When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
why can't I post my car for sale?? I sent a message to the admin. Anyway :
2005 RX-8
For Sale $4900.
Located in Fresno, California
text 559-960-8622
155,923 miles
Rotary Engine. 6 Speed Manual Transmission. Rear Wheel Drive. Moon Roof.
Runs great.
Clean Title, Fees paid to April 2023.
Needs to have Smog Drive Mode completed to set Catalytic Converter for Smog check, Cat is fine... the drive mode is a challenge. I can not provide a smog certificate.
- Smog last passed on 4-24-20 at 138,510 miles
- 7-8-10 -Re-manufactured engine installed by Lithia Mazda at 45,286 miles.
- March 2019 - Moon Roof replaced.
- June 2019 -Tore engine down. Replaced coolant seals and all gaskets, etc., at 130,292 mi.
- June 2019 - New clutch disc, plate, throw-out. New coolant reservoir. Thermostat. New Alternator.
- April 2020 -Purge Valve replaced.
- 9-14-20 -Clutch Master cylinder replaced.
- 10-10-21 -Battery Replaced at 150,153 miles
- 12-5-21 -Spark Plugs Replaced. NGK Laser Iridium
- 1-23-22-Starter Replaced with High Torque Starter.
- 3-15-22 -Both Oxygen sensors replaced and Eccentric Shaft Sensor replaced.
- 8-7-22 -Eccentric shaft sensor replaced.
- 1-21-23 -New Battery at 155,918 miles.
- 1-21-23 -Got CFF (car facts report) has an auto check score of 73 (similar cars are 51 to 69) No issues reported.
- Starts with first turn of the key!
Also Included: Workshop Manual, New Fuel Pump, Headlight Bulb, and Original Used Air Pump.
Hello,
I appreciate the administrator moving the post from the Newbie section to the for sale section. It is a good car. I seem to be unable to edit the post, so will update it here. I'm hoping someone who appreciates these cars will buy it,
Price is now $4500. Cash please.
This car was my son's daily driver for many years. He needed better mileage for his daily work (75 mile commute), and now has a Jetta. I'm the family mechanic and have kept this car on the road for him. Feel free to ask me questions about the car.
In 2019 he overheated the car while trying to not be late to work. The thermostat had broke (crummy $2 part). Well some $600 later... new seals, gaskets, radiator overflow, clutch, and yes a brand new thermostat, and the car was and is still purring like a kitten. I watched 200+ hours of you tube and figured it all out. The car has run well for 25,000 miles since my repair.
Getting the drive mode to set the car as "ready for Smog check" is just hard for me to do here in the heavy traffic of Fresno. Two years ago I got it done, but it helped having very little traffic on the road because of covid. The factory suggested drive mode did not work for me, even after several hundred miles of trying. I finally found a mode on-line that worked two years ago. I call it the "20mph mode".- “Mode 20mph”:
- Make Sure the Engine Light is Off
- The drive cycle starts with a cold start
- Let the Engine be Idle for 5 Minutes with HEATER and rear defroster on.
- Drive around the neighborhood, stop and go for 5 minutes with heat + defrost on.
- Turn heat and defrost off. Get on highway 41 at Shaw, go North.
- Drive the vehicle at a Steady Speed of 55 mph for 3 Minutes.
- Decelerate your Vehicle’s Speed to below 20 mph (shift into 3rd with no brake).
- Speed Up to 55mph for 5 Minutes. Turn onto ave 12 East off of highway 41.
- Stop the Vehicle and idle for 1 Minute.
- Accelerate up to 35mph and simulate city driving. Stop and go every 1/8 to 1/4 mile for 15 to 30 sec. Repeat for 5 minutes.
- Get back on 41 South and drive at 55 -60mph or so.
- Get off at Bullard, pull into driveway. Shut off car and check stats. It worked 2 years ago.
Anyway I'm done trying and I am selling this great running car without a smog certificate. I would rather drive, and do drive daily, my 1973 Triumph Spitfire, top down of course.
Sincerely,
John Biek
559-960-8622 text messages are preferred. If you phone I won't answer, I get a ton of spam calls. If you leave a message I will call back. If no message is left, I will block the number .
Hello 200.MPH,
Short answer is yes.
Longer answer. - It seemed the best way to go. If this was a piston engine, I would have given it the full treatment.
So the day my son blew the rx8 engine, I told him...
- The junkyard will probably give you $300 for your car.
- Or, we could probably find an engine at the junkyard (Bad idea). I had found some beautiful, pristine rx8's int the local junkyards when looking for a replacement moon roof. If there is no crash damage, the only reason an rx8 would be at the junkyard is because of a blown engine.
