part of the deal.

Enjoy,

---Dave

 

the 4 year 50,000 mile warranty should start until when YOU buy it and drive it off the lot. The 5 year 100,000 mile extended warranty should only cost you around $1600 extra.

 

I agree with the dissenters here: demo sports cars are probably a bad deal. If it were a Lexus LS430, I could see going with the demonstrator, but an RX-8? Uh uh. There's a reason why this guy is offering it at such a low price.

I'd rather have a base 6-spd for invoice price, which would be around $25,200.

If you decide to buy it, I hope it's sweet, but at least consider taking it to an independent mechanic (even better, a rotary mechanic) before you buy. If it already has 2,600 miles, they shouldn't care if you drive it to a mechanic. This would also give you some time away from the dealership to evaluate the car for yourself.

Good luck!

T.

 

I bought my RX-8 at wayne mazda, the car you speak of was the first one they recieve on the lot. I would see if you could work out an extended warrenty on the car.

my 2 cents

 

Lease it. Then give it back when the warrany expires. Plus you can get a lower price for the lease...

 

The deal price wise is great. But to re-state what everyone else is posting, demo miles are HARD miles. This car probably lives at redline with no break-in at all. It's up to you, but I would pass.

 

leasing is the best idea so far on this thread.

The demo cars are abused. Everyone redlines it, the trips are all very short. 2600 miles will have been hundreds of trips.

If you buy it, having any long term plans is a bad idea.

Also, don't compare the price you're getting it to msrp, you are saving $7,000 not $9,000.

 

Demo cars arent necessarily abused. It depends on the dealer and thier test drive procedures. Some will not allow a customer to rev past a certian RPM.

That said the should be fine even if it was 'abused'.


Im reminded of my friends RX8. The first day he got it, it was redlined multiple times, tossed around corners. And generally 'abused' as owners here are saying.

The thing is his RX8 is perfect, he has not had one problem with it.
Im a firm believer that the break in period on the rotary engine is not as important as everyone makes it out to be (im going to get flamed).

Go for it man, the deal is good, and the price is right.


Unrelated bought a BMW ///M coupe that was the demo version. It had 6K miles on the odo when he got it. Im pretty sure it had the crap beat out of it. But almost 2 years later with 20K miles on it there has not been one problem.

 

Hmmm. I bought a yellow demo RX-8 recently with 4000km on the clock. No problems so far. The good thing is you don't have to worry any more about the initial run-in period. The bad well, I donno. I certainly am enjoying the car. I saved a lot of money too. Go for it!

 

Another tell tale is look at the tires on it. What condition are they in?

When we got the wifes 8 (hit the states 3 days prior to the dealer getting it), the salesman said that he let a customer test drive a different car a couple weeks prior and the customer wanted to test the DSC to see if it worked like Mazda claims. The salesman said sure. So he intentionally got it sideways to let the DSC kick in and do it's job. The salesman said it worked like a charm. So take that for what its worth also.

If it were me, I'd look it over reallllllllly well first and make sure it meets my expectations. If it did, I'd be all over it for that price. In my opinion, that's what the warranty is for. If you can, try and get the 5 year 100,000 mile extended warranty for free, or at a huge discount.

 

thanks for all the replies. i am leaning towards not purchasing this car. i dont want the headache of making a 24 k mistake if it ends up having problems even if it means saving 7 to 9 k.

 

My salesman told me to and I quote, "Beat the f***ing hell out of it" on a test drive... Do you want to buy that car?

 

As someone else said; drive a new one, then drive the demo, if it drives well and is covered under warranty, 9K off msrp is a great deal. Also just for comparison, check prices of used ones with same options.

 

The car is tough, it is designed to be driven hard. it has a warranty. You are saving big bucks. How can you lose?

 

yep, go for it! great price.