The 8 was the first stick I ever drove, and in fact my father drove mine home because I still wasn't really comfortable making the ~4.5 hour drive myself. I have to admit though I have since driven other manuals(diesel trucks, jeeps) and the 8 needs a good kick to take off from a dead stop. That being said I had driven an automatic 8 as well, and the slight learning curve is definitely worth it.

I would let the owner drive it and tell him to show you how to drive it like you stole it.
If I drove mine for someone who wanted me to do it, they would probably leave hand imprints in the dash board.;)

gwilliams6 -
Someone quoted this for me earlier. Thank you though :)


Haha, inspirational. Well, I've driven a stick maybe five times over the last year. Each time lasted like 25-30 minutes. I have the basic idea down and if it was my car, I'd be comfortable driving around a little, but I don't wanna just put someone else's car in risk like that :P

Something along those lines might be my case too. We'll see how things go I guess.
I can kind of understand what you're saying. My brother has an S-10 Pickup and that's the manual I've been driving. I can very obviously feel a point when the clutch engages in that car. It didn't seem so obvious to me when I hopped in the RX-8.

Hahaha, I think I will say that. He better blow me away.

I think I found my puppy. I went to take a look at a black '05 6-speed. I could not find a single problem with it, including the owner. The cars paint was very good with only a few chips that were not very noticeable. The service bulletins were all taken care of. He replaced the cat and exhaust 1500 miles ago and new coils and plugs within 3000 miles.

I asked the guy to show me how he drives it like he stole it as BigCajun suggested and that was the first time I felt an RX-8 hit those higher RPMs. It was amazing, it was like it just got stronger and stronger until we hit warp speed :SHOCKED:

I talked to the owner a lot and he was very knowledgeable about RX-8s. He mentioned all maintenance things I've heard here plus a number of things I didn't know. He had a great attitude and was very honest and kind. I felt like we were both equally interested in the car haha

So, I asked him for a compression test. He said he'd be willing to go half/half with me on the cost. He said he completely understands that.

All in all, seemed like an awesome RX-8 and a great owner.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...d793682532.jpg

Sounds good.:)
Hopefully you'll get a good test result.
Did you ask him if he was in the RX8Club?
Good luck!

Yeah, definitely :)
I'll be out on vacation for a few days and we'll do it next week and see what comes of it.

I mentioned RX8Club and he was familiar with it, but I don't know if he was a member.

Is it a GT? I see the OEM Appearance pkg., if it has heated leather seats, it's a GT.

Sounds like a good find, if the compression checks out. Cheers !

Yes it is! It has heated leather seats, 6 CD Player, Power sunroof, etc.

Yeah, my hopes are definitely up :)

I did the same as you, been looking for the right car for 3 months. Finally got it last week. Definitely get the compression check though.

That's great man! How are you liking it?

Okay, so we got a compression test done.

7.7s across the board on rotor 1, 8, 7.7, 8 on rotor 2. Tests done @280rpm.

So, looks like it's in an acceptable range.

I offered $5500 (asking price was $6000.) He said he could do $5700. Does this seem like a fair price?

That's good news.:)
To me, yes, a good price, but you have to decide.
I always say something is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.
It looks like a nice 8, GT in good shape, if you want it, you should buy it.
Good luck!

Btw, my '04 GT had the original sticker.;

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...d5e23487e7.jpg

Man, my heart is like "Yes! It's gonna be awesome!" but my wallet is like "No! It looks like shit!"
I'll just think about it throughout the day and get back to the guy this evening. Wish me luck, fellas :)

I do like that saying. I remember hearing it in Nightcrawler. That was a pretty good movie.


That's good stuff man. I don't know what's going on really, but it does look expensive :D

Looks can be improved easier than other things.
Try KBB or Edmunds for a comparative price.

Oh, the car looks really nice. It's paint is pretty nearly perfect and I do like black cars. I just meant that my brain (where money is handled a good 50% of the time) is trying to dissuade me.

I checked the KBB value and for this car in Very Good condition is $5500 and in Excellent condition is $5900. It is in very good condition for sure. So I can imagine $5700 isn't really a bad deal.


EDIT:

Alright, the decision has been made. I'll be the proud owner of an '05 RX-8 GT tomorrow. I got the guy to agree to $5600 + $60 for compression test

That's awesome. I think you did well.
I'm excited for you.:)

Thank you! :) Thanks for all the help along the way. I probably would have ended up with the first one I saw that had serious compression issues.

I noticed the clock is ticking really slowly today...

My pleasure, glad to help.
I received plenty of help since I joined the club from many different members, and try to help out when I can.
Feel free to reach out any time.
Have fun!:)

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...97afa37d47.jpg
There she is :')
Even more beautiful than I last remember. Now to just transfer the darn title and get out on the road :mad:

Sweet.
She's a head turner. The ladies will like it, I'm sure.:)

So, I was finally able to drive it around for a few days. It took a bit to get the title and insurance and everything settled out. Funny enough, my insurance only went up $4/year from my Grand AM. I guess Grand AMs just suck.

Anyhow, I'm still getting used to stick. I've had a couple embarrassing moments.
Yesterday, I was the first person at a red light and a couple people came up behind me. I was watching the opposite light for it to turn orange so I could start readying up the clutch to get moving without embarrassing myself (Figures.) The light turned orange, I slowly lifted the clutch waiting to feel it engage... Light turned green, but I was still lifting waiting for that moment it was gonna engage and I could put the gas down and zoom-zoom. Okay, something felt wrong, I decided to just give it gas, because it evidently wasn't planning on engaging anytime soon. I pushed the gas down and the engine roared but not much else happened. The light is still green and I can tell I must have missed a step. I kept lifting the clutch though just in case it was gonna start moving. I looked at my gear shifter ... ah... neutral... That's probably got something to do with it. Put it in first, started letting up on the clutch, gracefully stalled, started again and floored it through the now yellow light just in time and the lady behind me (bless her patient soul) was stuck waiting for the next light.

But really, once I get it going, this thing is so fun to drive. I don't have any regrets :D

Gratz on the new-2-u 8! :)

I'm a little confused by your experience there though....

Reading through your story it seems like you were waiting at a light, and it stalled on you while you were trying to engage the clutch, but the transmission was in neutral???

Thanks :D

Oh oops, I put it in first, then stalled, then started again, then got through the light.
It didn't really go that smooth.
This was like my 4th time driving a manual, so mostly I remember getting to the light, trying to start, nothing happened, I looked around to make sure no one saw, stalled, then got through and got out of there asap.