So i'm looking at getting a RX-8. I found one for a good deal but the car has low compression. Its a 2005 really clean car has been kept under a tarp in a garage when the owner went out on duty and he wants to sell now that he knows it has low compression. The compressions were @ 250 (6.6 6.5 6.8), (6.5 6.5 6.3). What would you think a good price would be for the car and would you think it would be just seals or possibly something else?

And would you suggest just a engine rebuild??

Thanks
Jarrett

 

In order for us to determine the appropriate price we will need more information such as;

Mileage
Trim
Auto / 6Spd and etc

An 05 with low compression I wouldn't pay more than $2500. Since an engine rebuild / new engine will be required pretty soon that could cost you from 3-5k easy.

I would suggest you read the new/potential owners thread a few times to understand what rx8's are all about..

cheers

 

Thanks

The main question is with the compression that it is at now would you say it is a simple rebuild and new seals that would fix it? Or would you think I would need an engine swap because of housing wear?

Also I've heard that the 2005 and 4 engines can have problems that mess up with the ECU and other things besides the low compression that plagues some rotaries.

So would you advise just a rebuild?

 

Impossible to say... If it has five hundred thousand miles on it then no... we need more data.

 

If the car is in otherwise good shape, $2,500 is the highest. If the car is in otherwise poor shape, $1,500 is the top. If you can get it for less, even better. Expect $3,500 minimum into the engine, though budgeting for at least $5,000 is probably a better way to go.

All engine rebuilds do approximately the same thing, and you won't really know what can be saved until the engine is open. The cheapest rebuild you can get is about $2,500, and that doesn't include labor to more or install the engine, or shipping charges to get the engine to TN. Anyone that tells you that they can rebuild it for the seal kit (~$800) is going to just take your money and give you a dead engine. I've never seen it happen on an engine that lasted more than ~10,000 miles afterwards. You WILL have to replace major components too, just you don't know if it will be a few or all of them.

The safest bet is to just plan on buying another engine, returning that one as a core or selling it cheap to someone that wants to see if the can rebuild it.

 

Car has ~135k miles and about ~40K on the engine. (engine was replaced around ~95K miles). The car is very clean for a 2005 like i said it was kept under a tarp and has been sitting because the owner is overseas. The owner told his sister to sell and when getting it checked out come to find out it has low compression.

 

they are also to trying to put extra flywheel and clutch with the car

 

I'd offer $1,500, and target $2k as the price to get it at.

 

Sitting idle for a long period of time is really bad for a car. It's not just the engine you have to worry about. I flat out would not buy it at any price. People really should know better.

They should have started it up and drove a little every week. Always have somebody do that if you're gonna be away like that. Car is probably ruined if they didn't do that. How long did it sit?

 

Considering the engine is known dead, what more would have gone wrong from sitting?

 

It didn't sit very long because after a little while his sister began driving it around to keep it up. So it didnt just sit but it was kept under a tarp. Would just a simple rebuild kit be all that you think it needs and at most a new engine? And what is the worth of these rx8 if the engine is okay?

 

A 135,000 mile 2005 with a brand new engine and zero other flaws would be worth maybe $6,500-$7,500. If there are other flaws or problems, it will drop fast.


NEVER count on being able to get away with a simple seal-only rebuild. Expect to spend enough to just buy a new engine in the first place.