truejee

well as many of you know i have been in the market for an rx8 for what seems like YEARS! but i think i'll finally be an owner of one this weekend! Although i did have to sacrifice some things. I really wanted a black 8 with red/black leather interior. And that's exactly what i'm hopefully getting. The car has around 20k maybe nearing 21k miles. It's a 2004 GT auto with navi... and the owner said she'll sell at $11,500 final price. =D The car is in Michigan, it's about a 3.5-4 hour drive for me but the ride back home should be a blast xD Although it's from Michigan she said it's only seen snow twice, as she is a work at home mother. So the car is nearly RUST FREE. She say's the car is in mint condition. No cracking on the seats. Rotors look brand new still. Clean body. Heck, the plastic is still on the floor mats lol. And the car is also garage kept so it doesnt sit outside.

I have asked question regarding the car and here's what she said.

"I use regular gas....5w/20 oil it gets changed every 1000-3000 miles which you have to do with that car...its never flooded, the body is perfect and the interior is perfect..the car is in MINT condition."

Also i was wondering what i should be looking for when i go see the car before i buy it. Although i'm nearly 100% she wouldnt scam me if i get a shipping company ship the car to me. but i'd much rather drive back home in it. lol.
Any specific things i should look for? Sounds that i should be aware of when test driving it? Is using regular gas over premium such a big deal? any other owner use 5w/20 oil? good for the 8 or is there something better? Umm.. i dont have any other questions right now, but yeah. Any help would be great =D

Lunacy

5w20 is whats recommended in the manual. Thats what i use. Price isn't bad for 20k miles. Should be a little worried of how little mileage it has. Low mileage could possibly mean something was bad and the owner didn't drive it for long periods of time. Ask her if you can take it to get a compression test at a dealership. If the test goes well, sounds like a good deal.

Nouvellion

Which is it?


List of Questions for her:
Why didn't she use Premium?
Why isn't topping up the oil mentioned?
Ever redlined the engine?
Recalls performed? (Check the vin with MazdaUSA and know the answer before you ask)

Premium vs. Regular is up for debate, but the manual says premium, so anyone who doesn't use it, but is willing to garage a car every winter and generally take such good care of it must either have a good reason for thinking it's okay or is suspicious in my eyes.

5w/20 is generally considered too light, although that's what mazda recommends. A quick search on these forums will get you more info on that.

Make sure it starts well when hot. (Once it's hot after your test drive, start it up again shortly after shutting it down.)

I'm not sure if it's as relevant to redline the engine on the 2004 auto. It's a big thing on the 6MT because the 3rd ports don't open up and can get clogged. Still good for cleaning out carbon deposits though.

terch1

iTrader: (2)

"Rotors look brand new still" How would she know this unless the engine was removed from the car and disassembled? And I'm assuming that thevehicle was garage kept if it has never seen snow?

Bigbacon

iTrader: (4)

dude, drive the 3.5 to 4 hours and look at it. thats not that long/far of a drive.don't pay to have it shipped to you.

If you get it, it will be fun on the ride home!

Nouvellion

I missed that part when I read it the first time.

Definitely press on that. She's either a badass "work at home mother" who rebuilds engines for fun (No reason to have seen the rotors unless major issues were encountered) or there are lies in this story.

[Edit:]
No offence, but the most convincing people are the professional liars. Look at this one very carefully before dropping 11.5k

Kevin McMahon

Also of course if you have been in the market for so long than you dont care about the loss of power and reduced reliability the 04 auto's have specifically right? Your best bet on condition of the vehicle is call a Mazda close to her and pay for an inspection, that way they can also tell you if all the recall work has been done, and youll know what other stuff you may have to do soon that she wont divulge because its "like new" and all the other smoke shes blowin your way.
It sounds good in theory, but the more thorough you make your investigation, the better off you will be in the long run here.

truejee

1st owner was a car collector so it wasn't driven much mostly in storage. She bought the car cash.
are compression tests usually free from the dealer, or roughly how much would it be?

rotors as in the brake rotors lol.

no she seems legit. She's having another kid, and needs a bigger car. If i dont get the 8 she'd be trading it in for a newer cadillac.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

4 port Auto = Fail.

nuke0907

iTrader: (2)

hey now.

truejee

BB GT. Fully loaded, red/black leather interior. Appearance package. with navi.
That should somewhat make up for the 4 port auto. I would have liked 6 speed manual, but most BB with red/black interior had high mileage or were out of my price range. I had to sacrifice something right?

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

A local guy here just bought a dealer serviced (every oil change from day one) 04' GT for $10,000.00 cash with a new (rebuilt) motor with 48k on it. The factory NAV is worthless, GT's without NAV are a dime a dozen.

Hell cornholio135 just got a low mileage 06' Shinka with a new motor here in San Antonio for not much more than you are paying. A local member here, 8maniac, has a BB GT 6speed with red/black leather but no NAV that will probably be for sale soon enough.

