Newcomer to mazda
 

Hey guys name is mike. Just wanted to give everyone an official hello.
Now to buisness and fun i hope. I'm looking at purchasing my first mazda let alone it be an 04 RX-8 GT 6spd with all ops except Nav. car has 53k miles on it. Gentleman is selling for 16k. has a flawless intereor motor looks clean and well maintained. and just showed me reciets of recent basic service.

But (yes the bad news)
The car has some scratches on drivers door they look fairly deep and possibly cause by a stray shopping cart. someone did a bad job of touchup paint so probably best to see a professional right? Other than that car looks great. Of course a test drive was in order and so i must say for this little baby i was impressed so i'm ready to buy. Ofcourse to make sure it wassn't me just beeing in a fresh saddle i did go to local dealer and drove an 08 limited edition 8 and a speed6 just for kicks the 8s felt identical and solid yet smooth.
sooooo.

Any buying input would be greatly accepted. I think i can live with a door repair for such a price i dont mind having it fixed after purchase.

Thank you all in advance

first, you might want the complete maintenance history of the car. not just recent basic service.

and I will not pay 16K for a 50K miles/4 yrs old car. I will pay him 12K max.

for the paint, yes you can fix those at a good shop. oh lets not forget have a good garage to check the car see if it ever been in an accident b4 (Carfax too)

wow
 

i had the car valued and other than the door paint got estimated 20k for value. so your saying thats still not sufficient to buy it. not sure how vehicle value in your neck of the woods but even the dealerships here certified start at 19k with close to similar miles. havent found a private owner yet even close to that kinds of figures

If you get it, could you post before/after pics of the door. You can definitely get it fixed up to perfect appearance. Hope you get a decent price and all else in the car checks out +'ve.

Check the FS section here. I agree that the price is a little high. +1 on getting it thoroughly (sp?) checked out also. Mazda should run the service history for free, and having a mechanic check it should be less than 100 and well worth it.

price doesn't sound too bad to me.. Fully loaded car w/o nav in great condition? Yeah you can find cheaper but then the quality is at question. If this car is as pristine as he says, I'd go for it.

Also, the only 8's I see going for 12k ish are barebones package with lots of miles or the occasional "gotta get rid of it" ebay deal.

I think the OP found a decent car. Post pics please!

-Matt

trust me all the 8s i seen within 100 miles of me cheaper was auto or inside looked like someone lived in it
i got photos but not sure how to post i can email if need be i went ahead with the purchase and its extremly cold here right now and i have had no problems with starting or anything

owner gave me reciets for all services too
i think 16k it was good deal all the gt with nav i fount owners wanted 18k or more

i did go to dealer and run VIN and show that all major services were completed
for being in VA i think the deal was fair, not the best but by far not a rip off
oh and the tech said clutch shows no signs of abuse and it passed VA inspection and emissions wich they are picky on

pics coming soon 04 gt fully loaded cept nav with areo package 6sp mt

you live in VA huh. You might want to look a bit more in other states.

Cuz 16 K for 50K mile car is really too high. consider the Bumper to Bumper warranty is already gone. and power train warranty is about to go out (another 10K?)

So ... if its me, I'll get 13K max nothing more.

I gottA agree, that is too high. Private Owner? that is at least $3k high. If it were a dealership, $14k on the outside limits, absolute tops for a perfect car.

Yea man that is kind of high. I just bought an 05 6spd with everything including navi and mine had 13k and i got it for 18,000.. For the mileage that 04 has its not worth 16,000 imo...