Ok, so i've been looking to get an 8 for quite some time now, just been waiting for that "perfect deal" to come along.

So the other day I was talking to a family friend and he said one of his good friends was a repo guy, and had just recently repo'ed an 04 rx8.

So today I went out to meet him and check the car out. I didnt get to drive it yet because he is waiting to get some new tires for it first, but the car has right at 63k miles on it, so I am definetly weary of that what with it being an 04 and all.

Since I cant really comment on the mechanical side seeing how I cant drive it yet, as far as the exterior goes, it definetly has flaws, a few dents and dings, and then one pretty major blemish on the right front fender (looks like she hit a pole or somthing cause it's scratched up and rounded in around the wheel well) the interior on the other hand seems to be in pretty nice condition, it's cloth seats (no sunroof )

I guess what it comes down to now is waiting to see how much the credit union wants for the car, he is guessing 13k and lower, which to me sounds like an amazing deal pending that it runs well when I test drive it.

What do you guys think?


EDIT: The color of the car is nordic green (very nice!)

 

sweet deal ill say if it drives straight and you can get a mechanic or mazda to check it out before the buy i would do it !

 

Meh, $2k more and you could get one with no dents and a warranty.

 

yea sounds good.

 

A Nordic Green repo w/ dents and fairly high miles? Pass. There are better out there.

 

I paid $2000 more than that (before tax) for a GT with nav, great exterior, and 20k fewer miles. I'd say pass unless it ends up more like $11k.

 

Wow, you guys must be incredibly lucky to find such nice cars so cheap.

The cheapest RX-8 sold in this area in the past 2 years that I know of was 18k.

It was an 04 GT 6SPD Velocity Red, and it had 40k miles on it.


UPDATE:

Anyways, the bank is setting the price at $13,900

My cousin has a fender of the same color (spare) to replace the busted one, and the car is going to have brand new tires on it.

I am still gonna try and talk them down to around $12,500. This is still assuming that it runs with no problems. Also, whoever suggested taking it by mazda, that's a good idea. I think I may do that as well.

 

I still vote you buy one somewhere else. Even if you have to fly, get it and drive back. You'd still save money and get a better car. I paid $2k more 6 months ago for a touring with 20k miles.

 

Nah, I was the first to unwrap mine so it was a little more expensive.

And worth every penny.

 

Yep, steer clear.

 

Ok, so I finaly got to drive the car yesterday (well my cousin drove it, he has an 04 rx8 which he has owned for about 2 years, I figured he would be able to tell if there was somthing up with the car better than I could since im still just getting my feet wet with the manual transmission)

And man all of those external blemishes seemed to vanish when we got it on the road. The engine runs GREAT, we both instantly noticed that it had alot better pickup and smoothness than his car (which has half the miles or so) the transmission also shifts awesome. Smooth as silk, redlined it in first second and third and it felt great. The breaks are in great condition nearly stopped on a dime, and it came with almost $1000 worth of brand new tires.


The ride sold me we drove it for a good 20 mins around alot of really curvey roads (I live in western NC, and this dude's car lot is on one of the windyest country roads around here) now it's just a matter of the price.

The bank wants $13,900 for it. I figure with all of the outside problems I can use that, I am getting the repo guy to negotiate for me (since the bank goes through him) he is gonna try and get them down to $12,900 if they do it's bought....even if they dont there's a good chance.

Like I said earlier my cousin has almost all of the parts to repair the exterior stuff just lieing around his garage cause he has had 2 rx-8 parts cars, and the larger pieces are already nordic green (same as the car)

Im liking the way this is going, so hopefully within a week i'll FINALY be driving an RX-8.

 

Yeah I'd hold out and wait for the price to come back.

If it it's in the 10k range, not bad.

Otherwise, look for a used one at a dealership and haggle them down a bit!

 

There are 2 at local dealerships

One is an 05' they want $20,000 for it

One is an 04' they want $18,500 for it

In 2 years the cheapest I have seen one at any dealership go for was like $18,000


I CANNOT buy unless it's local. (Please don't ask why, it's a long complicated ordeal)

I don't think everyone understands the situation fully. My options are simply limited, and for the area I live in this is about as good as it gets.

I do value the opinions given, but people simply saying there are better out there, somwhere someplace in the world, isint really helpfull :-\.