That is not a good deal IMO, an undriven 4 port auto RX-8 is just a problem child.

Nouvellion

Somewhere in the Neighborhood of $100.

I see the story checks out a bit better with some extra info you posted, but still be careful and make 100% sure it's the right one for you before you make the jump. A car is something you live with (and usually pay for) for years to come.

[Edit: Modifying original statement]
I don't feel that way about anyone I haven't known for 5+ years.

Winning 8

I will sacrifice anything but the engine, a four port auto is a waste of gas. You are buying a car that only do 16-17 mpg and it only have 197hp. That is the reason the owner don't drive it that often.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

Yeah, a local guy here has a 2010 RX8 GT 6 port Auto and it is still significantly slower than my 6 speed. But it is a beautiful car and still fun to drive. I am sure if I did not drive a 6 speed everyday I would be okay with it. We recently installed the Racing Beat Revi intake and catback exhaust on it and there was some improvement.

Another Texas tracks his 6 port Auto and does wonderfully. But like ^ he said, you will likely regret the purchase once the coolness/newness wears off. hell many 6 speed buyers have buyers remorse after a while because they did not research properly and had unreasonable expectations of the RX-8.

truejee

if only deals were that good around here.. lol


yeah. hmm... good point

i wont be doing that much driving. it would be to school and back (2-5 min. drive). Driving to work. and weekends wouldnt be far distances, only occasionally. The v8 toyota 4runner is currently getting 17.1 mpg. I drove 24-25 miles and the fuel tank was still full. Plus i read somewhere on the forums, auto's get slightly better gas mileage? idk. but yes i would much rather prefer at least a 6 speed auto. I'm hoping for the next car to be an 09 black r3. but that wont be for a couple more years. hah

RX8Lovah

If shes asking "fair" Blue book price for the car, i would definatly take the trip to go look at the car and have it inspected before you drop the money and have it shipped


What i would do.. Is drive the 4 hours, get a hotel. put a deposit(refundable) and ask to borrow the car for the day / night. have it checked out so you know how the car drives/ feels with cold start and how it drives when warm. also ask her for the maintance history.

truejee

kbb prices it high $15,000. I first saw the car back in october/november online on autotrader. it had 18kmiles and was going for $15,500-$16,000. somewhere in that range. She has since put the listing down to when i was more ready to buy (around this time). She had it at $11,999 earlier this week, but when asked she agreed to drop it to $11,500. Yeah i just messaged her back. and hmm.. the hotel idea isn't a bad idea..

Kevin McMahon

Dont ask for a service history, GO GET ONE! Dont let the seller tell you whats been done to it, because although oil changes are important, the other service on the RX8's are more important.
Again pay to have a mazda dealer inspection. You will get all the service records, including a list of recalls that have/should have been done, and you will know what kinks it may currently have.
Also using the "dont autos get slightly better gas mileage" argument is kind of bologna. Why are you buying an RX8? Just because it looks cool? Because its a car that most people have bought because of the driving experience. Sure thats not everyones reason, but the difference between maybe 18-20mpg, and 19-22, well thats not saving you anything, and you are sacrificing two major fun factors of the car being the more power and the six speed.
Everyone has their own wants i guess, but buying an RX8 just because its a cool looking car, you might be biting off a little more than you can chew.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

KBB list the price of cars too high. I would suggest http://www.nadaguides.com/ for a more realistic price. This is the same company that the dealers use to price their used cars.

VashGS

I would say pass on this one. But that's just my opinion since you asked. As others have said Automatic is well. Unless you 100% need it for like traffic grind. If you have to worry about reliable, simple, and good gas economy. This is not the car. Rotary engine with automatic is just well. It's wrong. You can get a vette with auto right now used for 10 grand that will get 14 sec or better qm's.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

It sound like you have already made up your mind man but anyway you slice it, it is not a smart move IMO. And I don't care what KBB says, no way an 04' auto is worth 15k regardless of condition or mileage. I have seen low mileage 07' GT's in the 16-17 range (asking price).


I just searched quickly and North Park Mazda here has a VR 07' GT Auto with 09'+ wheels and 23,618 miles for $17,900.00. Which means you could get it for $15,000.00. I talked them down $4,000.00 when I bought mine back in the day and that was when resale was good and before the reliability issues murdered sales

http://images.autotrader.com/scaler/..._A.562x421.jpg

hollistar_4

hey im in wi, selling my blue 6sp, works perfect/all things mechanically sound, all updated stuff, i can let it go for 9500 or so? worth 11,600 :D, if your interested

i wouldnt go with an auto tho, i almost bought a red GT w/o navi had black/red leather, everything, was an amazing car but slow as hell, that was NOO fun, but black is nice

oh its touring, and not 20k miles..........(my car)

truejee

so the owner isn't responding back to my messages...
so i might go back out on the lookout for a black 8 with red/black leather interior D=

hollistar_4

mines still for sale =P lol