Okay, so I know there's 504901239 threads like this, but I'm going to see this car again tomorrow and probably one more time next week before I buy it.

2004 Silver '8 GT with 68,168 miles on it.

I started it and let it warm up, seemed to idle fine, we'll see tomorrow.

He wouldn't let me test drive it because it had brake problems, he said it's probably the master cylinder and bought one, he's going to put it in then I can drive it.

I've been lurking the fourms for a few days and will continue to do so, everyone seems like a bunch of great guys/girls, especially for the internet!

What I want to know is, after reading this post:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=116484

And reading countless post regarding coils and plug wires, what exactly should/can I do before purchasing to ensure there isn't pounds of carbon build up and the apex seals are going to blow conveniently after the warranty runs out.

Is there a way I can like... take the plugs out or maybe could I take off the throttle body and jam my finger in there with some gloves on and see if some... stuff comes out?

What should I look for as far as this whole "oil in the intake/filter/etc" thing?

Anything else I can do?

Still trying to get the dealer to give me a number or a name of the previous owner so I can talk to him about mods (it's not bone stock, the exhaust is somehow changed it's loud, maybe catless, dunno the pipes are rusted they look factory), repairs, driving style, and how educated he was on rotarys.

Also, anyone got a estimate on what I should be paying for this thing?

So far I know that it's got 68k miles, one rim has some curb rash, "brand new" tires (didn't inspect them too much, the Z didn't have low profile tires so I have no idea what to look for) and a few scratches on the front fascia and rear valences.

 

1. You need to bring someone who owns an 8 to test drive with you or you go test drive a stock one from dealership then test drive the car you wanna buy.

2. The only sure way to check engine condition is to get it compression tested using a rotary engine compression tester.

3. If the car drives fine after you test drove, ask whether the engine has been rebuilt or not, if it is the first engine (never been rebuilt), you at least get a free rebuild from Mazda as long as you are within 8 years/100k miles warranty assuming you have proof to show the car has been maintained well i.e receipts of servicing, oil change, etc.

 

You can also call MNAO with the VIN number and see what all they might have listed on the car. See if it's had the latest flashes etc., they should also be able to tell you if the engine is original.

 

Thanks guys, these really help.

I won't be able to bring someone who has an '8, or test drive a new one since the only Mazda dealer in town is filled with some of the biggest douche bags in the world (me and my father got kicked off the premises for starting a 40th Anniversary 370Z, if you don't want people to start and look over the cars, don't leave the keys in every single one with the doors unlocked) and honestly I'd rather not take it there for a compression test because I've heard/read that people go there for routine maintenance on their cars and get told they have a bunch of random problems and when they leave the problems actually start happening. And it's always things like suddenly no brakes or cat is suddenly dead on like brand new cars.

I don't know if there are service records for the car. Will Mazda really only rebuild/replace the engine or other things under warranty if there are maintenance records? If so, that's really messed up. I mean I get it for a single owner, but once the car goes to an idiot and then a intelligent person owns it, you throw the responsibility on them. Plus, what if someone does 100% of the work themselves?

Anyway, this should help. I'm not actually going today now, I got called in for overtime at work tonight.

Anyone got the number for this MNAO? That was actually another question I forgot to ask was how can you check if it has the upgraded starter/coils, most up to date flashes, etc.

Any suggestions on things to look for myself, common problem areas with body/rust or anything, like I said, the end pipes were rusted out, not sure about the rest, I'll get under it when I go.

Thanks everyone btw, have a brew.

 

Yes service records are very much needed for the engine warranty. If you don't have all your ducks in a row you are shooting craps, they *might* honor the warranty if you're very lucky, but if the engine goes and you can't prove proper maintenance then you could then get stuck with a very expensive problem. MNAO does not seem to like giving out free engines. It doesn't matter how well you take care of the car when it has 68k miles at purchase time and you can't show any oil changes over that time.

That car has a lot of warning signs. Bad brakes? Not good. Rusted out exhaust? Bad. A test drive won't tell you much unless you've driven an 8 before, and the fact that they want to fix it up before letting you test drive it is a bad sign. See if you can get a test drive with a brand-new 8 first, that will give you something to compare against, but still, there's a lot you can't tell from a test drive.

My advice is to keep looking. It might take a while but resale on 8s is low and it's a bad economy, so it's a buyer's market. I think you can do better. How much are you looking to spend?