 

Man,

Do not jump into this! $11k and no more, A couple reasons why,

Nordic green (although color is subjective) is unpreferred!!
It is a base model car (no moonroof)
It is a repo, They most likely did not keep up on the maintenance of the vehicle if they could'nt make the payment! Problems will come up!!
At 60K you will be putting a big chunk of change into replacing fluids and other maintenance upkeep. In the area of 1-2 thousand$$$

When you decide to sell this car ( you will eventually, probably sooner than later)
this car, with the lack of equipment and color, will be harder to sell and you will get less money for it.

You can have my car for 16500, brand new tires only lacking NAV winning blue and I will drive it to you! But your mind is already made up and in a short time you will be wishing you didnt buy it.

 

Yeah, i live in NC as well and i got my 04 GT Brilliant Black RX-8 for 15K. Perfect condition, and only 40K miles on it. And i purchased it locally as well. Check autotrader.com its where I got mine and if you wait you will find something for you.

 

Not the greatest deal, but an RX-8 is better than no RX-8!

 

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/search...=1195764571531

Same old prices i've seen for over a year.

The really sad thing is that the black one for $17,900 is an AT!

People around here just see these cars and do do research and buy them up for ridiculous prices, which is why the dealerships sell them for so much, cause they know that people will pay that much for them.

 

You can have my car for 16500, brand new tires only lacking NAV, winning blue only 38k for miles and I will drive it to you!

PM if you are interested, car is in excellent cond.

 

If you're going to do it, make sure to get it carefully inspected by a mechanic that knows rotaries, preferably one that has worked on 8s. It may be fine mechanically, but it is better to have some assurance of that before buying a car with a history like this one.

 

Definetly a pass. Not only is it overpriced for a used 8...it is a repo. These banks will try and try to get all of their money back on these cars and they just aren't worth it. As stated before...if the person couldn't keep up with the payments how could they keep up with the maintenance? I would definetly take it to a dealer and have them inspect it. For each TSB note completed I'd knock off some cash.

 

$12,900 for a used rx-8 is overpriced? I mean, we only drove it for 20 mins or so, but it was 20 mins of tough, curvey road, high rpm driving. And having riddin in (and my cousin having driven) ALOT of rx-8s we were both suprised at how well it did drive.


I know alot of you may be thinking that I have already made up my mind and nothing you can say can stop me from buying this car, but that's not the case at all. It's just that alot of the things you are telling me make no sence.

What I really want to know is. What amazing world do you people live in where a used 04 rx8 being $12,900 is ridiculously overpriced? Cause I want to live there forever. I understand that it being a repo has many of you worried, it did me too at first, and the outside damage isint really all that bad, we are talking about blemishes (other than the fender) that you cant even see unless you look at it in the right light, or really up close.


Perhaps my mistake here is not posting pictures. When I go back to talk to the guy monday i'll take some. I'll also see about taking it into the mazda dealership and having them check it out.

If I do take it to the dealership, is there anything specific I should ask for them to check? Also, does anyone know how long somthing like that takes, or how much it would cost?

 

You got on and posted about the repo then you asked for opinions. Everyone has posted against the purchase of that RX-8 for that price or against it because it is a repo. I'm sure it will be a good car for you at the right price. I think the main message of everyone here is that If you are just a little more patient the right car will come along

You said you were looking for the perfect deal, being that it is cheaper than all the others does not mean it is the perfect deal, it simply means that it is cheaper than the rest. You are buying an RX-8 not a truck.

I dont think anyone here is trying to be malicious in condeming your thoughts on the repo RX-8, it is just some have experience and knowledge to pass on that you asked for.

The mechanics will charge you about 1 hour of time which is probably around 75 dollars (Good investment) 75 is better than 13k down the drain!
Again you will be told that there will be certain maintanence up keep to do on the car. Plugs, lubricant changes, filter so on and so forth. That all adds up and quick. So if you add that to your 13 thousand you are up to about 14 thousand. then any cost in repair work which sounds like it is a minimal cost as your cousin has several parts, it will still cost you some amount of money and then you have a base model RX8.
If you could have less than 13 thousand total after all your expenses than it might not be so bad. Good luck!

 

For $15K I can get an 04 Base with less miles and for $19K I can get an 06 Touring with half the miles and for $20K I can get an 05 Shinka with even less miles. All of those cars are at dealerships so I can probably get another 1 or $2K off. You are looking at a repo for around the same price. This car is not a good deal with all of the work you are going to have to put in it. Now, if it were at $10K it would be a different story...but not at $14K...new tires or not.

 

Check the engine compression and make sure there is no premix in the tank. If there is, you can see better compression values than the engine really has.

 

Might want to consider SSgt's offer. Driven right to you, good colour, don't need the NAV, known history of maintenance. I dunno.