zookmor

Hello my name is zack and I am looking at upgrading from an 03 civic si hatch to an 04 rx8 that has 31k miles. They guy is asking 11k for the car, and it has low miles.

My question is what all should i look at on Sunday when I go to look at and test drive the car. Any major mechanical issues or hidden type things that I should consider or look for?

Thanks in advance

Zack

IndoRx8

What color is the car? usually pay more attention to the tail lights, some rx-8 have problems with the leakage of tail light (moist) on it. Try to put on the pedal on high RPM, if it sounds smooth, then you probably should take it. Anyway 04 car is already old enough, be prepared for services if the 1st user abuse it

Eish

Cold start it, switch it off before it warms up, then start it again to see if it floods.
Check the dipstick to see if the seller is maintaining the oil levels.

2tone

iTrader: (3)

oh my god...don't pay attn to these ridiculous posts. search around, there is a TON of information on this already man...

REsuperD

that's a pretty mean thing to do. even if the car floods, that's just wrong and bad karma

REsuperD

these are the basic things i'd do if i were shopping for another 8. regarding the motor, i would note ease of starting and idle behavior. long crank might indicate lack of updated starter or old battery. bouncy/rough idle might mean bad ignition components, which are easy to rectify. (these might also mean something else, so i'd be cautious if starting and idle are rough.) take it out on a test drive, and when fully warmed up, engine should run very smooth all the way to the upper rpm. redline it once just for fun, but do it w/ fully warmed engine and in safe traffic/road. check exhaust for smoke. best if the car is cold when starting. it's normal to blow a bit of vapor out the exhaust if the weather is cool and car sat overnite. after test drive and when engine reached operating temp, shut it off and restart it a bit later. it should not be difficult to restart. check oil level just for kicks. if it's low, then the owner is likely a slob and might not want to trust him/her. check clutch pedal for play or noise. there might be noise from the spring, which can be oiled/lubed. might want to climb under the steering column to get a good look at the clutch pedal assembly, 'cuz some of 'em snap

ask the owner about maintenance and flash updates. nice if they produce records/receipts. this car requires care and driving, so low mileage might not necessarily be good. check if the owner was conscientious about checking oil level and proper maintenance intervals. get the vin and call mazda to see if the car is still under the extended powertrain warranty (if it has been voided for any reason). a clean carfax might not tell you anything useful, but a dirty carfax might tell you to walk away, so i'd ask for a carfax just to not to miss the latter. other than that, the rest is standard used car stuff. there're other minor quirks and annoyances (like water in taillights) to look for, and they're all easily found elsewhere in the forum

funkyfresh

awesome post REsuperD, thanks for just posting it and not telling us to search millions of posts.

Eish

If you were buying mine, I wouldn't have a problem if you did that. But, if you revved it while cold, that would **** me off.