Gravey

iTrader: (3)

There are tons of 8's in the GTA for under 10k CAD (7.5k USD)

Mazda Rx8 | Find Great Deals on Used and New Cars & Trucks in Toronto (GTA) | Kijiji Classifieds

Shumster

iTrader: (2)

Hahahahahahahah our dollar

Gravey

iTrader: (3)

Here's an '09 for 7.5k USD, higher mileage 127k km's (79418 miles)

... and it looks to be a R3 that they think is a GT.... or a GT with the recaros at least. Too bad it doesn't have the rims.

2009 Mazda RX-8 GT MANUAL LEATHER | used cars & trucks | City of Toronto | Kijiji

Skyl3r

That's great to hear. I can definitely keep up on the maintenance. Despite how bad everyone seems to make it sound on Reddit, it doesn't seem that horrible to keep up on.

I've seen a lot of emphasis on getting winter tires, so I'll definitely make that a priority.


Shumster:
Yes, we pay taxes on cars from private sellers.

Eh, you're probably right. I saw figures for parts+labor coming to $1500-1600 price range.
The amount extra I'd pay for a car from a dealership in addition to a warranty would probably make the rebuild well worth it.

Okay, got it. I'm probably gonna spend a solid month or two just looking over cars and surveying my options. I don't wanna be one of those new owners haha

I haven't actually got a quote for an RX-8 yet, but with my Grand-AM for liability only, it's costing me about $1300. I could go up to about $1800, but honestly, I don't expect that it will. I got quoted before for another sports car (Camaro) and it was actually less than my Grand AM.

Okay, well, since I've heard it maybe 4 or 5 times now, I'm gonna write off 2004's from my list of options.


Wow, you guys are lucky.
I checked on RX-8s today and there was 8 on craigslist in my area.
All but three were 04's
There was an 07 for $8500
An 06 for $8000
and an 05 project car for $2000

Checked a few used car sites and saw one '04 for $8000 and an '05 for $8000.

._.
Not a lot of good options unless I wanna wait a bit longer and just cough up the extra money to get a newer car.

Shumster

iTrader: (2)

Grind em down man haha. I'm in sales, you can always get a better deal

Skyl3r

Okay, I mentioned before that I've never been to a dealer before. I always hear people saying things like "Don't bother trying to low ball me. I've had enough of it" and things along those lines.

I am all for trying to get $8000 down to <$7000, but is that gonna be seen as lowballing or rude or something?

Should I just make a declaration like "Well, I think it's a nice car, and I could see myself driving in it, but I wouldn't pay more than $7000 for it." and see what they do?

My thought process being, $1000 when the total cost of the car is $8000 is a pretty significant amount of money.

Gravey

iTrader: (3)

I think what people get tired of on those sites is when people offer them half or less of what they are asking. I don't think offering 7k on an 8k car would be considered rude.

Skyl3r

Awesome!
I just read a guide on used car haggling and picked up several really good pointers. I think I wanna try it out


Damn... an '05 RX-8 for $6000... But it's auto...
http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/l-Used-...ting=119452574
Shoot me ._.

Shumster

iTrader: (2)

I'm in sales and every single day I get people coming in and asking "what's your best price".

Now there's no way in hell i'm gonna give somebody my best price without any sort of commitment on their end.

Now if somebody shows me that they are serious, and aren't just shopping around then I will be much more inclined to find a middle ground in order to close a deal.

Go look around at tons of 8s. Put much less emphasis on price. Then when you find the one you want, establish a good relationship with the seller. Show that you are serious, tell them that you really like the car, maybe point out a few flaws, paint chips, tire wear. Then make an offer. People are much more reasonable when there is money on the table. You say look "My budget here is 7K. I know you are looking for 9K, but I really like this car and would be willing to cut a cheque right now for 7. Let me know what you think".

When I bought my 8 it took me like 2 months to grind the owner down from 21K to 16K. I didn't even talk numbers for the first month. Went to test drive it twice. Then she called me saying she was dropping the price to 18K. I countered with 16K and we had a deal. She just wanted it gone and hadn't had many bites. I was probably the only one in the city looking for 8s. She knew I was serious because I asked her lots of questions and kept in touch with her.

I would honestly look for units up to like 10K.

Feel free to PM me if you want more specific buying advice

Oh and in regards to the sites. Ya of course if you just get an email flat out saying "i'll give you half" then you won't even consider it. That's someone who's just shopping, not actually serious about your specific car, they're just trying to get a steal.

Go do your test drives, ask your questions and then talk about price last.

Skyl3r

Hmm, very interesting. You got quite a deal with that.

So if I wanted to show a dealer that I'm serious and I have money, then I should ask questions?
I've always thought that I'd prefer not to share what my budget is. I don't want the dealer knowing the highest I can go. I'd like to offer less and slowly come up to meet him somewhere near my max and hopefully a little less. Is this a bad idea given what you've said?


