I have found an 2004 RX8 AT (I know I'll get grief about the auto, but I hate manual transmissions--call me lazy). The asking price is $18,000. It is loaded with everything. Heated leather, sunroof, appearance, navigation, premium audio, etc. It has 32,000 miles. It would be from a private owner so I'll avoid the taxes I would pay at a dealership. I'm not carzy about the color. It's the Nordic Green Mica. I'm going to look at it Wednesday and if I am OK with the color, I think I'm prepared to make an offer. What do you think??

Also, anything special that I should look out for on the 2004 AT?? I know to make sure all recalls have been done---the owner said all maintenance has been done at the local Mazda dealership so the records should be no problem.

Last question. how practical is it to have the car painted a different color? How much would a GOOD paint job cost?

Thanks for any thoughts/suggestions.

 

if you really dont like the color to the degree that you would consider repainting the whole car, i would just wait and see what else comes along. i bought my 8 last april and i passed up a few really nice ones before i settled on it. one was nordic green, another was titanium ( which i could have lived with)... but i had my heart set on black. I ended up finding an 04 with everything but navi with only 4800 miles on it for 21000. it was practically brand new... still smelled new... and drove perfect. the only thing i dont like about it is that it has the spoiler. but thats something i can replace or remove if i want for 500-$700.

Have you driven one yet? the only reason i ask is that (in my opinion- please dont bash me for this) the AT really takes away A LOT of the 8's heart. its pretty well put together, but the loss in power in a car that some would argue is a little underpowered to begin with is a hefty sacrifice. The MT is a marvel and there is nothing like down shifting on the way out of a tight turn and letting the back get a little loose... wow. IMO, its just a different car without it. - but i do respect your desire for a stress free driving experience...

anyhow, the MT vs AT debate aside, i would see what else is out there before i spend that kind of money on something i'm not 100% thrilled with.

and expect to pay atleast $5000 for a good quality paint job ( and thats not at the high end of teh price range if you want oem quality)

Good luck!

- oh, and if you cant find one with nav, you can always getan aftermarket unit thats superior to the oem one in the GT package. With technology the way it is, having a built in navi might actually negatively effect resale value down the road when you are ready to sell. - by then the nav screens will probably be so thin you'll just stick them to your windshield like a HUD or something

 

i would get one from the dealer, used. just so you get a warrnty. i really want at least a 1 year 12 month warrnty. if not more. i would not buy a 8 from some one privatly, you dont know if he took care of it, and you have no warrnty if he did not.

 

You better look into the taxes thing, i'm pretty sure you'll still have to pay tax on a vehicle. I guess i'm not sure about Georgia, but in Minnesota you do. Also, you're really that unhappy with Nordic Green? I actually like it, and you don't see it very often so that's a plus in my book. To each his own I guess. I would have to agree with others though, it's probably not worth the money to have it painted.

 

Do yourself a favor and do searchs on 04 AT's. I'm not telling you not to get one but I have one and I have had issues as well as many others. There known to be problematic. I love my car and its warranty.

 

04 AT=kiss of death

 

You always state your opinion briefly

 

It sounds like a nice car, and if the owner has maintenance records, it could be good. The 04 AT's have had most problems of all the years and varieties. I would take it to a reputable Mazda dealership prior to taking title to it and have it given a solid look-over, and have them run the VIN for recall compliance.

Painting a car a different color is a BIG pain in the *** if it's done right, AND costly - at least $3000 if it's done right (and done right involves removing all trim, all glass, painting the inside of the door trim, painting under the hood, etc. etc. Otherwise it looks like an Earl Shieb special.

If you don't like the color, don't buy it - it will forever be a "well, it's all they had" and with so many '04s hitting the dealers and such right now, the pickings are pretty thick.

 

If it was a MT, that wouldn't be a bad deal, but an 04 AT for $18k? No way.

