buying rx8 w/ 80k mi
 

I am looking at buying a 2005 8. It has about 80k miles. What should i look for when buying this? I know that the person that owns it now keeps some oil in the car and keeps it topped off. It looks like its in good condition. But I have heard mixed reviews about the early 8's. Any advice?

You'll get lots of opinions.
I wouldn't do it unless:
1) Get a compression test done
2) You're a gear head and like to work on cars
3) If it's really cheap

FYI the RX8 uses oil to lubricate and cool the apex seals (internal engine parts).
Meaning you need to check the oil level say ..... every other fill up until you are comfortable with the oil usage.

Its $7500. From what I see that's a good price. I am not a gear head at all.

The problem is that if you are looking for a car in the 7,500 dollar range it likely means you don't have very much money or you don't really car about spending money on a car, or both!

Without knowing the maintenance background of a 2005 RX8 it's impossible to say if it's a good deal.
At that mileage and age there is plenty that it will require being replaced soon if it hasn't already been done.

Get a compression test, and post it here. That will tell us how healthy the motor is. Yes the early models had engine failure problems. They extended the warranty out to 8 years and 100,000 miles.
Check to see if it's still under warranty ....get all the old oil receipts from the previous owner ... you'll need those.
Ask which TSB's have been performed.

Things like coils, plugs, and the upgraded starter are good inquires.

BTW if its a 2005 automatic ...... the performance will disappoint u epically .... stayaway from those

We are getting someone to do a compression test on it and the oil is kept topped off and changed every 3k miles. The coils, plugs and starter have not been changed in 3 years. Is that something that would hurt the engine or would it be ok if they were changed now. I have drove the car and it starts to backfire at around 5k rpm about once ever half second. Would changing the coils and plugs fix this?
Also i dont know if this is how the rx8 runs but sitting at idle the rpms go from 1500 and drop to 1000. If there is slight pressure(barley resting my foot) on the gas it will start to die until i put some more pressure on the gas pedle.
BTW it is a manual. If its a sports car it has to be a manual!

That right there is more than enough reason to take the car directly to a Mazda dealer, and pay them for a compression test, to have the proper tool to determine if one of the faces of the rotor is weak on one of the two rotors.

If you just use a normal compression tester, you won't know which one of the rotor faces is responsible for the weak reading, if you can even see the weak reading.

Plus, paying someone for a proper pre-purchase inspection report might also be a good idea.

BC.