Thank you I'll let you know.

Shumster

iTrader: (2)

Nah, I was talking more about private sales. Ya start a little lower and maybe don't discuss your budget.

Dealers suck man, honestly I would stay as far away from dealers as you can. Their mark up is a joke. I work at one LOL.

But ya just show that you're a buyer. Ask lots of questions, explain to them that you're set on buying an 8 and that you're just looking for the right one(so that they don't try to get you in a 3 or something lol).

Skyl3r

Okay, hmm, well, someone previously had said it was a trade off between warranty and lower price. I'm just trying to weigh my options. I understand you work at one, so your opinion holds a bit of weight.

Sounds reasonable. She determination, show I know what I'm looking for and ask question. I can do that

gwilliams6

[QUOTE=Shumster;4706971]I imagine the extended warranty packages from a dealer would cost more than a rebuild. Plus the brutal mark up. Do you have to pay taxes on private sales in the states?

Most Mazda dealers selling a used RX8 with an extended warranty don't charge extra for that dealer warranty. This is different than those companies selling those useless extended warranties, that will deny every claim after taking your money.

In most US states, once a car has been sold and had that state's sale tax paid, subsequent buyers don't have to pay that same state's sales tax again. The buyer just has to pay the new registration and inspection fees. But this varies from state to state.

Shumster

iTrader: (2)

Really? I thought the only warranty from a dealership were if they were Certified Pre-Owned. My understanding was that they never make 8s Certified Pre-Owned Eligible. I could be totally wrong though.

Gravey

iTrader: (3)

My 8 was certified pre-owned, bought it with 14k on it 3 years into it's life.

gwilliams6

Mazda dealers in the US have made some used RX8s certified-pre-owned with warranties. Some have even gotten replaced engines under this.

Shumster

iTrader: (2)

Well I learned something then. Ya absolutely if you can find an 8 with warranty Certified Pre Owned then that would be awesome.

Skyl3r

Well, should I be looking for a certified pre-owned RX-8 then? Does that mean purchasing from a Mazda Dealership?

I just found a 2006 manual for $4000 from a private seller. He said there's several indicator lights on, though not the check engine light. He said the car was in an accident before he purchased it and has never had a problem since and has no damage to the frame. He has replaced the bumper and driver side fender due to the accident. They're mix-matched colors, but he said he is going to get the rest of the car painted to match.
He mentioned that before he sells it, he will have spark plugs replaced, AC recharged, coils replaced and adding a muffler. He has a straight pipe on right now as well.

He seemed responsible, though I haven't questioned him about any RX-8 specific things yet. My question for you guys is, is this something I should just skip over? I mean, it sounds like it has a shady past.
But my other thought is, maybe this means I get a newer car for cheaper and can use the rest (or however much necessary) of the money to make it as sparkly as new?

Gravey

iTrader: (3)

See if you can get him to do a compression test. Also how many miles are on it? and is still on the original engine?

Skyl3r

I just talked to him a little more and he mentioned that he's only owned it for 2 months. His reason for selling is that he got a new job and became the pastor of his youth church thing. I'm happy for him for those things of course, but ... 2 months... I don't know. I'm getting red flags...

70k miles, and I'll check about the engine and compression test.

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Compression test us the absolute must.
Everything else is secondary as long as it's not a salvage title.

If you can get it for $4k with a good engine and semi-decent shape, it may not be a bad idea.
The 8s are really pretty easy to work on.
Do you know the trim package?
My GT still had the original window sticker in the owners manual, over $35k in '04.

Skyl3r

Hmm, well, here's the thing. If he doesn't paint it, it'll cost me like $4000 to match the body of the car to the fender/bumper and probably a bit less to match the bumper/fender to the rest.
I would rather get a car with a bad engine and nice paint and just get the engine rebuilt than get it repainted...

I'll ask him about the trim package.
I texted the guy a few hours ago about getting a compression test. I told him if everything else seemed alright, I'd be willing to pay for a compression test if it was positive. Still waiting on a response for that.

Thanks for helping me know what things to ask! I'd probably be pretty lost otherwise...
"Is it pretty?"
"Does it move?"
"Alright, I'll buy it."

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

I didn't think of it before, but it's a good idea to get the OBD scanned for any pending codes.
A CEL can be cleared by unhooking the battery.
If you have an Android smartphone, you can get the Torque app and a Bluetooth dongle, and scan them yourself.

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Idk about that.
Good paint over good engine isn't sensible, imo.
If you get a good engine, you're a step ahead, and can drive it right away, no matter what the paint looks like, and save up for a good paint job.
I'm sure you could get a decent paint job for way less than $4k.
There are plenty of horror stories about crappy rebuilds.
I would never knowingly buy a car with a failing engine for my primary transportation.

Shumster

iTrader: (2)

Skip, for sure. Wouldn't even consider ones that have been in accidents