 

Very little, shooting for a 200 or lower monthly payment, I could handle more, but I'd like to have a lower monthly minimum because god knows what my insurance will be like, plus housing bills, and I'd just rather not have it high in case I eve lose my job or something.

Like I said, it looked like the tail pipes were just rusty. It definitely wasn't a factory exhaust, so I wonder if it's some cheap brand who makes their pipes out of low quality metals or something.

Is there anyway I could like take of the throttle body or take out the plugs and check if there is a lot of carbon buildup that way?

Lets say this thing is fucked and has so much buildup I could see new apex seals in 20k miles, is there anyway that with proper driving and maintenance I could possibly loosen and burn off all the buildup?

Apparently the previous owner was someone my age, odds are they romped on it but also odds are they didn't go to the dealer for flash updates and what not, plus they probably did many a repeated start/stopping.

I really want an '8, it's like a '7 but with a back seat and much more daily-driver friendly interior and features. This one is priced VERY low (10k sticker) not because it's broken but I'm sure it's because this dealer (a small local dealer) knows NOTHING about rotarys, in fact he thought it had a 4cyl in it.

I dunno, we'll see Monday.

 

You can do a de-carb with seafoam if you want, I've never done it myself but some people swear by it. I don't know of a way to tell if the engine has a lot of carbon build-up. I think your best bet is to get a compression test and go from there.

Proper driving (regular red-lining) should help avoid carbon build-up but I don't think that it will necessarily clear out old carbon build-up. The dealerships have a "de-carb" procedure (they've done it on mine) but I don't know what they do or what it would cost out of warranty.

 

Where you located?

 

That mazda dealer seems pretty terrible lol. Is there another one close by you can go to and test drive an 8? Mine let me test drive a new one a couple years ago when I was just going in asking if they had any used ones.

 

Okay going tomorrow to look it over.

Have a bit of a list going for things to look for/do.

First, going to inspect the intake system and the MAF for oil or any sort of imperfections.

Going to see if there is a cat, and if there is when I take it home we'll take it off and see if it looks clogged up.

Going to talk to the previous owner about any rebuilds, what maintenance he performed on it, if he ever got flash updates or any thing like that from the dealer and his knowledge of rotarys and his driving habits (any starting and turning off of the motor without letting it warm up, babying it the wrong way, etc).

Going to see if I can look over the clutch pedal at all, it's VIN is under "...206481" which apparently those had problems with the clutch pedals according to:

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...4-06-1641a.pdf

and on this thread the guy said he had previous brake problems and had to replace the master and slave cylinders. This one had brake problems and the master cylinder was just replaced.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-trouble-shooting-95/need-slave-master-cylinder-cant-get-rx8-into-gears-when-car-warm-172101/

One last thing is I would like to call MNAO and find out what service history they have for the car. Apparently you can give them the VIN number and they can tell you what flash it's on, if it's received the upgraded coils/starter motor, etc.

Only problem is, I don't have this number, nor can I find it. Anyone know it or know what I should be looking for?

Well, supposedly this dealership is very trustworthy in the area, they also have some kind of "6 Month/6k Mile Warranty" on every car they sell, have to look into it.

Well guys, wish me luck tomorrow , thanks for any and all help from everyone, I'm very excited to finally be apart of the community!

 

1-800-222-5500......unless they changed it?

 

I give you credit. You not only say that you've done your research, but you obviously actually have done your research.

Here's my thoughts...Given the current condition of the car, it seems apparent that the previous owner did not take care of the car whatsoever. Who doesn't even clean their exhaust tips so they don't rust? It may seem like a small thing, but it's also an easy thing. If the previous owner didn't even do that, it makes me wonder if he did anything else good for the car.

It was questioned already, but where do you live? If you do a Cars.com search for used RX8's within 50 miles of me, it produces 37 results. I would look around. You're more than welcome to do all of the foot work you're already putting in, but it sounds like you have an emotional attachment to this particular RX8 which may be clouding your judgement. Step back and look around. This car has thrown up a ton of red flags for me.

And for the record, I have a 2004 with 64,000 miles and I've had zero issues, outside of the normal maintenance. They are out there, just look around.