- Third option, I just watched a video, some Brits did an excellent tutorial on tear down and reassembly. I told my kid I was fairly sure I could save his car. "I really love my car dad, if you want to try." A month or so of watching hundreds of videos and I brought his car back to life.
Working with a limited budget, and limited time, and the fact that the car ran great before the thermostat broke...
- I replaced all coolant seals between the irons. Kit from Atkins Rotary.
- miscellaneous seals.
- replaced one apex seal (the original "sprung" off into my garage on reassembly). Thank you Fresno Mazda, $100 for one, so did not replace all.
- The engines inner surfaces were smooth. Rotors looked good. Sure, we could have put more dollars into it. I'm not rich, and though I felt confident...
Anyway, car starts with one turn of the key, Price is very fair... Although I've not had a single person view it... what the heck is up with that?
When I first listed it on Craigslist, I forget... I believe for closer to $8000 lot's of folks wanted to mail me a check without even looking at the car. "Consider it sold". Yeah, right.
The current scam: Someone from LA or Bay Area will make an appointment to view the car on the weekend. They ask good questions, show interest... then ask for a "car facts" type of report. I buy a $25 report, and guess what... they do not show up. The report shows "no problems", etc. After this happened twice, I'm ashamed to admit... I finally figured out that these people work for the "car report" companies and are just looking to sell these reports. It may be my Midwest heritage, I'm too trusting or gullible.
Anyway, at this price you could fly to Fresno with a pocketful of cash and drive it home... does need tires john Labeling Everything It's out Disassembled Front Rotor Rear Rotor... lots of vaseline Properly sealed up
yeah i would avoid cl all together lol. your asking price here would be easier for people to swallow if you had a recent compression test (maybe). not trying to beat you up but the fact is 8s dont fetch much money esp. w/o a comp test and most people on this site would be warry of a "partial rebuild"
anyway gl with the sale and i hope your kid helped with the motor
I appreciate the reply. Comp Testers are quite expensive. I know that a traditional tester can be used, but "video editing, etc. of the gauge does not sound fun". I see there is a rental available on ebay. If I don't get some interest, might consider it. Will see. photo from a couple days ago.
testers are ~300 and you would have no issues reselling one here or 7club. that said try the west coast region section and see if a local guy would test it for a six pack or something. iirc mazda charges ~150-200 depending on location for the test
does it really need all of that to be “ready for smog?” Why not just drive it for 50-100 miles? Anyways, I have some interest if this is available on my next trip to Cali. A smog test may not be completely necessary since I’d have it transported across the country where free people live without concern for smog tests. This would be just another weekend track car on the smaller, local tracks. I’ve considered sending my R3 back across the country, but don’t want to subject the R3 to track use.
Hello AV8R,
First, thank you for your service. My father-in-law had a wonderful Air Force career, most of which he can't talk about... life support for U2 and SR. My wife lived all over the world.
Anyway, most cars are fine with being driven around, normal errands, etc. and the smog stuff resets. Noticed some time ago, that at least, this rx8 does not. In 2021 I tried well over 300miles of routine driving, including the official Mazda drive mode, with no joy. This was preceded by my son using as his daily driver with no luck. Anyway, I found a video by a young man in Watts (Southern CA) with his method. He was doing this drive mode in crazy LA traffic. It also worked for us. This time I tried it once, no luck I missed out yesterday on "National Drive Your Triumph Day"!
. At this point I've decided not to drive it outside of our neighborhood because without a current registration, I suspect this car could be impounded if an officer was feeling unsympathetic.
So as is, where is, what it is. Would be wonderful to sell it to someone out of state.
My current plan, is to place an ad on Ebay in 2 or 3 weeks. Time to go drive my Spitfire. john
Price as of 2-28-23 $3900.
Finally getting some interest and test drives.... glad the clutch has lots of meat on it. And glad for the new battery and high torque starter.... stall, restart, stall, restart, Repeat.
Ok, it's a new day. I tried again my 20mph drive mode and succeeded!! All smog boxes green except EVAP which doesn't matter in CA. Have a smog certificate in hand!!! This car is California Legal.
Ignore the previous prices.
Price is now $6500. Cash
I am in Bakersfield and I own a compression tester. If you drove out here I'd test your car for a small cost and you would have results to help you fetch a desirable asking price (hard to get without compression results even if the car just passed smog). Just tossing the idea out there, GLWS.
01-30-2023, 04:12 AM
john
. And glad for the new battery and high torque starter.... stall, restart, stall, restart, Repeat.
