hey guys im real new to the rx8 scene. Ive been looking into these cars for about 6 months and i just love them. I got my license recently and my dad decided he would take me out and buy a car. I went to a mazda dealership and looked at the rx8 they had. It was a real nice '04 velocity red gt. Now i know this was a hugeee mistake but i bought an 4spd auto(I know hate all u want) because i thought itd be better to learn more about these cars and learn how to drive with out screwin up a 6spd. so im past that learnin hump, and ive already learned how to drive stick pretty good. and my car had low compression(bought at 85k mi) and i just got a brand new engine covered by warranty. anyways i think im ready to buy my 6spd. I have a few questions for u more experienced guys. I was thinking of putting my car up for sale for abt 12k instead of trading it because most dealerships will only have my car worth abt 9.5k. and if i was to trade it for under a $2k difference i would probably be getting a high mileage 04. I heard the 04 has many problems compared to the 05 or 06, and that the 05 and up are covered under mazda warranty. so what would u guys say i do? should i trade it for an 04 w/ high milage if it has good compression or do u think that i should sell it and find an 05/06? thanks a lot for any input

 

search before posting.

youre not going to get 12k out of your car. you wont. you can find a 04.05.06 with decent miles, many with brand new engines for cheap. try to strive for the 06-up.

 

An automatic 2004 with a new reman engine is worth about $9,000, private party. The dealerships would give you maybe $6,000 for it. MAYBE. Many would low ball you even further to $3,000 to $4,000.

Get realistic with the pricing, and then start examining your options.

 

alright i figured 12k was a little much. do u think i could find a decent trade at a dealership for that or atleast a decent 05/06 for $9-10k if i sell it?

 

You could at least try and negotiate...good luck.

 

You will always get raped on trade in. Always. I second the $9k tops assuming it's in great shape. Sell it outright then buy your manual, you should be able to find an 80k-ish mile manual RX8 in the same price range.

 

is it a bad idea to buy an 04 w 80k+ miles?

 

get a comp test first. my 04 has 74k but the motor has less than 50k and about 25k on the trans. im wary of a comp test but i dont have any problems with it (knocks on wood) besides wanting a new paint job

 

yeah i was gunna have it tested first. but we all know its not gunna be perfect. ive looked at some compression numbers, and if it happens to still be good, will it loose compression 20K miles later? i have a lot of friends tellin me to just get an 05/06 so i can get the warranty, but thats pretty hard with $10k

 

if you can get a newer one i say go for it. where in pa are you? im by the poconos

 

oh nice im relatively close. im by harrisburg. not too many rx8 owners where im at

 

I think your best bet is to offer a trade on craigslist for a manual 04/05. some people do want automatics. maybe you'll get lucky. otherwise be prepared to lose money on the deals...it may be cheaper to turn yours into a stick, at least you know you got a new engine

 

no way it wld be cheaper to get a manual conversion. even though i got a reman engine its still a 4 port. id need a 6 port and another oil cooler and a new tranny. and just in generals thats too much of a hassle. id rather just sell it and buy a stick

 

I'll be honest with you. It's your first car. If you want to avoid trouble then you should just keep the 4 speed that you have. It has a new engine anyways, do you want to possibly go through all of that trouble again?

I understand why you want to trade, but now would be a better time than ever to learn to be content with what you have. Besides, your Dad bought that car for you. Why put him through the trouble of helping you find another one? Just my two cents. Good luck.

 

With my experience, granted it was a stupid one, but I'll share it anyway. I bought my 04 MT with 138k miles. When I bought the car, I went to my closest Mazda dealer and got a compression check, it tested OK, at 156k miles, even with religious oil changes and top offs, it croaked at 156k. If I were you, keep the car you have, and enjoy it.

Moral of the story being, a COMP check doesn't ALWAYS tell the whole story.

 

i honestly cant deal w the auto. but i put it up for sale. i will loose money whatever path i go. but i dont mind having a car that will last 20k miles because im planning on getting it ported when its time for a rebuild anyways. hopefully ill get my manual

 

The best of luck to ya.

 

go to youre local high schools and sell it to a teenager girl.

this works better if you are good looking.

AT rx8's appeal to young females who dont know any better.

 

I'm not sure if the price varies from state to state, but automatic 8's here usually go for around $7,000...

I ended up selling my first 8, '04 with close to 86k miles, new engine w/ less than 3k miles and around $6,000+ in maintenance upgrades for only $8,000. My main reason for selling it was because I had a high interest rate and was eligible for a much lower rate and rather than refinancing, I decided to dish out the extra money and get a much newer 8.

You've only had the car for 6 months, you should have some fun with it. Automatic or not, it's still an 8 and can handle better than most cars on the road. If you're looking under $10,000 it's gonna be hard to find one that's in good shape.