I am looking at a 2011 Sport manual 8. It has 22k miles and is appears to be in superior mechanical condition. There are a few dents but I am restoring a 240z and have already learned about panel repair. I drove it reved well no engine lights. the seller is private and had an inspection done for brakes, suspension, belts, exhaust, tires, and fluids but no compression test.

I understand the engine is under warranty for 8 years so until 6/19 (car sold in 6/11) or 100k miles. Should I go pay for a compression test?

I am almost 90% in on the 8 at this point should I buy one of these testers from Rotary Compression Tester and just do it myself? Has anyone used this tester? Is it good? I am pretty obsessive about my cars so I think it would be a good investment if it works as I would likely check compression every 6 months or so.

 

I have an RCT-V5 and it's good. The newer version is better.

Should you buy one? I dunno, are you a hypochondriac like me?

I wouldn't sweat it too much unless you have noticed a problem or within 6 months of the warranty expiration.

 

I would be surprised if a series 2 with such low mileage has compression problems. Considering the warranty, I think getting in on a good condition car at low miles and doing the maintenance your way outweighs the risk that there might be something wrong. If you're in it for the long term, the risk for you is almost zero, if anything goes wrong in the next 2.5 years, you still have no out-of-pocket costs.

Full disclosure: I bought my car at roughly the same age and mileage without a comp test. Still kicking.

Having your own comp tester is pretty liberating, you can track the engines health over time and be a lot more independent. And perform compression tests for other people to pay off the cost of the tester

Can't comment on the quality of that particular tester.

 

Yes. I am obsessive I would probably check every oil change if I had one. Thanks for the advice. I had a rotary guy tell me "no way I would buy one without compression test" to which I said "but warranty" and he said "don't care" and it kindof freaked me out.

 

It depends on your priorities also. If this is your only car and you can't afford it to be down for even a day, that's one thing. If it's a weekender and in the worst case scenario you're OK with being off the road while the engine gets replaced, that's another.

 

If it has the factory warranty and you're sure it will be honored (i.e. all maintenance receipts), then I wouldn't sweat it.

If the receipts aren't available or if you can get the seller to pay for it, then go ahead and get the compression test.

Having the tester on-hand is useful but I hesitate to enable other peoples obsessiveness.

 

thanks for the input. I got some advice from a guy who said compression test or don't buy.

 

It is going to be my daily but I have the family car and my running project car if it goes down.

 

but tools make me happy.

I've seen the service records for the car. I will struggle with not changing my oil myself but I guess I will stomach it for 2 more years.

edit: but the 340 would probably be better served buying the ignition kit and the exhaust I want to install.

 

Depending where you live, you can recoup some of the costs of the tester if you use it at a nominal fee for other rotary owners near you. Our local RX8 club folks paid a nominal fee for a local guy with a tester who came to one of our local RX8 club events. He paid off the cost of his rotary compression tester in one day.

 

Not sure how big the scene is here in AL. I will look into it.

 

if you rly love the car (which i imagine you do) and plan on having it for a longer time, then a compression tester is definitely a good investment. Also like you say, warrenty until 2019, if anything bad happens the following two years you are well covered.
Besides like Loki points out, chances of low compression on a 2011 with these miles are very slim.