So, there is this lady near me selling her 2007 RX8 Sport. The things I know about it are as follows.

• 6 Speed
• 80,000 Miles
• Bone stock
• Has moon roof, heated leather seats, and the Bose sound system.
• Engine has not been replaced
• Cat was causing a CEL when the lady purchased it (at 60,000 miles, she is the second owner) and was immediately replaced. She couldn't remember what the code was.
• She has no records of the maintenance history from the first owner, but she does have all maintenance records for the 20k miles she has owned it.
• In the 20k miles that she has had it, she has not premixed it. She has kept up with the oil however, understanding that this kind of engine uses oil.
• She has not had the ignition system replaced.
• The previous owner apparently had a rat/mouse problem in the engine compartment as a lot of the insulation has been eaten and a "rat light" has been installed. Current owner says it has been there since the previous owner. It doesn't appear that any wiring had been eaten, but that is a worry.
• Didn't get a compression test done, but I tested the cold and hot starts, started just fine in both cases without hesitation.
• Engine felt smooth through acceleration.
• Overall, it felt mechanically sound.
• Cosmetically, the hood is fairly sun rotted and all sides of the vehicle are pretty scratched up from the lady's 5 dogs. Would definitely need new paint to look nice. The engine bay and cabin are also fairly dirty as the lady hasn't even attempted to vacuum or clean it.
• I also have the VIN number for anyone that wishes to help me research on it: JM1FE173470209575

Now with all of that being said, the lady is asking $5,500 for it. They kelley blue book value for that year at that mileage is ~$5,000 maximum in very good condition, about $4,200 median. Even so, I think this falls more into the "Good" category as the exterior is somewhat rough, even if it is mechanically sound, which is ~$3,900 median. My question is: What price would you put on something like this?

Feel free to ask for more information if I missed something. Along with that, the whole idea here is that I would really like to get myself an RX-8 as I've sort of... grown to have an affinity for them after the research I've done, but of course I don't want to get screwed in the process. In this cause, I do feel (after having test driven it) that this RX-8 is fairly mechanically sound, but I fear that without any of the quality of life improvements having been done to it, it could come apart within the next 20k miles. That being said, if there is one thing I've learned from this forum, it is that you never really know for sure how much life is left in an engine until you get a compression test! The only unfortunate thing about that is the closest mazda dealer is ~90 miles away.

Secondly, if there is anyone you know in the Las Vegas of Phoenix areas (or anywhere between those two areas) that is selling an RX-8, let me know! I would much appreciate it.

 

Asking too much money for an RX8 with no compression test. Get that test done first before making an offer. Price is completely dependent on engine health. Good compression 7.5+ bar, $4500. Bad compression, walk away.

 

If they move me to emmoblizer and ecu and get me new
my first opening
does ii take programme working?

 

That's what my opinion on it was. Like I said though, the closest Mazda dealer is almost 100 miles away, and she says it isn't a "need to sell" so I don't know if she would be willing to take it up there to get it tested. Especially so because it is in a different state, and with the way things are with the virus and such, that makes it even more difficult. She definitely doesn't seem very motivated to sell it anyways, that much is for certain.

 

That's a huge problem. you are gonna be rolling the dice without a test if you buy it. 80k miles on an original engine that's a huge risk. Typically only get 100k out of a rotary, more if its highway only. There is no one locally that has the compression tester?

 

Yeap that's what I figured after all the reading I've done on here. I told her that exactly, without knowing the compression I'm taking a big gamble on it, and I also told her that it's in a sort of danger zone range for these kinds of engines with having that many miles on it. Unfortunately we live kind of out in the middle of nowhere in a retirement area in the desert, an rx-8 is something I can safely say I've never seen out here before, nonetheless any rotary engine car. She did have some work done by a local guy (the guy that replaced the cat was local and according to her, he knows a couple things about rotaries) so I'm seeing if I can't get his number.

 

Well the only reason I got mine w/o a test was because I knew I was going to rebuild and modify it anyways. After a year on a gamble buy, the compression is failing, 77k miles.

I got a fun year out of the old one.

Finding 7.5 bar on a 80k Renesis would be nothing short of a miracle I think. If you don’t have at least an extra 4-5 grand for a Mazda Reman laying around...best to just wait for the test.

 

I've seen people renting the rotary compression tool on E-Bay. Might be worth giving that a shot and do it yourself. Mazda charges 2 hours labor for the test...

 

Not quite true. I have an auto with 75k km on it and compression is in high 8’s low 9’s. It’s possible due to engine swaps or rebuilt engines. I’m convinced my auto had the engine replaced before it was shipped here from Japan.

 

If it were me any potential purchase...w/h to be contingent on a compression test. Period. If she wants to sell...good you want to buy. I concur w/Cayman $4500 sounds about right based on your description. I'd explain I'm willing to purchase..., but only after a compression test. She'd have to be willing to work something out, even if allowing you to take it and get it done; or I'd walk.

 

So basically what it came down to with her is she would only come down to $5300. 100 for the compression test, 100 for the glove box latch being broken. I up and walked away from that.... and instead, I ended buying an 04 in nordic green with a rebuilt engine that only had 4k miles on it. The guy has the receipt for the rebuild and he paid ~3900 for that. I paid 3700 for the whole thing. I figure, even though its an 04 and they aren't worth quite that much, having a newly rebuilt engine is a good start, and everything about the engine feels great. No, I didn't get a compression test done, but I could tell just from driving it that there was no doubt it was a fresh engine compared to the other few I'd test driven. It also has a stage 3 clutch apparently. (Honestly I'm not sure how much I believe that, there was nothing to back it up and from what I could conclude, thats just what the previous owner had told him) Even if it doesn't have a stage 3, it most definitely isn't stock because it engages much more heavily and quickly than the others I had driven.

All that being said, has some cosmetic things that can and will be addressed over time. It also overheated just slightly on the way home twice. (It was a 3ish hour drive, mostly uphill, and we pulled over as soon as we noticed the needle move right.) I'm pretty certain this was just an air flow issue as the engine under tray/splash shield is missing and theres no insulation around the radiator. Upon pulling over, it cooled down immediately, like within 15 seconds at most. Since then, it hasn't driven any differently and the engine feels perfectly strong. It also hasn't over heated since, even through some hard pulls.

If anyone is interested, I might go ahead and make another thread with some pics for yall to see!

 

Congrats on your purchase

Hope not getting the compression test doesn't bite you. Get an undertray installed asap...as it's critical to proper cooling...which is critical to not destroying your engine.

So now you have an 8... great... homework assignment: If you haven't already... and you want to keep it running; goto the New Member (Owner) RX8 Forum link below, and read the pertinent "Sticky" threads.

https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-forum-197/

All the best.

 

Yeah I can see that it is because of the way it directs air. Considering the fact that it was barely driven after the engine was rebuilt, I think everything is quite alright on that end. Ive already read through all that new member stuff on there, waaaay before I bought this, and it helped me point out a couple things that saved me some money from what the guy was asking! That being said, before I drive it too much I'm going to be investing some money into quality of life upgrades, like the koyo rad, new hoses, lower temp thermostat, BHR coil + plugs and wires (Possibly the IGN-1A kit from sakebomb if I'm feeling real rich), and a sohn adapter at some point. Already have a sort of plan laid out in my head . :P

 

...and an undertray?

All good...I'm sure it's on your list. Sounds like you're on the right track.

 

Hahaha! Yes of course an undertray as well. Im getting under it this weekend to see what all exactly Ill be needing!