Newbie needs help which of 2 to purchase!!!
 

I need help deciding which one of two would be the better choice! Given both are in really good shape and the prices are almost the same....its the mileage thats got me stumped. So here are the choices

2007 RX8 GT with 60K kilometers(not miles lol) asking $8800 negoc. at a dealer
2009 RX8 R3 with 139K kilos asking $8500 negoc. at dealer

What would you do????

get a rotary specific compression check before buying

also read the new owners thread about 12 times no really read this!

Well first of all, ask yourself if you really want an R3. It handles a bit better and has cool Recaro seats which I, personally, would like. But I'm only 5'7" and 140 lbs, so they'd fit me perfectly. Some, of wider girth, report them to be a little too narrow and confining. Also, for long-distance touring, I would find the regular, non-R3 suspension more than adequate, and arguably more comfortable.

Another way to decide? Get rotary-specific compression tests on both cars. Whichever has the highest numbers (assuming both pass the test) is the winner.

I have read it all. I own a new WRX and understand that the RX8 is not the most reliable. I have my reliable car. But you havent addressed the question......does the mileage mean more than the generation of the car? I gather that may be what your saying? Do RX8s that are well maintained have still a limited lifetime and will always need a rebuild? how many miles would that be at then?

IF you did read the whole thing like you said then you would already know your answer on which one to get, provided they both have passing comp numbers...

Yes, even properly maintained Renesis engines will need a rebuild much sooner than the average piston engine car. Mine lasted 50k miles of DD and autocross use. Others have lasted over 100k. And it's usually a slow decline that most people won't notice until it eventually gets bad enough that it starts having trouble idling or start after being warmed up.

People generally look at mileage as an indicator of overall car health. It's incredibly indirect and doesn't take into account anything about how well the car was maintained, how it was driven, and what sort of stupidity the previous owner(s) got up to.

HOWEVER:
We have a really good way of measuring the health of the most common wear item in the car.

Get a rotary-specific compression test done!!! Plug the numbers into this website to normalize them to 250 RPM @ sea level. If both are good, buy the better one. If they are roughly the same, buy the one you like better. If only one is good, buy that one. If neither are good, don't pay more than US$1000-US$2000 for it because you will have to spend at least US$3k (probably closer to US$5k+) getting the engine fixed.

Seriously. A RX-8 without a compression test is about as valuable as a RX-8 without an engine.

Well obviously, the car with significantly lower mileage would be preferable, all other things being equal. So yeah, lower mileage wins, assuming both cars are more or less in the same condition. (Of course, maybe the higher mileage car was properly maintained and the lower mileage one was neglected or abused. So…)

Regarding engine life, that's a subject of great debate, at least on this forum. There are folks here who've stated that no Renesis engine will last beyond 30K miles - uh, that's obviously not true. Many here feel no Renesis will last more than 50 or 60K. On the other hand, there are many RX-8 owners with good engines beyond 100K. Me? I believe that, with proper maintenance and driving habits (i.e. regular oil changes, checking oil level every other fill-up, revving to red line regularly, changing out coils and spark plugs, coolant and transmission fluid when you're supposed to, not modifying the engine, using the recommended oil, etc.) the engine will last as long as engines that contain far more moving parts. It's a question of who do you believe.

My engine's currently at 42K with no problems to speak of, but should I need to replace it I'll probably just pony up the $3-5K and do it. Still better than other sports car options for my money, and I love owning such a unique and well thought out car. (Plus I've always rewarded companies that shake things up, break the rules and go their own way.)

Yeah well you also can't fix damn AC vent or check your own oil so your opinion is invalid.

OP, get a compression check and go from there. But if you don't have the cash to pay for a rebuild then I would suggest looking at another car unless you only plan on keeping this for a short period. But 8k is a lot for any RX-8 IMO, unless it is a lower mileage 2010-2011.