 

Find one that's still under warranty. It may be tough depending on where you live, but its possible. My car is a 2005 with 47,2XX miles on it in great shape. Few nicks in the paint but no big deal. Finding one under warranty eliminates the "what if" factor from the buy. Look for a car with less than 50K miles and has receipts of maintenance done. That way you won't have to worry about the engine being abused or whatever. After you buy one get a compression test done and that will tell you the official condition of the engine. If its bad, request a free new engine. If its good, start double checking the spark plugs, coils, etc and enjoy.

Oh and be sure to test drive before you buy obviously, but be aware that a lot of times you won't feel compression loss since the car may only be slowly bleeding compression.

 

I haven't become emotionally attached to this car specifically, just the RX-8 in general. Although, I'm kinda picky on colors, I would take anything. Preferably not red, both because of insurance and preference, I like my cars in white, black, or somewhere in the middle.

I am located in Iowa City, IA. A cars.com search pulled nothing, however a dealership in the area has a blue 8, I saw it before it was detailed and wow was I turned off. Plus I can not deal with that dealership, they are just horrible people.

Went for a test drive today for about an hour. Car started fine, clutch and tranny felt great. Found a dealer maintenance sticker on the side which I believe indicated an -M flash install, this is a most recent flash correct?

Looked in the intake filter box and saw that the filter was as white as could be, but there was a small yellowy stain in the middle and a very small amount of oil buildup in the box. Couldn't figure out how to get the box out and didn't want to take the MAF out in front of the dealer, going to do this next time we take it out. I have read that over filling the oil will cause this, but I haven't seen what it does/means other than loss in power if the MAF is covered. Obviously it's not good to have oil in the intake system, that's not where it goes (derp) but what exactly does it mean and how much would it be to fix/what else should I look for in problems this has caused.

One thing I did notice was wrong with it was the speedo was reading incorrectly. Going the same speed as every other car (really?) in a 40mph zone and it was reading 20. Ya right.

So, me and my dad are going to go this week so he can look at it, he's the one who will be helping me with a down payment if I can't sell the Z and the dealer wont take it as a trade-in. When we do, I'm going to take it to AutoZone/etc for a CEL read. The CEL is on, so is the ABS light and the E-Brake light [looks like this ( ! ) I'm sure that's what the e-brake light is right?) is on all the time while driving. He did just replace the master cylinder, the brakes feel fine and the clutch pedal feels fine, nothing out of the ordinary.

I dunno guys, If I can find a nicer one with better history for ~10Kish I'm down, but I'm probably going to settle with this one for 7Kish if he wont give it to me for that I'm looking for something else.

Thanks everyone for their help/tips/opinions and such, can't wait to finally decide on an '8 and join the cult!

 

If the speedo was reading higher then I'd assume that it was set to kph (there's a button that will do that) but if it's reading much lower than your actual speed that ain't right. Also, they fixed it up for you to test drive, and the CEL is on plus other idiot lights?! I have a bad feeling about that car, man.

It sounds like the car is in bad shape and hasn't been taken care of, and I seriously doubt that the engine has any chance of being replaced under warranty. If you buy it and the engine craps out a few months later, you may be stuck with a repair cost that is almost more than the car is worth.

Beware. For 10k you ought to be able to do better. For 7k you may just be renting it until the engine goes.

 

i wouldnt pay anymore then 5k for it, it sounds like it has a lot of problems. you should look for a different rx-8, one with less problems. I've had my rx-8 for eight months and never had a problem, but i did 3 months of research and browsing around, and it paid off. You might be disappointed you'll have to wait a while to find another rx-8,cause i felt like crap every time i had to say no to a car that i liked but had to many problems. but you'll get over it, and fall in love with a better rx-8

 

*sigh*

Now I'm convinced almost to stop looking.

Locally that is.

The one other RX-8 I've seen in the area was sold.

I either find ones way out of my price range, where financing would be almost impossible, or I find ones and their auto (don't even say you might have to, I'm not).

 

OH MY GOD I FOUND IT!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1-OWN...US_Cars_Trucks

It's silver and everything, and payments would be sketchy but very possible.

Oh, and not to mention a drivable distance!

**** yar!

 

^ Good luck, that looks much better.

 

$15K with 26K miles? Dayum. Only problem I see is that its an 04, which really isn't a definite problem so much as a potential problem. My 05 still runs great (knock on wood).

This looks like a much better buy. It may cost a bit more, but don't settle for some sketchy car in "eh" condition just because its cheap and local. You will regret it later. Be patient, save up, and buy something that you REALLY want.