DiLan

Hey Guys,

Been a member here for a while but never ended up purchasing an RX8 until now.
Read up a lot before making the decision to purchase one (ups and downs lol)

Just bought one today at a local Mazda Dealership, pending certification, etc.

It's an 06 Cooper Red with the Beige/White Alcantara/Leather interior. Wanted a white one but this ended up being a good deal. It's also a certified pre-owned. They only had 1 key though so will probably need to buy another smart key.

I plan to drive this in both summer and winter, I have michelin xice2 225/40 R18's that I am planning on putting onto the stock rims or buy new rims.

Only thing I'm on the fence about is the Extended Comprehensive Warranty $50 ded for an additional 2 years (w/ Rust Proof, Undercoating, Leather Protection) - $1600+tax. Wanted to see what your guys' opinion would be for that. Worth it?

My first mods would probably be to track down the aero flares and the aero spoiler, keep the colour for now I guess and maybe vinyl wrap it gloss white down the road. I'll want to get an ipod adaptor also but I need to search up some more on that. Also going to look into the SOHN OMP adaptor to start.

Hopefully I get to pick it up Saturday, if not then Monday or Tuesday.

The only issue I heard during the test drive was a weird whining noise, they said they would fix it as one of the conditions. It was weird though they said it was rotors but I thought it was more something with the transmission, didn't hear it in 3rd gear but heard it in all others. Really hope they find the root cause. Did read up on one post though somebody fixed it by simply replacing the rubber boot. Hopefully it doesn't need a new transmission.

Cheers,
DiL

kevinande

Did you get a compression test? Don't buy without that test, take it to another dealer if necessary. If you have good compression test results and you take care of the car, a warranty probably will not be necessary. There is a to of information here regarding preventive measures that can be taken to get a longer service life out of the engine. That said, there is something to be said about the piece of mind a warranty provides.

DiLan

Yea, one of the conditions is the compression test. I won't buy it without that. It is a mazda dealership so they should have the knowledge and tools to do so. The powertrain is under warranty for sure I'm thinking of passing on the comprehensive, rust, undercoating etc.
The comprehensive apparently only covers the following:


My only concerns are having only 1 key, and the whirring noise coming from the shifter area. I'm coming from a BMW 335i so this will be a little getting used to (minus the rear wheel drive )

Crappy pic, it was raining and cold and dark lol but here she is..

jamesf

iTrader: (1)

When I picked mine up it had a similar noise. It was the inner rubber shift boot. When you take off the shift ****/boot, you'll see that theres another boot seperating the interior from the tranny down below. It had rips and holes in it. That is a MAJOR sound barrier. If you're missing that boot, or it has holes, it wont sound pretty.

Anyways, you may be hearing it only in third gear because the hole is more towards the bottom middle of the boot. When you push the shifter up, the boot stretches out and exposes the hole. Once you pick it up, go home, take the console apart, check it. If it is that, show it to them and make them replace it, if not, make them find the problem.

And trust me, you really need to push the dealership to take care of the "Conditions" you make. Mine really tried to wiggle their way out of fixing them.

goodluck.

Wingznut

iTrader: (1)

The 2006 Shinka is a beautiful car!

First off, how many miles are on it?
Second... Are you mechanically inclined? Can you fix the small/medium repairs, or is this car going to to the shop for every issue that arises?

Aftermarket warranties are a gamble. You are betting that this car may have greater than $1600 worth of (covered) repairs in the next two years.
There are only a few repairs that would cost that much, presuming the engine is still covered by the extended factory warranty. And those items (generally speaking) don't often break on these cars.

As an ex-mechanic, I can tell you that aftermarket warranties vary greatly. I would speak with a Service Advisor or Technician (NOT the sales staff), and ask about that particular company/contract. Some are incredibly easy to work with, while others will try to deny every tiny claim.

And if you are going to pay for this by rolling it in the financing, I'd really think twice about putting a 2-yr service into a 5-yr contract. Perhaps look into other options, as there are LOTS of different service contracts out there.

DiLan

Thanks James, I did read up on the boot issue and hope it is that cause it sounds to be a simple to fix. Yea, they were already being sketchy about it last night but I don't think they had as much knowledge about the car and were caught a bit off-guard, but I will be pushing them for sure.

Wingz there are 61k km on it roughly so pretty low. I am mechanically inclined, I can do things like oil changes, sparks, coils, tire changes, brakes, alternator, interior audio equipment, etc provided I have a good set of instructions the first time around lol. So yea small/medium stuff I wouldn't shy away from. I'd like to be able to do a rebuild at some point but later down the road.

I think I am going to pass on the comprehensive and just stick with the powertrain warranty that is included. I'll be speaking to the service advisor directly soon enough, I'm really hoping everything goes through as planned.

Wingznut

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, seems that passing on the extra warranty is a good call for you. Kudos for carefully considering it!

Marc_GS

Dilan, you say this is a CPO car, but they are trying to sell you extra warranty? In Canada, CPO cars have a powertrain warranty to 7 years/140k, not to mention the 8 year/160k warranty that applies to all 2004-2008 RX-8s. The extra stuff in the warranty just isn't worth $1600, IMO.

Mazda Vehicles - Certified Pre-Owned - Mazda Canada

DiLan

Yea Marc, what they had originally explained is that the extra warranty would cover all electricals, interior, bulbs, kinda like a bumper to bumper but when I saw what it actually covers decided to pass on the warranty. It was month end I think the guy just wanted to meet a quota but said we could remove it if we didn't want it.. Already told them that we are going to pass on the extended and they seemed fine with it. The car was actually put on the road in July of 07 so have a good bit of warranty left on the powertrain

Hoping they have it ready today but haven't heard back yet

DiLan

Hey guys, got the compression test numbers are between 7.8(lowest) to 8.1 @270rpm


Seems ok just wanted confirmation.

monchie

Those are great numbers! Your good to go!