Hey guys/gals,

new to the rx8, but i've been a lurker on this forum for a while now. the 8 invaded my brain again last week and i haven't been able to get her out of there since...so i'm posting for some help on this 8 that i found.

i work at a mazda dealership as a salesmen, just started and today is my 1st day. found some free time to post this up ha!

the 8 i found is actually at my dealership here, it was in the back getting ready to be serviced because we had just got it in trade a few days ago.

luckily, the car was not cleaned or anything like that. it's in the state the previous owner left it in. the car is dirty as **** in the inside. so whoever the previous owner was did not keep her too clean from what it looks like...that kind of worries me a little bit.

Anyways, to the details.

05, manual, silver exterior color, leather seats, navi, moon roof and it has the appearance package, has 66k mi on it and apparently we're asking 11.9 for it. the only flaw i saw was that there is a dent on the right front wheel fender. that's all. no rust, no dings, no scratches or anything of that sort...the tech guys already left for the day so i couldn't ask them to do a compression test on it.

what do you guys think? fair price for the condition/mileage?

i still have to check the carfax report and to see if all the recalls/tsbs have been done to it.

 

forgot to mention...i started her up a little while ago, there was just white smoke coming from the exhaust, so that's normal. wasn't blue or grey. after it warmed up, idk if this is normal for the 8 but the idle was a little bit rough, it would sit around 1k then drop to maybe like 900ish then go back up to 1k and sit there for a few minutes then kind of do the same thing again. concerns to be had for that? or does it just need new plugs, coils, and all that? it started up just fine, didn't have to be cranked forever. and the last thing that worried me was when sitting in neutral pressing down on the clutch would make some weird mechanical noise from the front of the car? but it didn't do it every time. clutch starting to go?

 

what year is the car? Have you read the stickies of the forum?

Idle could be a few things: MAF/ESS sensors, air filter, plugs/coils, etc. Is the car outside? Is it cold? That could also be an issue.

My advice is to have the techs look at it. Understand that not all mazda techs are rotary specialists. Educate yourself by reading the stickies (and other related threads), and then decide it it is the right car you want.

 

Ask around to see whom the other employees would recommend to work on your rotary. Usually, there's one or two guys in the shop that have specialties (or at least, the most experience with certain things.)

 

yeah it was cold outside, think it was like 20 degrees yesterday or something. and the car has been sitting out in the cold for a few days already prior to me even finding it. so who knows if it was even started in those days.

i'm going into work today at 1, i'll try and get a compression test done. what should the results of that be if the car is in good shape?

 

my apologies, it's a 2007 not a 2005.

 

bump

 

post pics if you can..... Sounds like a good deal

 

yeah i'll post up some pics. just waiting for it to get done in service. i was there not too long ago, they had it raised up on the lifts, was checking the underneath out. seems like it was maybe driven in the winter maybe for 2 years. there's a little bit of orange. but nothing on the body which is good news. i can still spray some diesel fuel/oil underneath it whatever it is from those 2 i can never remember lol. the only thing they did in service was put new brake pads on the rear and front. everything else checked out too.

 

i have to ask them about the clutch noise too, **** i keep forgetting haha. i get butterflies every time i go back there to look at it.

 

Just don't spray any gasoline down there, lok

 

update: started the car up today. now, i don't know much about the rotary engine just yet and how it's supposed to sound and act when it's cold...there was a thumping noise coming from the engine when it was cold. it went away when it warmed up, but is it supposed to do that at all? have you guys ever heard of this before? it almost sounded like a base line from a rap song lol. that's what it felt like when you sat in it when it did that, like a low base hitting. the ****???

 

Pig inside indicates... ooh... the oil light is on.

Time to add oil.

White smoke is not normal.
It indicates moisture. Could be overheating.

Rap song is not normal. Indicates she has been run low on oil. Rotors going.

Idle is fine. Ir runs like that when it is cold.

Clutch noise is normal, that's the pilot bearing.

If you have to ask about the car, it's not for you.

The RX8 is for a car guy.

 

so the car sitting outside in the snow doesn't build moisture up? are you serious? lol. get the **** outta here with the tough guy attitude Mr. Interwebz bully, lmao. Go watch gossip girls or something. appreciate the input though.

 

 

Will this be your daily driver?
Can you afford it to be?
Can you afford to maintain it?

 

no it won't be my daily driver. did you see the weather in the pictures? haha. I have a beater 95 mazda millenia for that.

yes i can afford to maintain it. i didn't blindly pick this car. all i'm trying to figure out is the one i'm currently on. and since razz said it could have been run dry on oil, turns me off to be honest lol. but since it's under the warranty still and it has a bad rotor supposedly, would they replace the engine for me?

 

Hmmm... Rough idle. Thumping noise when cold. Smoke. Filthy interior. Noisy throwout bearing. Those are not real positive indications.

Together with it being for sale at the dealership where you just started to work, you need to think about this carefully.

Ken

 

If it's under warranty they can rebuild the motor, but IMO I wouldn't risk it. It's likely the rebuilt motor can go bad and you'll be stuck with it. Go look for another 8. I test drove quite a bit of 8's and a lot of them drove like crap. It took me a year until I found my 8.

 

understood. yeah i think there are just too many things wrong with this one. such a shame. since the car was in mint condition on the exterior. the search continues!! thanks everyone for the input, appreciate it a lot!

 

Although you say the exterior is mint, you stated that the inside was dirty - that is an indication to me that the owner did not treat her kindly. Not good for this car.

When I bought mine, I read this forum enough to know that my idle was pretty normal but it could be ignition or mounts. No thumping for sure.

Bought an 04 that was very clean in and out. I tracked down the owner ( on this site) and that was the best thing I could have done.

I got it with about 32K miles at $10K and stepped back from one that was absolutely pristine on the outside and dirty scuffed and scratched inside for $8K.

I am still a new owner so I can only tell you that she is a pleasure to drive -

Shop around and you will find many available - that may help take the panic away that you will miss this particular vehicle.

Q