AkursedX

Hello all,

I'm new here to posting on this forum but I have been reading here for awhile and in the past two weeks, I have been absorbing as much information off this board as I possibly can.

I recently sold my 2nd car, a 1988 Pontiac Fiero with a turboed 3800 v6. I had this car for over 12 years and put a lot into her. But it was time for me to move on to something else.

My Fiero was primarily a 1/4 mile car and backup DD (I've run a best of 11.367@121.5MPH and got over 26mpg). It was a really cool and unique car to have, but now that I have an 18 month-old son, I wanted something with 4 seats. I also was bored with drag-racing. I had made over 45 passes in 3 years and it just wasn't fun. I wanted to get more involved in track days and auto-x.

This is where the RX8 comes in. I really wanted something newer so it would be safer for my son to be in, but still something that would be readily trackable. My main considerations were the RX8, GTO, another GTI (I already owned one), and the G35 coupe. I went and test-drove all of these cars back-to-back and the RX8 was easily the best car for me. The RX8 fills all of my needs. It can carry my son, plus another baby if we have one, it's fun to drive and I can't wait to get one on a road course, and with the rotary engine, it's also quite unique.

As for the rotary engine, although I have never owned one, I am far from unexperienced with them. I have been in love with rotaries since the early 90's and have been reading and learning about them for all that time.



Now as for my buying experience so far, I have test-driven 3 different RX8's:

#1- red, 2005 w/36k miles. This car was the 1st car I drove. The clutch/gearbox was great, but it broke up a bit above 7k rpms (coilpacks I would assume). It also had an aftermarket radio and there was an open circuitboard in the glovebox (I don't know what that was about). Newish tires. Had one door ding, but the rest of the exterior was clean.

#2- red, 2004 w/70k miles. This car seemed quicker and more alive than the 1st, but the clutch disengagment was real high. It had a nice ride. There were many interior and exterior scratches. Tires had tread but were dry-rotted.

#3- grey, 2005 w/44k miles. This car car the cleanest interior and exterior but it had a 4th gear-grind when shifting above 5k RPMS. From what I've read, that seems to be a pretty serious issue for the trans which would probably require replacement.


The next couple of days I should be going to look at least 3 more RX8's and hopefully I'll find something that I really like. Right now the 1st one on my list is the front-runner, but I don't know if I'll get it for the price I'm willing to pay for it.

We'll see though. I will update this thread as I go along in this process. Hopefully I'll be an RX8 owner sooner than later!

sjschutz

Glad you came to the light after test driving all of those other cars

You won't regret your decision to buy an '8. They are truly fantastic cars. I'm sure you already know this from your research, but when considering an '8 make sure to look for maintenance records/history and it's always worth it to get a compression check done.

Good luck and make sure to post pictures once you do purchase one.

RX8Soldier

iTrader: (24)

search up on the secondary shutter valve. This could be an issue with car choice #1. It can either be a really easy (and fun) fix. Or, you may need to remove and clean (pain in the ***, but doable).

Could also be a clogged cat. Coils/plugs are a good guess, as well. Just check off those things, should you wish to troubleshoot, yourself.

Lastly, make sure that the previous owners kept all service records. The 8year/100k mile warranty is usually only honored if you have them in hand...

Good luck!

AkursedX

Thanks for the advice! I didn't think about the service records. I'll have to spend more time looking into that. I also heard about the SSV issues too and that might be what's up with the 1st car. I've been working on cars since I was a little kid so I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty.

AkursedX

So a bit of an update. I am still without an RX8. I went out to look at a black '04 w/ 60k miles, but it wasn't there when I got to the dealer After that, I went to look at another black '04 with 90k miles and it was pretty rough all around so I didn't drive it.

So I went back to the 1st RX8 I looked at (red '05 w/36k miles) and put an offer on that car. They had a sticker on it for $15995 and on the internet for $14995. I offered them $12000 plus tax/title put they didn't bite. Oh well. The funny is that later that evening, they dropped the internet price to $13899.

There are a couple of other cars around here, but they are not what I'm looking for so I've decided to hold off till I find something that I really want (which is an 05+ sub 60k mile, non-silver, and no ground effects).

There is an '09 R3 with 22k miles in the area. They are asking $21400, but I was thinking of taking a look at it and offering $18500 and seeing if they'll bite. But if I do that, I'll have to have a small car-payment for a bit, which is something I really don't want to do.

