04 RX-8 Renesis Edition?
 

Looking to some of you already RX-8 owners to see if I should pull the trigger on this car! I have a 2000 Lifted Excursion and just sold my Streetbike I used as a DD so now I need a new one to scoot around in every now and again. It will be driven 3-4 days a week.

Here is a short run down of it-

100,000 Miles and Automatic Tranny
2nd Owner
Leather Interior
X3 Racing Body Kit
18" Black Wheels and tires
It says racing Headers/Exhaust (I'll have to check this out)
8k HID Kit
And zero accidents


Here are some pics, I am going to look at it tomorrow afternoon.

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PS, this could be a gem undiscovered as the guy doesn't seem to know much about cars. Could be a good thing or bad thing I don't know yet lol

Before I even look at the pictures I am incredibly wary. "Renesis edition"? WTF is that? Does the seller not know that the Renesis is the name of the engine that powers every single RX-8 out there (from the factory, doesn't include post-purchase swaps).

Until the seller posts up compression scores though, you can not pay any attention to "excellent mechanical condition"

See the first link in my sig for the kind of detail you will need. First 9 posts to open your eyes going into the purchase.

After seeing the pictures I get a bit more wary.

Some points about it where it differs from stock:
- Mazdaspeed body kit, but probably a knock off as the front bumper bottom lip portions are painted and not black. Plus he probably doesn't have the money for an authentic if the wheels are just black painted stock wheels
- Rear bumper paint doesn't match
- Front bumper on passenger side looks like it was scuffed
- The wheels are just black painted stock wheels
- His description says "HID kit", but he has a Grand Touring trim which came with HIDs from the factory
- The catback exhaust is clearly aftermarket. Zero idea if he actually has an aftermarket header in there. It is highly unlikely that he retained the stock cat in working condition if he upgraded the header and the cat back, so if you need to pass a sniffer test, you need to check that out
- carbon fiber eye lids
- lowered
- blacked out corner markers and tinted rear lights
- I suspect it was overheated at least once, as there is a green tint visible on various plastic parts under the hood.


I'd say that yeah, he doesn't know much about the car. But in a bad way, not a good way.

Also,

this read is amazing

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discuss...t-here-202454/

But on anotehr note I said HID kit because it had HIDS.

The owner misspelled words and had typos so I just had to translate lol


Any more help is great guys thanks!

Im also assuming the 1st owner did all the mods and upgrades. Current owner doesnt seem bright enough lol

Mods and downgrades, call them with their proper name.

Lol icwutudidthere

Walk away.

Why :-/

2004 4AT GTs do NOT come with HIDs.

It's a 4 port auto with 100,000 miles! That alone would scare me off.

Read below. They are turds in NA form when new let alone with 100k on them.

He is asking 6,700 and I figured I'd offer him 5500 or 6k cash and it wouldn't be a bad deal.


I am trying to find a Mazda guy to come with me to look at it but no luck so far!

I see what's going on here,

You're just looking for positive re-enforcement on your decision to buy this RX8, ahhh you don't actually want the truth or to be told you're wrong or this isn't a good deal.
You've already decided.


Looks like a great buy!
It's a steal!
Buy it now before the sucker selling the car realizes he could sell it for twice as much!

I'm seeing a lot of the same year Rx8s locally with upwards of 150,000+

I won't be driving this thing much. MIGHT put 8-10,000 miles on it a year.

lol Just looking for honest opinions. There are quite a few for sale locally and I am just trying to weed out the good from the bad. :)

Also, looking to find if this Rx8 is a solid deal for 5500-6000

It's a good 2k under KBB If I can get it for ^^^ price

:rofl: i'd run away from that car as stated above.

Has it had a new engine or two? or three? Does he have compression numbers? Have you seen it in person? It looks pretty ragged from those pictures. 4port/4AT's are dirt slow and generally had the lion's share of low compression engines. FWIW, i sold my 05 GT 6mt, with a few actual performance mods, receipts, history, good compression, and 105k for $8k. It was far cleaner that that one. If you really want that one, offer $4k and keep another $4k in the bank for repairs, and engine, and maintenance.

lol geeze. I am hoping to find a mazda guy who can help me check it out.

How would I go about getting compression numbers?

Would it be a better idea to grab one that has a relatively new engine?


Like this one for example

04 Mazda RX8 "Renesis" Automatic

You can get average compression numbers with a standard compression gauge. That doesn't tell you much however. You need to go to a Mazda dealer or find someone with a rotary compression tool to find the numbers for each face of the rotors.

I am sorry, but you are wrong on this. Mine has factory HIDs.

Any more thoughts anyone?

It has been pretty much covered already. Stay away from 04-05 automatics if you are actually interested in a fun car and not just the looks. If you absolutely must buy an automatic then at least get an 06+ because they have a 6 speed transmission(04-05 has a 4 speed) so it is much better.

Get compression test scores. Without them we will only ever tell you to walk away from that car.

If you want to pursue it anyway that's on you. You asked for our opinion and we gave it to you, a pretty universal negative. Your choice on whether to heed it or not, your responsibility to deal with the consequences of not.