 

I think $18Ks is a little high for a Rx-8 with 32k miles on it, it seems to be one of the nicer packages but sometimes buying used without a warranty all those great amenities are just more things to go wrong. He states that he has all the work done by the dealership, but did he imply that all the TSBs (found service problems that are fixed under the warranty) were taken care of? Thats different then just taking it in for oil changing and tune up, the past problems may still exist. Ask him precisely has all the TSBs been done by the dealer?

I've seen RX-8s 05 18-20k miles go for $18k, I know the type package means something but not as much used. I'd look around especially if you plan on painting the car right off the back. A good paint job could cost anywhere from $800-$1500 being that you would be changing the color unless you don't mind the outside of the car not being the same color as your interior door panels. It would be less if u don't paint the door panels. Tacky.

32k miles on a 8 I'd want to pay $14k or $16k for it and I'd really had to like the way it drove. I don't think I'd really like a AT RX-8? How old are you?

 

Thanks for the info. I didn't intend for the color of the car to be such an issue. The paint job question was just a thought. I haven't seen the car in person yet, but the picture looks good. It's not the exact color I would choose, but I think I can live with it if the car is a good deal. I am going to see it tomorrow, so I'll know for sure then. I have searched all the online car sites, and their prices for 04 RX8s are almost all above $20k, no matter what options. And I know most of you say the car isn't the same without the manual transmission, but I just don't want a manual. I am not a speed demon, but I do want a car that is fun to drive, as long as it's an auto. Oh, I'm 36 by the way.

 

AT=No Fun
Nordic Green=Bad *** Color
Therefore you get a 1 out of 2 if you decide to get it
And with that out come it looks like a bad deal

 

I love the Nordic Green. If they still made it when I got mine I would have gotten it in a heartbeat. I never see them, but when I do I always mistake it for black at first, then I realize it's not quite black. The color is just so rich in hues NG > black.

 

I will try to explain the AT v manual thing as best I can without getting into the debate.

The 6MT's have a 6-port engine, 9000rpm redline and make their peak power at 8500 RPM.
the 04 AT have a 4 port motor are rated under 200hp and have a redline well below where the renesis makes its peak power - 7500rpm . So its not just a transmission thing. You are missing out on a lot of the power and a lot of the fun of owning the RX-8.

If you are dead set on an automatic - and it sounds that you are - I would suggest in looking into a newer one. I forget off the top of my head but either 05 or 06 they put the 6port motor in the AT's AND on top of that they went to a 6-speed automatic. So the performance of those models is pretty head and shoulders above the performance of the 4-port, 4-speed variants.

And I would also agree that 18K is way to high for an 04 Auto with 30K+ miles. I purchased an 04 6MT a little under 2 months ago for ~18,500 out the door with 10,500 miles. I would say for the same money you should be able to find a new 6-port 6speed auto with roughly the same mileage. Get on auto trader if you have to and search a broader region. I know its a bit difficult to try to purchase a car across the country site unseen but a 1-way plane ticket can be had pretty cheap.

And I can't say for Georgia but I know when you buy a used car private party here in Indiana you have to pay the tax's in cash at the time of plating the car. The way people get around that is write up bills of sale for like $10.

Good luck whatever you do.

 

Yep, like he said. When you register the vehicle in your state they will make you pay taxes on the fair market value of the car unless you can provide proof that you already did. When you buy from a dealer they take car of that process for you.

 

yep, i had to pay taxes at the mva. so, no getting around that.

dont listen to all the people trashing AT, if thats what you want. go for it. i test drove an 04 at, and i own a mt. but i had my heart set on mt from the beginning. however, i would suggest you look at another car. for that price im pretty sure you could find a 6 speed automatic. more gears are just more fun. also, besides the fact that the 04 AT i drove only had 4 gears, which disappointed me. it still had lots of vroom. and it put a huge smile on my face. personally, i didnt really notice a difference. maybe i should drive the AT again, but whatever.

