Originally Posted by valczir

So, I need some help with a few things:

1) Should I wait to get another one? It's spring now, which means prices will be rising, and I really don't have that much money to toy with because the company I worked for last still hasn't paid me for my last two weeks of work ($5,000 worth of work).

If you are buying from a dealer, then April is the month for you. You will find many dealers desperate trying to make the first quater's sale numbers.

BTW your company sux. I wouldn't work for them!!

2) I'm thinking about an RX-7. I like classics, and the RX-7 does appeal to me, especially since I now have a Corolla for when I need a back seat. How does the RX-7 compare to the RX-8 in terms of durability (the Mazda shop that examined my car, which seems to service about two RX-8's per day, said that mine was one of the few that was driven right and that my engine was in pristine condition) and handling (I loved taking turns in that thing)? How about general comfort?

[COLOR="rgb(0, 100, 0)"]You already said you don't have a lot of money to toy with. If you get into an RX-7, especially an FD, you better be ready to have plenty of $$$ to keep up with it. You need to test drive one. The RX-8 has lots of suspension improvements, but the RX-7 is a much lighter and powerful car. [/COLOR]

3) There is a 2006 Shinka with 30,000 miles on it being sold for about $18,000 by a private seller. I'm interested, but I would like to know how the Shinka compares to a standard GT. I love the light colored interior (I hate dark leather interior because I hate sitting down only to scream in pain at the scorching hot seats), and I know that the Shinka is supposed to have slightly different suspension. Is it worth that much? Or is it severely over priced?

Also, the guy who owns it says that he just had the engine replaced under warranty - which, at 30,000 miles, suggests to me that he wasn't driving it right, was babying it too much - and if he's still babying it, the new engine could already be shot. How many miles does it take for a babied RX-8's engine to be damaged? If he's only driven a couple hundred miles on the new engine and I'm right about him babying it, do you think it's fine? How about a couple dozen?

Well...that's a lot of money for that car. It is a special edition though, and it has a mazda reman engine (which can be hit or miss in terms or reliability). So it all depends on how much you - the buyer - are willing to pay. But for 18grand I would get something newer with less miles.

The Shinka is basically a GT with a few unique features - most noticeably the color interior, color paint and suspension (different shocks, foam filled cross members, which many say it doesn't really do anything, but only 3 RX-8 models ever came with it: Shinka, 40th Anniversary Edition, R3)

4) There is a 2006 GT or Shinka (it's labeled as GT but has the exact same interior as the Shinka above, just with a white exterior instead of black) with 70,000 miles on it for $13,900 from a dealer. Naturally, I'd talk them down as much as possible, because it's a dealer. However, at 70,000 miles, I have no idea what kind of condition it's in. Is there an easy way for me to see whether or not it was taken care of? Any sounds to listen for or something? Also, on the off-chance that the dealer doesn't actually know what they're doing, how would I tell whether it's a Shinka or a GT?

[COLOR="rgb(0, 100, 0)"]That's a lot of miles...unless you can bring the price down. Ask for service history records, look into car fax, call mazda to get service records from them, etc [/COLOR]

5) If none of these are great deals, can you guys help me look? I'm willing to drive a little ways out of Denver for a good deal, but keep in mind that I'm in the crappy Corolla. I don't want to drive too far, or I might get stranded in the middle of nowhere.

I'm a bit picky about color (I hate the bright red and bright blue RX-8s) and I'd really like to get a 2006 or newer, but I also tend to prefer the old (2004-2008) body style over the new (2009+) one. Not to say I wouldn't be interested in a new style RX-8, it would just have to be a really good deal.