2007 6SP GT with cloth seats (has sunroof and DSC)
65000 Miles
New transmission (trans, diff, clutch disc, etc - cost $5000)
All maintenance done on time at local Mazda dealer
However, engine compression dropped and will barely start.

Everything else on this car is in excellent shape. It's also in Canada (BC).

I've seen people selling this from $2000 (seems WAY too low) to $7000 (certainly too high).

What's people's impression on a reasonable price to sell this?

 

$2000 for an RX8 with essentially a dead engine is not that unusual. Someone will need to invest $5-6k to get a fully functioning car which will be worth $7k at that point.


On the flip side, this is a great catch for someone looking for a clean car AND willing to invest in engine replacement.

 

are remans more in fake snow mexican money? i thought a mazda reman was 3-3500 in the us

 

Canadian dollars are at 75 cents US

By the way, was compression loss confirmed with a compression test or there is room for investigation there?Many reasons a car could have trouble starting.

 

gotcha

 

Well, a compression test showed quite low on the rear but as I didn't have the money to replace the engine. Then, while driving it, it felt like power dropped to half and the and there was a fair amount of noise from the engine. I got it home but it's not started since then. I'm guessing the compression is entirely gone in the rear. I'm in a state where I can't really even afford to have it properly diagnosed.

 

No matter which country you're in, you simply need to determine what the realistic market value is if the vehicle was running, then take from this figure a realistic cost of having the motor replaced to get the vehicle running again.

Once you've established that price you will probably need to drop the price another 15-20% to make it appealing for someone to buy. Otherwise a potential buyer might as well save themselves the time and effort, and just buy something that's already running that would cost them the same anyways if buying your non running RX8....

As nice as the car is, if its not running and needs a rebuild, the sale price probably won't be much different to the scrap value unfortunately.

 

CAN$2000 is about as much as someone is willing to pay for a roller.

I think an engine replacement done by a dealer is CAN$6~7k. I can go ask the local dealer to make sure. There are other stuff the next owner will have to potentially fix as well, like the ignition components, catalytic converter, etc.

Sorry, but looks like you will have to cut your losses here...

 

It's interesting, but if I were interested in getting an RX-8, I might look for a mint condition "roller" needing a new engine. My thinking? I get to control the entire "getting a new engine" process, and also I then know the new engine will be maintained properly from day one.

I'd be hesitant to get any used 8 without knowing for sure that it was well cared for its entire life. And short of knowing an 8 owner who did that, how could you know that for sure? You can't. By getting a new engine yourself, that important variable is removed from the equation.

A mint "need a new engine" 8 with a new engine would be a lot of great car for the money. A steal, arguably.

 

Also remember that labor for R&R is a chunk of change, plus all the incidentals that generally need to be replaced. If you can't do it yourself, the cost is often 50 to 75% higher than the cost of the engine alone.