Tldr at bottom Hi. So I've had my rx8 since September 2013. It was a gift from my parents. It's an 04 manual 70900 miles. My parents did not get a warranty. Now it's march and after replacing the coils, plugs, clutch, fuel pump, and cleaning the injectors, I went to mazda to figure out why I'm getting such terrible mileage.

Compression test shows rotor1 as being not good. And they suggest a new engine, also new engine mounts, because those are gone too. They also can't figure out what this chirping noise is whenever I accelerate. Now since I don't have a warranty, I'm **** out of luck. I want to sell this car. Which just to give you some perspective, my parents bought it for 6k, spent 1k shipping it to Los Angeles, I spent 2k on repairs, and now I can't afford a new engine.

So I want to sell it or trade it in(94 civic if those still exist). Do you guys have an idea of what I could sell/trade it in for? I've never done this sort of thing before, and I don't even know what condition I would label it on KBB. What I'm hoping you guys say is, I can get 5k for it. Or trade it in for something like a 94 civic with 2k left over to cover the debt I got repairing my car.

Any tips? Or plan of action if you were me?


Tldr; selling 04 manual, 70k miles, needs new engine and engine mounts. What would you do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

A 2004 with a dead engine is typically worth $2,000 or less. Sorry

Generally, working backwards, a 2004 with a brand new engine and everything else in good shape is worth $6,000-$7,000. So subtract the cost of a replacement engine for the buyer, and you land in the $1,500-$2,500 range. You would be able to get the most amount of money out of the car if you parted it out, and you just might be able to get that $5k number. It is going to take time and work to do that, plus space and tolerant friends/family.

 

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Yah, I don't have patient family. The idea of selling my brand new cat for 1500 sounds appealing, but not possible.

Thank you very much for the info, you've been inhumanly patient with my questions while on this forum, and your replies have always got me to maintain my car and get it checked out for serious problems. (I did get a compression test per your advice when I first got the car, mechanic said it was "not terrible", so I ignored it).

I called my uncle who works at a dealership for advice. He's telling me to hold off for now and not make hasty decisions. He pretty much agrees that if I'm gonna sell, I'm only gonna get the prices you listed.

Time will tell, all I know is, I'm gonna save up money so I can afford the rx9 (2nd gen) if it comes out lol

 

hello, so about 10 minutes ago when i was parking at 7-11, my front lip,undertray snagged on a piece of metal. looks like it cool fall off at any moment.

is this even worth fixing if im gonna try and sell it?

also, if i try to sell at a random dealership, will they be able to find out that mazda said i need a new engine?

thanks

 

If what Mazda said is true ( I would perform the compression test yourself), it's not worth fixing unless you're mechanically inclined and can rebuild the engine yourself. Assuming the apex seals are the only damaged components and the rotors, housing, and ports are I'n good condition, you can find a decent kit for $600, and replace the seals.

Otherwise, it's a can of worms. Get rid of it!