SamH

Hey guys,
I've done a good amount of research on RX-8s and I think the car is right for me. But before I buy, I'd like to make sure I'm not getting ripped when it's time to bargain. I've found several 05 MT RX-8's with the GT package. The one's I'm looking at have around 15000 miles on them. Sellers are asking for ~19500. In your opinion, what should I end up paying? I've looked around the for-sale section, but I still am not settled on a good value...

Also, is the GT package worth it in your opinion? I've been pretty much restricting myself to RX-8s with GT, but what do you guys think?

By the way, just to let you know for pricing reasons: I live in Southern California.

Thanks a lot for your help, guys. I'm looking forward to post here more in the future!

CTrx8

iTrader: (2)

do you need leather and heated seats? if so, then GT is a must. if not, it's not worth it. do you need a moonroof (or autox)? if you don't need a moonroof or autox, you won't even need touring.

are you buying from a dealership or private? those will determine prices more than anything. check out edmunds and see how much they're going for in your area. i'd say that for 15K miles from a dealership on an '05 GT, that isn't a terrible price but you can probably negotiate a bit more just as you would with any other car.

SamH

Thanks for your help CTrx8. I don't really need leather/heated. I'd still like moonroof though...anyway, I'll look around a bit more and see what I come up with...how much lower should a Touring go for vs. GT?

CTrx8

iTrader: (2)

the price difference isn't huge but i'd say you can get an '05 touring for around $18K with 15K miles from a dealership. again, not 100% on your area though.

daisuke

I've been doing a lot of searching for cars since I'm buying one now myself, and I found that a lot of the dealerships around the LA area just won't give you a decent deal, even now at the end of the year they're still haggling. Try lookin in AZ, it's a ways to go but I found cheaper prices there by a lot. Browning mazda in cerritos refused to go under 17.5 plus taxes and fees (and financing on top of that) on a base model blue 04 manual they have with 24000 miles on it.

either try private party with a longer warranty or look in arizona. I went the private party route and found a pretty good deal.

Razz1

You can buy Kieths or Leon's. Check out the San Bernadino thread.

Or the for sale section here.

SamH

Diasuke, thanks for your response. My own research has confirmed exactly what you said. It seems the socal dealers are overpricing and I did find a promising deal over in AZ... If I buy private party what do you recommend in terms of getting an inspection for the car? Most the rx-8's I was looking at are far from here and I don't know who I could ask to inspect them...Also, if I end up buying thru dealer would you recommend inspection or forget about it? This will be my first car purchase let alone a used car purchase, so any advice is appreciated!

Also, where have you been looking for cars? I've been looking exclusively online, mainly at autotrader. Any other places you recommend?

Also Thanks for the heads up Razz.

CTrx8

iTrader: (2)

our forum here, autotrader, cars.com all have a decent selection. as for inspection, it is recommended to have it reviewed thoroughly before you buy private party or from a dealership. dealers are just looking to get it off their lot at the highest price and aren't always looking out for your best interests (read never looking out for you).

daisuke

I looked on cars.com, by far the biggest selection(at least for california) even tho they're mostly from dealers. I found that prices in the bay area even were lower than in the LA area, not by a lot, but still less. The one I am going to end up buying I found thru the adds on this website.

If you are going to buy thru a dealership try to find one that is certified, you'll get charged more for it, but they'll give you an extra long warranty and things SHOULD be ok with it. Or go for one from a private party with a still valid warranty so that if anything happens you can just take it in.

SamH

Oh ok. Yeah I've been considering both private party and dealerships, dealerships seem a little more bendable in prices from what I've heard, plus there's less paperwork and DMV stuff...correct me if I'm wrong. Nice thing about private party is you get an idea of the actual owner though. Regardless of private party or dealer, I'm restricting myself to cars that still have orig. warranty in effect.
Anyway any recommendations on how to find an inspector, should I just take it to another Mazda dealership and have it checked out or what? Sorry if the question seems elementary!

By the way, I went to the auto show today and got another close up look-and-feel of the RX-8...I can't wait to get one (and yes I've test driven it too so it's not just about looks, :-) )...

daisuke

depends on where you're located, you want an actual rotary mechanic, most of the time that means a mazda dealership tho and they might try and bend stuff so that you buy from them and not from the private party.

With a private party you have the advantage of not paying dealership fees, dmv paperwork is nominal effort so that doesn't matter. If you buy from a mazda dealer you get the option of a certified car, from a non-mazda but still brand-name dealership you usually get a 1000 mile warranty and they usually have a good name to uphold. A used car lot will be your last place to look hopefully because they might say they did an inspection but it's usually a bunch of crap, a friend just bought a truck that was supposed to be inspected and had a million things wrong with it. I don't know the socal rotary scene, but I know they have some pretty good specialized mechanics, take it there if you can, but you'll have to ask who is a good guy to take it to.

dealerships usually ripped someone off for the car in a trade-in, especially if it's a non-mazda dealer so if you go to one of those you can talk them down a lot.

a big YES to cars with an original warranty.