I am very close to settling a deal on a very low mileage RX8 “garage find”.

The car started well and did not show white or blue smoke. Tranny shifted well. Though I couldn’t push the car too hard because the tires are completely shot and didn’t take above 65 for safety reasons I can see why there is such a draw to the car. I could tell even when turning at a stop sign that this car handles like a slot car.

I had a couple concerns before pulling the trigger. The paint was faded in spots and also seemed discolored on the driver side. I thought maybe it was a bad re-spray from an accident but pulled a Bumper report that didn’t show anything. Can these cars fade or discolor unevenly like in the pic?

Also there was a bit of a hiccup at idle. Barely moved the needle and it didn’t stall but was there. From what I read an idle like this isn’t a huge concern maybe just something to start going through all tye typical maintenance items for.

It does have a slightly faded roof and could a slightly cracked passenger dash. Otherwise seemed a great deal.

Any feedback is appreciated

 

Sorry for the double post. Thought the first didn’t work. Mods please delete the previous

 

Looks nice. Have you already read rx8help.com? I'd start there.

Did it start well while warmed up?
Usually we advise getting a compression test before buying any rotary so you know the condition of the engine. Slight hiccup at idle could be anything from the A/C turning on to ignition issues.

Can't quite see the discoloration you're talking about, but no there's no common discoloration problem.

The tires have been changed (and worn through apparently?) so it can't be that low mileage. 50k miles? Not impressed with the use of Uniroyals btw, that doesn't scream "well taken care of"

 

Thanks for the reply. I read a lot of the help so I knew the major red flags to look for on start up and operation. Decided to pull the trigger on the car yesterday for $5k. Only 40k on the car. The tires have plenty of tread but are dry rotted badly. This car has been basically sitting for years. Current owner has put less than 100miles on it according to the story. Started right up. No smoke white or blue. No CEL’s. Operating temps seemed normal.

Crazy about the color. Maybe my eyes are just tricking me. The back of the car looks different to me from the door seam back.

 

Oh yeah I see what you mean about discoloration now. Not sure what would cause that if not a repaint...

 

Well at this price I guess I’m gonna take a bit of a leap and a gamble. Can’t be worse than the z3 I bought a few years ago and upon delivery from the owner the rear diff imploded on me. Had out 0 miles on the car myself.

Ok well it could be worse but I haven’t been this excited for a hobby car/ motorcycle in a long time.

 

Congrats on potentially a good find.

Other than the hiccup at idle your concerns are regarding aesthetics. Ok, but the major concern w/ 8s is low compression which as Loki indicated... is best diagnosed via a compression test, and for which difficultly starting when hot is symptomatic. If you didn't get a compression test... you'll want to pay particular attention to hot starting performance.

All the best.

 

I didn’t do any hot starts but will tonight or tomorrow morning before picking up

 

At home. New continental rubber on. New coils wires plugs, maf cleaner and air filter on order. Found a link broken/ disconnected in rear will post in correct forum with that Q

 

congrats on pulling the trigger, seems like a good score for the price given how low the miles are.
in the sun I do see what looks like discoloration or it could just be how the light is hitting it? It's tough to say because in your garage it appears uniform.

 

I also am fairly new to rx8 ownership, I was able to get the service records from the dealership going back about 6 years. One this it does not state is a engine replacement. I have 93k miles, car was very well maintained, is their a trick or I obvious way to identify if the engine is original to the car ? Hard to believe it has almost 100k and on origional engine , but not sure other than service records how one would tell. So if this is not of benefit to origional post and thanks for any help in advance.


Best,
D&S

 

D&S,
the re manufactured engines have a stamp on the outside of the housing. (I believe it's blue?)
similar to this:




and believe it or not, it's actually not that uncommon to see the original engine go over 100k. We have a thread with owners reporting far greater mileage.

 

I was able to also use search so I have a note into Mazda , but I will be headed down shortly to see if I can locate tag.....much thanks for the reply !!


Best,

 

The car was definitely sprayed. However its not a bad job plus the OEM paint is not super durable on these. The clear coat fails easily with sun exposure. My guess is someone paid to have it painted and just sprayed whatever was damaged. My car was a sitter too and was also sprayed to fix failed oem paint. It just shows someone was willing to throw money at it. To me your car looks good. Only those with a trained eye and the right angle will notice. If it drives and runs good for 5k you have a winner.

I mean really, these cars are a bargain considering the market right now. 5k wouldn't by you a decent scooter today. You got a running, driving JDM sports car for 5k. Go enjoy!