Buying a 2003 Rx8
 

Just wanting some advice as im looking at purchasing a Rx8 around 2003, manual transmition, with 100,000-120,000km on the clock.

is there anything in particular/prone problems i need to look for at this age/milage?

how many kms generally can you expect from a renisis 13b?

any advice appreciated!

Yeah at that mileage there's a little problem called engine failure that you should look out for...

Try searching a bit man, this question has been asked TONS of times, you're not the first one. The information is out there, you just have to put in a little effort to find it.

cheers for the heads up. found alot of helpful info. still wondering what sort of kms/miles you can expect from a renisis 13b? I realise it all comes down to how it is treated/serviced but are they any better than the earlier rotary motors in terms of longevity.

If you want a really solid one, you need an 09+ model. The engine refinements in these make for a bit more expected life from the engine. Should last a good long time. Plus you get a warranty with the newer ones.

The warranty helps me sleep at night but the aftermarket for the 09+ (S2) is :bsflag:

This ^^

or

Get a brand new one. Some dealers still have some brand new left-overs that are getting good deals for. I got my 2010 brand new in the summer of 2011 for 8k off sticker price.

Supply and demand.

8k?? Wow.

I bought an '05 with 72,000 on it - and verified with Mazda that the engine is still under the 8yr/100,000 mi warranty.

I almost hope it fails before 2013 so I can have the engine replaced.

There are quite a few threads on here where people took the car in to get a compression test just before warranty expired on a good running car and had failed numbers and got a new engine any way.

I plan to get one once a year maybe even every 6 months just to keep tabs on it.

Low compression is the enemy of the rotary engine. Anyway, do you even know if that is the original engine or a reman?

Have a mechanic look it over for the things you'd usually worry about when buying a 9 year old car. Get a compression test, which needs a specialized tester that a rotary-knowledgable Mazda dealer would have.

No telling how long a Renesis will last...but failing a compression test will tell you that it won't.

Ken