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I'm interested in a 2005 Shinka near me, and I think I have a good idea what a fair offer price is. I'm curious what others think. I've been looking at a lot, but the Shinka bit makes me wonder due to the limited availability.
First off, I know it's going to be asked, no compression numbers. Car has 65,000 miles and the engine was replaced in 2009 and has about 40,000 miles on it. Let's assume, for arguments sake, the engine is in the good, not yet dying range. One owner car, always serviced at a local Mazda dealer. 6-Speed manual. Summer car (in Michigan) stored from late October/early November till April every year. Only really driven on pleasure trips. Appearance package and rear spoiler. Externally, it has 4 minor cosmetic issues (minor scrape over driver side rear wheel well, minor marking on the front hood from a bra being on it for 7 years, a 1/4" notch in the front air dam hitting a metal piece while on the road, and a small door ding on drivers side door). Internally it has no issues whatsoever, so he says. Dash is not cracked. Always high octane fuel, however he didn't seem to know anything about premix. I don't get the idea he is a "rotary guy" as he pretty much knows nothing beyond what the dealer has told him for maintenance. He can/has gotten the service records from the dealer, I just haven't followed up to get them.
Hard to give a price without compression numbers. You must insist the engine be tested or walk away. Assuming engine is good and everything else in good shape, $5k max. I wouldn't put a premium on the Shinka.
Hard to give a price without compression numbers. You must insist the engine be tested or walk away. Assuming engine is good and everything else in good shape, $5k max. I wouldn't put a premium on the Shinka.
Is it worth buying a compression tester from Rotary Compression Tester, one of our sponsors, and doing the test myself? Or just renting their loaner?
That's a quandary; if he has several outstanding offers, you may have to pay a premium to "win" the car. NADAGuides says "Clean Retail" is $6225, which also includes a $1425 value-add for the low miles (65K). However, no compression test on a model year known for compression issues is a 50/50 proposition. You could take your chances and make your offer without a compression test...and the current owner might be more negotiable on the price since it already has a remanufactured engine. If the compression #'s come back 'good', then he has more leverage on the asking price, and opens up the range of interested buyers...making it more expensive for you. My thoughts: $5000 to $5700 with no compression test, or $6000 to $6500 with a good compression test. If the Shinka was my bucket list model, I'd be willing to pay a premium for a good one
That's a quandary; if he has several outstanding offers, you may have to pay a premium to "win" the car. NADAGuides says "Clean Retail" is $6225, which also includes a $1425 value-add for the low miles (65K). However, no compression test on a model year known for compression issues is a 50/50 proposition. You could take your chances and make your offer without a compression test...and the current owner might be more negotiable on the price since it already has a remanufactured engine. If the compression #'s come back 'good', then he has more leverage on the asking price, and opens up the range of interested buyers...making it more expensive for you. My thoughts: $5000 to $5700 with no compression test, or $6000 to $6500 with a good compression test. If the Shinka was my bucket list model, I'd be willing to pay a premium for a good one
Completely disagree purchasing without a compression test done and paying extra because it's a Shinka. There is nothing really special about the Shinka to warrant a price increase. Do kinda agree with your pricing though. I just cant see myself going over $5k for a S1 RX8 even if it's in great shape. But if you really like it and it's in great shape, go for it.
Hang on, have you actually test driven the car? Compression tests aside, you state "so he says" a few times, which sounds like you haven't seen it with own eyes.
The engine is a $5k gamble. It might be fine, it might not. Maybe his dealer was thorough, or maybe he only did the bare minimum and its still driving around on bad coils. On that note .. by 40k I'd expect the coils have been changed once since then. If not, your risk goes up.
Having a good compression test isn't reason to increase price, it's reason to get someone to actually oay market price. These cars aren't exactly flying out of owner's hands.
Hang on, have you actually test driven the car? Compression tests aside, you state "so he says" a few times, which sounds like you haven't seen it with own eyes.
The engine is a $5k gamble. It might be fine, it might not. Maybe his dealer was thorough, or maybe he only did the bare minimum and its still driving around on bad coils. On that note .. by 40k I'd expect the coils have been changed once since then. If not, your risk goes up.
Having a good compression test isn't reason to increase price, it's reason to get someone to actually oay market price. These cars aren't exactly flying out of owner's hands.
Yea the compression check is mandatory but also need to check suspension, AC, power steering, tire wear, brake wear ect. Assuming all of it checks out its $5k max for me or I pass. This car will eventually need parts and parts are insane for this car. You haven't truly lived until you paid $100 just for spark plugs lol.
I've been in contact with the owner. I haven't been able to go drive it as the snow happened before I could get it scheduled. I just wanted to have an idea of a reasonable price. He is asking 6500, which I thought might have been on the high side, but he also started at an ask of 8000 before he dropped it. That's when I started talking to him. So it sounds like to me 5000 is what I should pay for a fantastic car with those exterior cosmetic defects. (I'm not saying it's fantastic, I'm saying that's what most are saying is Max)
A car is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Never know, someone might offer him $6k tomorrow. If you get a good compression test back and the test drive is good and the car has no current mechanical problems, you could go $6k if you really want that particular RX8 and no one would think you got ripped off. For me personally $5k is max but I already own 3 so take that with a grain of salt haha.
Last edited by CaymanRotary; 11-14-2019 at 02:59 PM.
If it's a 2005, but it had the engine replaced in 2009, what about the engine/car is still suspect? I know the 2004-2005 have more issues, but is there something beyond the engine itself that would cause the engine to need a rebuild and be particularly unreliable? MSP 13 and starter from the potential owners sticky.
If it's a 2005, but it had the engine replaced in 2009, what about the engine/car is still suspect? I know the 2004-2005 have more issues, but is there something beyond the engine itself that would cause the engine to need a rebuild and be particularly unreliable? MSP 13 and starter from the potential owners sticky.
Well, compression is really everything for this car because new engines are now almost the price of the entire car itself. You just want numbers that show your engine will last before you invest thousands of dollars. These engines need to be completely removed to fix even one seal so you have to be careful when buying these cars.
11-14-2019, 09:14 AM
Fair Price Question
