deadwolfbones

Hey all, apologies if I'm asking stupid stuff or asking for info covered in other threads. I did as much googling and forum searching as I could.

Just got back from checking out an '04 AT RX-8 that's for sale locally at $3,500 OBO. Here's what I know about it:

-Only extant issue when parked (heh) was that the driver's side door "had a mind of its own." Owner was in the process of disassembling/diagnosing when he died (no, he was not electrocuted by the car).
-May have had an engine swap in '11 (owner's daughter is working on finding the paper records).
-Exterior and interior are beautiful. Was clearly garaged and well taken care of.
-VIN search says three previous owners, no accidents reported.

I went over to check it out today and found that it was flooded. Did the basic deflood procedure (foot to floor, crank, wait, repeat, then start normally) and got it running. Smoked a bit and then cleaned up.

HOWEVER, even after getting the engine fully warm, it would die immediately if I took my foot off the gas. CEL was flashing, as well. I know this could be something as simple as needing new plugs/coils, or it could be something a lot more serious.

I'm a huge motorsports enthusiast, but I've always been more arrive-and-drive than a tinkerer. (Said another way, I'm not particularly mechanically inclined.) I live in Central Oregon (Bend), where we don't have a local rotary specialist. This means I'd need to rely on the local dealership for any service needs.

What I want to know is: If for some reason I decide to actually buy this thing, what's the range of repair costs I might be looking at to get the CEL/stall issue rectified?

I have AAA, so I can get the car towed to the dealership for free and have them diagnose it. I'm just not sure whether it'd be worth it, or what the diagnosis/repair/and an eventual compression test might cost me.

Thanks in advance! Feel free to tell me I'm stupid.

(Also, yes, I know the MT is better. However despite being a racing nerd I've never learned to drive stick thanks to some childhood trauma. Maybe one day...)

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

hey bones (cool user name btw)

As I was reading your entire post all I wanted to do was address the fact that it's an AT but then you mentioned why you prefer an automatic so lets delve into this thing.
04 A/T - this is kind of my first red flag. Reason is, of all the years / generations I would rank this as the last RX-8 I'd buy. It's the oldest car (04 was the first year it was available in the US), it has less power / torque than an MT, and might need more maintenance based on age.

Driver's door has a mind of it's own as in sometimes it locks and some times it doesn't? I've seen that a few times, not a major fix. Could be as simple as the key fob assuming that's what she meant.
How many miles on the car? I'd assume a 4 port A/T is not on it's original motor. You can tell if you shine a flashlight at the engine housing, it should have a metal placard on it that says reman if the motor was replaced by mazda.

Nicely done de-flooding it. Did the starter seem really slow when you did start it? 04's and some 05's had the older version of the starter that didn't crank very long. One of the things Mazda did to address early issues with the vehicle was to change that.

Okay, if it's dying it could be a few things.
Coils / plugs would be the first place I'd start. You're looking at maybe $200 in parts to do that.
IF that fixes it, you're off the hook pretty easy.
however, there could be more issues.
If the catalytic converter is clogged (assuming it still has one) that could be causing the car to stall but that's not as easy to diagnose without dropping the exhaust or letting it run for a while and then looking underneath to see if the cat is glowing. And yes, some cats have glowed red hot at night when they're clogging. If the cat is toast and you need an OEM catalytic in your state to pass smog, that'll cost you almost half the purchase price of the vehicle.

Could also be the short term fuel trims are all reset from it not being driven / flooded and the PCM is having trouble holding idle. This will fix itself if you drive it a bit. (assuming you're able to)

Sounds like interior / exterior is in great shape so I want to tell you to proceed with caution but I'm honestly more inclined to tell you to try and find an A/T that is 2006 or newer. The early teething issues of the RX-8 were mostly sorted out by then and the engine got an upgrade from a 4 port to 6 port meaning it had power almost comparable to the Manual RX-8's as opposed to being well under in power as the 4 port you're looking at is compared to a Manual.

hope that helps a bit.

Xecromancer

Kick butt on successfully doing the deflooding procedure! I don't even own an 8 and I'm impressed.

I would recommend getting yourself an ODBII reader. It doesn't have to be fancy, just to be able to read any codes thrown. I got one a few years ago and I've used the crap out of it on my, my family member's, and my friend's vehicles to quickly find out why a CEL is on.

Good luck, with what ever you decide to do.

And I'll say "Hey" from another Oregonian. I'm over in the Willamette Valley. My buddy with an 8 loves flying over the Santiam Pass in his.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

3500 for a basically non-running 04 auto is kind of a lot.
Once you've sorted out the ignition, which it sounds like is at least one problem, you still don't know what compression the engine is running and if you need to replace that or the cat (both of which are at risk if the ignition has been dying for a while), you're into $4k and $2k respectively.

Jedi is right, if auto is your preference, look for an 06+, and regardless of how smooth the testdrive is, get a compression test before putting money down.

Left4Dead

Especially if owner is no longer around I would think who ever is in possesion of car would not have an issue with you having it towed to the dealer for a scan and compression test. I'm sure you can convince them it will help will the sale of the car either way.

200.mph

iTrader: (9)

no way in hell i would ever buy an auto 8 and def not an 04/05. the low power 4 ports are the most expensive to to rebuild/replace. if you are dead set on an auto get an 06+ as others have said. 04 is 4 port 4 spd, 06+ is 6port/6spd

delhi

TL;DR.
Automatic RX8? Don't. Just don't. Please let this transmission variant die and be forgotten.

deadwolfbones

Thanks for the advice, everyone, and sorry for not replying sooner.

I did decide to pass on it. Reached out to a bunch of local shops and only found one aside from the Mazda dealer who said they could work on it, which wasn't confidence-inspiring. They also said it'd be at least $200 just to diagnose. The dealer said they're booked solid through February, lol.

Just more headache than I really want to sign on for.

But if anyone else in Central Oregon wants a project, it's about to hit Craigslist for $3k.

deadwolfbones

Just FYI to anyone interested, the seller has dropped the price to $500 (which is what the local junkyard is offering).

UnknownJinX

IMO, those old 4-port 4AT are only really good for a swap project at this point.

$500 sounds like a good deal if you are doing a swap.