Hey all. I'm looking at a used 2004 RX8, 82K, MT, pretty much loaded with all the options. Red with black/red leather interior. Body is clean with no rust but a couple minor door dings. Interior is clean and shows surprisingly little wear, even on that lefthand driver's seat spot that usually wears on the side lumbar. Anyway, the guy is only asking $8900 for it which is below book by far. The only thing that bothers me is that there is what looks to be an aftermarket painted stripe that consists of black that fills in the triangle shape on the hood and continues the same width over the roof and down the trunk and bumper. I looked close and it just doesn't look factory but I've seen somewhat similar looking accents on some of the pics on this site. Sure, the shift **** is also a bit worn but the boot is fine with no tears. My ultimate question is simple: When going up to drive thing, what should I really be watching for? What are the signs of something bad to come? I used to have a 93 RX7 Touring and loved it...right up to the point where a cheap plastic fitting that fed coolant to the heater core cracked and spewed my precious fluid all over the highway. While trying to find what was making that chiming noise I noticed my engine temp was maxed out. I immediately stopped and shut it down and it never started again. I was really disappointed to see that it would be thousands to get a new engine and I had no desire to drop another engine for replacement. I'm looking for those little things that point to something on the horizon like a FUBAR cat, seal or ignition coil failure etc. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

I'd look for an LSx V8.

Sorry lol, I had to.

 

Find the nicest, newest 8 available in your area and drive that one first for a reference point.

Watch for solid power in mid-upper RPMs, check if it starts easily when warm/hot, get a compression test done on the engine before you make the deal.

Ask for the maintenance history, or just what the guy does to take care of his car. make sure that's in line with what you know about rotaries from your 7 and from reading here.

There's only 18k left on that car's engine warranty. Make sure that's something you're going to be able to deal with.

There are plenty of other threads detailing more on what to look for Search button is your friend.

 

I also had an RX-7 (86) and recently bought an RX-8 on eBay. I don't have the 8 yet. I looked at the Carfax for it and found frequent maintenance. Obviously a meticulously owner maintained car won't show that, but might be better. At least the maintenance on this car was documented, so there is a record.

I'll report how the eBay experiment works out.

 

Make sure no oil is leaking around the valve covers...