Stuck In A Hole
 

Hello guys my name is Jahmari from Boston, Mass but I live in Huntsville, AL. I am 19 and I got tricked out into this car. I bought it no warranty and the engine died on me in 2 weeks. Took it to mazda and they told me I need a whole new engine because it is failing the compression test. Plus the guy who sold it to me from the dealership isn't trying to help me and on top of that I already put in 5gs on it and I owe him $2,200... So I'm all kinds of messed up right now.

I need to know what engine replacement I can get for cheap or what other engine I can get installed in it. Its a 2004 Mazda Rx8 blue semi-automatic. Please help me because I need a game plan and I've been stressing out. Plus I tried to sue but my car doesn't fall under the Tennessee lemon law nor federal lemon-law. That's me and the car in the picture...

you bought a used car 'as-is' so this is one of the risks.
as for an engine replacement, you only have 1 option. Replace it with another RX-8 motor. There are other motors you CAN swap in (RX-7) but it'll cost you much more.


ask around in your local subforum (whichever one AL is in) and see if there are any reputable rotary mechanics in the area.
then ask them about either rebuilding your current motor or buying a crate motor and having them install it. We have a few vendors here who sell rebuilt motors so that could also be an option.
You're looking at a few thousand bucks total.


probably not the answer you wanted but it's the reality of the situation you're in.

You mentioned tennessee, the cheapest AND reputable rebuilder is near Knoxville TN (Rotary Resurrection). By "semi-automatic" (isn't that a gun term?) I assume you mean automatic transmission. If correct, for a 2004 you unfortunately have the rarest engine (highest replacement cost), that is also the lowest power and more unreliable.

You are in a rough spot for sure, and there aren't many good options. We get stories like this all the time, as most older RX-8s on dealer lots have dead engines. Which is why we heavily stress the importance of a compression test before purchase.

Probably referring to the paddle shifters.

Also, if you did buy it from a dealership, even "as-is" cars have a certain amount of protection if the dealership tried to sell it as completely healthy and it died within a set time frame from purchase. I'd double check, that is if it was from a dealership, private sale you're outta luck.

Yes it's automatic but you can put it to where you can switch the gears manually if you get what I'm saying.

Also how do so get to the AL subform?

Virtually all automatics have a manual shift option these days, so the only distinction is between manual and automatic.

Go to the main page (https://www.rx8club.com) and scroll down to the regional subforums and see which one AL is in, Southeast i think.

thx

You didn't purchase an additional warranty or you bought it "as-is no warranty"? There is a difference there that may give you some legal footing unless the as-is box was checked.
Some reading for explanation:
What If Your Recently-Bought Used Car Explodes?

If funds are tight it may be easier to just buy a beater and save some cash up for the engine replacement and to pay off the RX8. If it's really keeping you up at night sell the blown RX8 to pay off what's owed and walk away.

Either way don't sweat it too much, if you aren't in some financial/legal/or relationship hot water at 19 you're doing it wrong. Mistakes just get more expensive as the years go on.