heres a turbocharged, and quite attractive rx8 for $19k. granted, 41k miles.
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...349536422.html
here's a black automatic on ebay. that will probably end up going in the 16k range. also probably finished by the time you check this.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2004-...QQcmdZViewItem
heres a red 04, for nearly the same price. but less than 20k miles
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/RX8-A...QQcmdZViewItem

annnnddd best of all. heres a TG 04 automatic for 17k. and 18.5k miles. and it already has the front lip kit, side aero flares, and rear stone guards. granted, it does have the 17" rims, and not the 18s usually seen.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2004-...QQcmdZViewItem

and thats just what i found, right now. with 10 minutes of searching. a friend told me he had a friend that picked up a TG 04 rx8, manual, for 12k. hold off a little bit, search a bit more. possibly go to craigslist and search every state individually. and i bet you can find your perfect dream car. this is an rx8, dont settle for anything less than exactly what you want.

 

painting the entire car is expensive.

i like nordic green

good luck!

 

Again, thanks for the input from everyone. Every little bit helps. About the taxes. In Georgia, I'll have to pay ad valorem taxes (based of value) to register the car. What I'm talking about not paying is sales tax. In Georgia, that's 7% of the purchase price. So when you're talking about a $18k-$20k purchase, you have to add in another $1200-$1400 just for sales tax.
As for EBay, I love EBay, but I just can't see making that large of an investment on something I have never even seen in person. Sure you may get a deal, but I'm not that much of a risk taker.
I will see the car tomorrow and I'll know then if I'm interested.

 

Again, I don't know Georgia like you do but you may want to check on that. Here in Indiana the price to register your plates every year is excise tax based on the value of the car. But if you purchase a car private party you still have to pay sales tax at the time of registering for the first time based on the sale price. Which is why I said people write up bills of sale for $10.

 

In Georgia, you can just sign over ownership on the back of the title. No bill of sale required. The back of the title does not list the sale price. Only the buyers info, the date of sale and the mileage.

 

the state will charge you tax on what the kbb value of the car is, if you cant show documents on how much you paid for the car.

 

I got my '04 AT in your price range, 19.4k USD after taxes, but that was from a dealer, and it included a extended warrantee, since I know this is a car that will be with me for quite some time... 10 years / 100k miles. Mine also came with 14k fewer miles, though... so I think your price of 18k is a bit high.

My car is actually a Nordic Green, as well... and sure, out on the street it doesn't stick out like other colors do (that's a good thing for a daily driver... a bit less attention from cops if your foot is a bit heavy), but if you get closer to it, or get it in certain light... it's just incredibly gorgeous. There's even some lighting that I've seen my car in where it gets some heavy, deep purple hues.

Also, if you're in a club, or ever together with a bunch of other sports car, having a non-'sporty' color will make yours stick out and draw more positive attention to your car, since most sports cars are reds, yellows, blues. It's a weird thing, but it will actually make your car look like the much better looking one. If you have any doubt, just go to a car show, and stroll through a section of cars that all have a 'traditional' paintjob... usually classic Mustangs will be like that. Red, red, white, red, red, yellow, red, red... but then, there's that one that's unique because it's this deep green, or a different color. Nothing trashy or anything, like some god-awful neon pink or bright purples I've seen. The Nordic Green is a rare color, one that I am very happy to have found.

 

Jesus. How hard can this be?

If you're getting an automatic car, it would be wise to buy something else. WHY would you get an AT RX-8? Because it looks good?

 

Yes, some people actually buy a car because they like the way it looks. OR *GASP* they like all the other little things that we 8 owners like to say we have on other sports cars. confortable-enough-for-around-town seating for 4, nicely appointed interior, large-for-its-class trunk, etc.

WHY is itso hard for you to grasp not everyone buys a car to take it to the track?

but seriously go find the 6speed auto, IMO.

 

I would think that if you are willing to wait, you can get the 6-speed AT for that some time in the next few months - especially after the 08's come out. 2006 is the first year for the 6-port AT with 214 HP. You might find that you like the color, if so, I don't think they make it anymore. If not, wait and get what you want - you'll like it longer.