We'll see......and the adventure continues......

AkursedX

I'm kind of excited. I'm going to look at an RX8 only a couple miles from my house. It popped up on autotrader a couple of days ago. It's an '04 with 76k miles. It just had the engine replaced a couple of weeks ago. It's also had some other major components serviced including a new transmission and power steering unit. It's a one-owner car and hasn't been in any accidents, and they have most of the service records. They want 10k for it. Asides from the fact that it's silver, it pretty much what I want. We'll see if the description matches the reality later on tonight.

Wingznut

iTrader: (1)

Don't underestimate the color preference. If you aren't a fan of silver, be patient and wait for the color that you want.

RX8Soldier

iTrader: (24)

^agreed!
I made that mistake, and it ended up costing me quite a bit in the end

wrightcomputing

iTrader: (5)

The price seems a little high at $1596. I have a 2007 Manual Touring in Phantom Blue. I bought it for about $1650 with under 30,000 miles over a year ago.

AkursedX

It's something I've already thought about and I feel I'm ok with it. It's not that I hate silver, it's that my TDI wagon is already silver and another 6 cars in my family that I work on are silver. It's more that I see too much of it. With the extra cash that I would have left over, I'd be able to add some cosmetic mods along with the performance mods that I want to do which will help it stand out a bit.

RX8Soldier

iTrader: (24)

If you feel ok with it, then do it.
But, if you find yourself not smiling every time you walk to your car, or looking back every time you leave, then I'd say you made the wrong choice. Color has a big impact on how much you'll love the car!

AkursedX

Well, I found my RX8! It's a silver '04 with 76k miles. I went to look at it last night. There's a couple of small issues (A ding on the l/f fender, rip in the driver's seat, and some paint chips on the front.) I took her for a test drive and she was solid and quite powerful. Other than noisy and worn tires, the mechanical stuff all works well. I made a low-ball offer and she took it and it was hard to say no.

I've already ordered a SOHN adapter and have a bunch of money for mods. Wheels, springs, shocks, CobbAP, midpipe, and a couple of other things will all be ordered very soon.

I actually will have the car Sunday. Stay tuned for a sweet build-thread.

sjschutz

Worry first about making sure the car is, and stays, mechanically sound. A new (reman) engine doesn't necessarily mean it's going to last a long time. Just make sure it has been properly cared for and you continue to treat it right.

I'm glad you found an '8 for yourself. Welcome to the family

fuztupnz

iTrader: (4)

WTF is this?

No one had to link any of the stickies?

Your mod list is solid.

Did you actually read?




Congrats and welcome!!!

You're gonna love it. You are definitely on the right track. Thank you for doing your own due diligence and research. You'll fit right in here.

One thing you you may want to look into mod wise is the BHR ignition when it comes time to replace your current coils.

Happy rotoring.

AkursedX

Haha, thanks! I forgot to add the BHR ignition to my list, but it's a main priority.

I don't even know if I'll have it on the road before winter sets in. When I buy a new car, I spend a lot of time cleaning and getting things up to *my* specs before I'll actually drive it. All the fluids will be getting changed, and I have to inspect all the wearable suspension/brake parts along with a new alignment.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

CONGRATS!!!
she'll be quite a change from your Fiero (I miss mine) but I think you're going to love this car.
Does the previous owner have maintenance records she wouldn't mind giving up? (in case you need it later since the motor is still under warranty)

get a compression test and start modd'ing that beast.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

If your going to do track days, get your *** over to Gratten Raceway. It's like driving your car on a roller coaster. It's my favorite track.

RX8Soldier

iTrader: (24)

'grats man!
Like others have said, thanks for doing the research. Looking forward to seeing some pics!

AkursedX

Surprisingly I haven't missed my Fiero all too much. Although I do sometimes miss just mashing the gas and getting thrown back into my seat when the turbo hit full boost.

And yes, the car comes with a nice pile of service records dating back to at least 2006. If it didn't have that, I probably wouldn't have bought it.

I'm a pretty active member with Michigan VW Enthusiasts (MIVE) and we usually have at least once track day a year. The past two years have been at Grattan and yeah, it's a pretty sweet course. I cannot wait to get the RX8 out there.

No problem. I know how annoying it can be seeing the same basic things posted over and over. I have been reading and researching extensively over the past month on the RX8 and this forum is a wealth of information. I already feel like I'm fairly experienced with the car and I don't even have it yet!