Thats $8K canadian. Thanks everyone for the feedback. My take is that everyone loves to drive a car with this engine the problem is longevity. Maintenance isnt a problem for someone who cares but there is still the longevity problem. The holy grail would be if engineers could perfect the longevity issue cuz maintenance seems no more expensive then a bmw or mercedes etc. Its tough to think that even with the best treatment you never know when it will die :(

Here's the thing: if you someone properly maintained it since mile 0, you can expect it to live longer. Buying a used car, you're buying the previous owner's mistakes. So, mileage is irrelevant, age is irrelevant, all that matters is the compression test.

I don't think it's quite correct that you'll never know when it will die. If you don't maintain it, it will slowly die. If you stay on top of a few simple things, you may still need a new engine eventually, but you give yourself the best chance. There isn't actually a whole lot of maintenance to do, but there are a few reliability mods and points of maintenance that can't be ignored. It's extraordinarily rare of the engine to just pop one day. More likely it will slowly become more difficult to start over time.

Finally, the 2009 may still be under engine warranty, depending on date of original sale. The warranty is 8 years /160,000km. Mazda Corporate or the dealer should be able to provide this info. So if it DOES have low compression, you can buy it, get a free engine, and be on your way.

Series 1's are a bit more moddable, that's about the only difference. You can always fit an R3 suspension to whatever Series car you want.

Agreed on the compression test part.

S1 is better if you like modding as it has more aftermarket support, while S2 has some improvements that make it more reliable.

Personally I am happy with my Grand Touring. Would like an R3, but the lack of sunroof and heated seats is a deal breaker for me(since I came from a car with them and I love them).

The mileage on the R3 suggests that it was a DD, and since it's at a dealer, it's impossible to know the previous owner's driving habit.

There you go again, spinning lies. Let's look at the facts, shall we?

1. I can fix my "damn AC vent". So what you said is not true. A lie. I recently posted a question to see if there's a way to do this without having to remove the dash, as that would save me valuable time. How do you get from that to "can't fix damn AC vent"? You're full of shit.
2. I can check my oil, and have checked it at every fill-up since I purchased the car in February, '06. So another lie about me. (Have you thought about writing news copy for a certain news channel? Because your ability to misrepresent facts are, frankly, wasted here. And a disservice to many members.) In fact, I posted about avoiding overfilling oil when one, for whatever reason, is unable to perform oil changes by themselves. Many of us who live in city apartments with no garage have to get our oil changes at dealerships or elsewhere. On numerous occasions at various Mazda dealers - and at at least one independent garage - my oil was overfilled. Hence my question, and it was a damn good one. (The best answer? Provide just 4 quarts of oil and top off the rest yourself afterwards.)

Sigh… I'm afraid I'm going to have to report your post, as it clearly violates at least three forum rules. But somehow I have this feeling that you're used to being banned. Guess it just goes with being an a-hole. And if you're allowed back, I'd appreciate you getting your facts straight and stop lying about me.

4. Personal attacks against other forum members will not be tolerated, nor will any type of "trolling" for a fight.
6. Be respectful. This is harder to define, but will be moderated. An example would be disrespecting RX-8 owners who chose an automatic transmission over a manual, and "sneering" at them or acting like they're idiots for the choice they made. If a moderator believes you are being purposefully disrespectful to a fellow member, you will be notified. Bashing for the sake of bashing will not be tolerated.
7. Don't make slanderous accusations.

:lol: The facts are clear, if you cannot determine if your oil is overfilled or not then you have no business owning a car let alone working on one or giving buying advice. You also have the power to add me to you ignore list if you can't handle the truth fruity.

Just 9k being 9k.

Move along.

Is it just me or are 9k and Team slowly merging?

Compression test results are a MUST on both cars.

RE: the difference in suspensions between the R3 and base/sport models. One thing not mentioned is, the Bilstein dampers on the R3 last a hell of a lot longer than the Tokicos on all the other cars. The rear Tokicos blow out around 5 years or 50K miles. You can expect more than 100K miles out of the Bilsteins--possibly a lot more. The Toyota / Bilsteins on my truck are 11 years and 250K miles old and are still perfect, for example.