Inspecting an RX8 before buying?
 

I was wondering what the best way to get an RX8 "checked" before committing? I want to have at least a compression check and maybe some other stuff looked at by a qualified mechanic but would it be just as simple as taking the car to a mazda dealership and having them check for a fee?

Exactly; take it in and tell the service writer what your plans are.

But its not going to be free. Dealers pricing on a compression test will range widely. Expect around 150 bucks for it to be done. Just call a few in your area and they should be able to give you a qoute.

Ask the person you might be purchasing from if he/she will go in 50/50 on the test. If they want to sell you the car, its worth the money to them to help pay for the test.

Worth the try. Besides, the seller should agree if he/she wants to sell the car.

Well I'm having the compression test done at a local mazda dealership and they've quoted $184 for the test and said it would take 2 hours to do... does that sound about right? Didn't know it would take so long...

Honestly, just go with it.
If it doesn't pass, you can ask the dealer what they would need to replace the motor, and you can then ask the owner if they have all of that info the dealer wants.

Then, you can work with the owner if they want to reduce their price since you have to go through the trouble of replacing the motor if you buy it from them, or if they want to replace the motor before selling it to you for that same price.

If the dealer says you need to replace the plugs, wires, and coils, get the price quote, and have that be part of the discount the owner gives you for buying the car.

BC.

Anyway I had it checked, passed with flying colors so I picked it up =)

(Yes, we had snow in October)

Gratz on the purchase!

^ Nice ride. Didn't realize you were buying an R3. Congrats!

That is one clean R3!!
We want more pics!

Will upload more pics when I get it cleaned up =)

In the meantime it looks like the previous owner took good care of it, threw on some Potenza RE-11's. Didn't open the airbox but there's a K&N sticker on it so I assume the air filter was replaced with a K&N (not sure how I feel about that). On the highway I get around 22-23 mpg so I think the spark plugs are ok but I might replace them for the hell of it. Oil was filled up. Might replace tranny fluid - it's smooth, but 4th gear seems a bit notchier than the rest. When it idles the RPM is constant at around 900 but every now and then it makes a little "puff" noise... sounds like something to do with the cat maybe? Not sure if that's normal or not but from my searching I couldn't find a definitive answer. I'll just have it checked by Mazda since it should still be covered under the powertrain warranty.

I Would change the plugs, wires and coils. That was the very first thing i did when i bought my 8. How many miles are on it?
If you change out your tranny fluid i would recommend Redline synthetic MT-90. I feel that it shifts smoother and im also a believer in synthetics :yesnod:

Not sure what the "puff" noise is, but my 8 usually idles a little above 750 rpms.

Not to mess up this thread however I should interject that my 2006 GT MT is in pretty much MINT condition and FOR SALE as of now. I bought a Corvette GS Sunday to replace the car that is an extention of myself...the Rx8. I only had to buy a new car in order to keep myauto allowance from my company...otherwise I'd kill the sucker who'd touch my 8.

It's had 84K of properly driven miles put on it. Looks new short of one door ding (no paint gone). IT WOULD BE WORTH YOUR AIRLINE TICKET TO COME OUT AND GRAB THIS THING BEFORE WE eBAY IT.

At 80K we did the following JUST BECAUSE I take care of all of my vehicles the same way. These maintenance items cost over $3,000 about 3-months ago...and now it's for sale.

*New OEM clutch
*New OEM brakes and rotors...and we paint-matched the calipers and rotors
*New coil packs
*New plugs
*New $200 Red Top Optima battery
*4 new Yokohama sDrive tires.

This thing runs like new...95% neck and neck to my son's S2000 so I KNOW there is NO power loss...again, because I know how to drive these.

$14,000 FIRM...that's like paying $11,000 for a mint '06 GT and then paying to do all that work. $14K sounds right for the typical car like mine but it's a STEAL For one that received all that work AND is mint.

This thing needs nothing. Fly out to Tucson (no rust, garaged 24/7 work at home) and drive home to Alaska!

http://shottscruisers.smugmug.com/Ve...O/DSC02628.jpg

As you wish =)

Yup... I'm really jealous..