Steve49

Hey everyone. I'm new obviously lol. I came on here to get more information about a 2005 RX8 I'm interested in. I don't know anything about these cars and figured this would be a good way to figure out if this car might be worth the buy. The seller says it has low compression and a mechanic told him this is due to carbon build up and it has to be cleaned out. The car has 99k on it. Is this something that sounds right? Can I do this myself or does it have to be take to a shop? Thanks all !!

Red line envy

Sometimes (not to often) some seafoam and new ignition components (plugs, wires, coils) can get a few more mils out of the engine. But if it's going there is no reversing it.

Steve49

How can I tell if its about to take a dump? The guy is asking $900 but said he will sell it to me for $650

Votewiggum

This is how you can tell......



How many sub $1k 8s are out there that don't need motors?

Steve49

No idea. But I guess not many lol I don't know anything about these cars that's why I came on here.

Votewiggum

That's fair... Do a quick search on this site for low compression. The odds are highly against of being simple carbon cleanup.

Most of your low compression search results will likely be followed by engine replacement/rebuild.

Steve49

Well I guess I'll stay away from it then. I was thinking if I could fix it then maybe I could have a daily drive for a year or two. But not, after what I'm hearing, that doesn't sound like that's gonna happen. Which is too bad because the car looks really nice.

Brettus

iTrader: (2)

If it's really nice . apart from a low comp engine ...$650 sounds like a great buy to me !

Steve49

https://offerup.com/item/detail/714368966/ That's the ad.

Chrishoky

iTrader: (9)

Its an automatic, please avoid.

Steve49

Yeah I think I am.

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

Definitely avoid the automatic RX-8's. They are not as quick as the 6spd cars and take a lot of the driving enjoyment away from the car. Keep searching and find one that's listed as a runner and driver and appears to be in good condition. Maintenance records are also needed. Once you find you like, have a rotary specific compression test performed on the car to see where the engine is compression wise. It is a must when buying a used RX-8.