Hello wise owners,
I am currently pondering the following. Buying an 06 rx8 for 1000 in the UK. Short (1month) MOT. Not compression tested. 77 thou miles. Runner. No hot start problems.
Driving it to Prague, where I live. Roughly 1700 miles. Doing it up.
Will get full breakdown cover for journey, plus onward journey cover to Prague.
Main idea is value. In Prague, Rx in any condition go for 3 x cost of uk car. Even crashed cars go for same price as my runner.
What you think?

 

1000 quid for an 8? That's around $1660. US. What's wrong with it? For that price, I would highly recommend that you see that towing or roll-off service is included. The price tells me there are major issues with the car that might see it breaking down in mid-journey and costing you a lot more than 1000 quid to fix. And if that 1000 is Euros, it raises about $300 more concern. If it were me and I was blinded badly enough by the car's appearance to buy it, I would be looking to get the car restored BEFORE attempting such a long trip, trip coverage or not.

 

Paul, are you planning on keeping and taking care of an 8, or hoping to get it that far to sell?

 

I need a car for work, about 40 miles each day. We have a Renault Scenic auto at the mo, and I simply cannot stand it - boring, does sh#t gas 10l/100km and is as user friendly as a kick in the head - you need to take it to an auth service to change the lightbulbs!
But my mrs needs an auto, so it stays. An RX8 would a)be cheap as chips to buy in the UK b)be far easier to service myself and look after (I have a garage that was used as the local service place by the previous owner, and he left shedloads of twenty yr old kit - spanners, wrenches, compressor, lathe, all of which work) and c) fun on the motorway to work. Yes, sh#t gas mileage, but you can't have it all...
I would probably go up to two grand for an 06 model. Some nice Evoke Copper mica models are around that mark on uk autotrader. And keep it as close to original as I could, for as long as I could.

 

Why do 8s cost that much more in Prague? Is it just market conditions, versus an import tax you'd be hit with at the border?

The trip to UK, a 1700 mile road trip and breakdown insurance wont be free. If you also figure the value of your time, the economics won't be as favorable as you think.

But if you're looking forward to this as something cool to do, then go for it. A friend just did 2100 miles (1400 on his wife's car round trip, 700 on his "new" car) to pick up a used police car he bought at auction. It's the kind of adventure he really enjoys.

Usual cautions about checking out the car apply.

Ken

 

Hi Ken,
Used cars cost more here in Czech because that's what the majority of Czechs drive. A six yr old Skoda Octavia with 150 000 on the clock will set you back 4000 quid.
The UK market has always been good for second hand cars... but they are RHD. Will soon learn to live with the wheel on the wrong side!