Good price? 2005 GT with 21K miles...
 

Asking $13,900. Hoping to get for $13K OTD with taxes, etc.

Still has a few months left on the Mazda motor warranty (if the 8 years or 100,000 miles is in effect). There is a clean carfax. One owner.

Thanks!!

yes that is low mileage but your warranty will be up in months and as soon as it does drop off the value will start dropping like a rock.

for the same price you could get one years newer with more warranty left, and you may likely want to have it.

Just make sure you read https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discuss...t-here-202454/ and get a compression test(takes a special tool, so mazda dealer or rotary shop) on ANY rx8 you plan on buying.

Check the prices people are trying to get for their cars on here and compare.

That's an asinine price. I have seen clean low mileage 07' GT's for that price, heck I even saw an 08' 40th AE for 14k.

Seems he purchased the car, $12,950 2005 RX-8.

Well the price on that one seems even more crazy, especially for a sport but it looks well maintained and documented at least. Were Xenons optional on the Sport? I don't recall. Honestly I think that may be a touring.

Edit: No, it's a Sport with a bunch of options I guess.

Honestly I am VERY picky. I do not want something that has worn seats, leather, a bunch of miles, etc. There's a lot of them out there with 50K miles on them for a little lower (maybe $11,000). But NOT in the condition that I want.

So to spend a few extra bucks on an exceptional one...It's worth it to me.

Looking forward to the RX8 experience!!

If it's a good value to you and you're happy with it then that is all that matters. The prices now days are crazy. My original sticker price was over $32,000.00 for my 04' Touring :eek:

I think the sticker price for the 40th AE 2008 was $34,000 or something close to that :SHOCKED:

Three years later I paid $18,500, and the car only had 13K miles. Quite sad to see how quickly these cars depreciate:crying:

Yeah we have a local guy who bought his back in 04' brand new with just about every Mazdaspeed part in the catalog (including the Mazdaspeed wheels) and he paid almost $50,000.00. He now dailies an SS Camaro but still owns it. I remember seeing a brand new Shinka when they came out on the showroom floor for like $39k. Pretty sad when you could get a 2011 GT with nav or an R3 for 24k-27k when they were new.

I think the talk about new motors, etc doesn't help! But for a buyer like me I can get an almost new sports car for much less than a Corolla or Focus costs!

Wow, 50 grand!

The numbers for the shinka were pretty up high too.

It's amazing to see how pricing changed for new RX-8s over the years.

I would have loved 13.9k for a car with such low mileage. There werent many 8s for sale in my area of NY and I ended up paying 13.9k for my 05GT with 75k miles from a Ford Dealer. Had lots of problems too. It's actually kind of funny. There was 1 other dodge dealer that was selling an 04 with 40k for like 11kish which I passed on only because of the service I got.

A 3rd 8 which was being offered to me at a MUCH better price but considerably further away ended up falling through while I had a deposit on the 04 from dodge. I called dodge (this is before I even got financing or anything. It was just to hold the car for 1 day) and told them that I decided not to buy it and they refused to give me my deposit back because they already "got the car already to go". It was the biggest load of BS I've ever heard. And they were a**holes about it too. I finally complained enough to the service manager that one rep said "Ok were gonna cut you a check for the 500.00 you deposited". Guess what? I got a check a week later for 400.00. What a shady freaking dealer.

Mine would be the same... :(

then why did you ask the question if apparently cost really does NOT matter?


and sticker prices aren't insane, my '87 TII had a sticker of $24k with a manual steering option back in 1987. minimum wage at the time was $3.50/hr. if anything it is inflation that has gone insane. of course the top end of the spectrum hasn't doubled in average yearly income compared to minimum wage but that is also partially why we are in a recession.

Actually price does matter. But I wanted an apples to apples approach. I don't think you can compare a price if the only thing consistent is the year. To me miles on the car, number of owners, how it was maintained, the condition it's in make a big difference and will also affect the price.

So I was looking for opinions based on that criteria. I should have stated that in the post.

I knew I could find a car with double or triple the miles in ok shape for $1-2K less. But I like finding "new cars" at a fraction of the price.. I feel like I am buying an "almost new" $30K car for $12K. Even has a few upgrades and some motor warranty left!

Thanks for the opinions. I'll post my thoughts on the car once I get it!

low mileage doesn't mean anything either.

plastic becomes brittle, hoses become soft, belts begin to crack and coolant seals begin to harden with age.

things will fail just from sitting.

basically it is the equivalent of buying a newer car with more miles.

Exactly, a 9 year old car with low miles is just a car that has sat for long periods of time. I'd much rather have a car that was well maintained and driven on a regular basis.

I guess that's what makes this country great...We all have our own opinions and desires.

I am just a nit picky person...Don't like seats worn out, steering wheels worn, scratches, rattles, worn out bushings, etc.

I have had nothing but great luck with buying the low mileage cars and with the resale when I get bored. Never had any problems with those items mentioned (cracked plastic, etc.). These cars have all been driven...They are not museum pieces. I could see that if they just sat and were never driven or run for long periods of time. One of my last cars was a 1999 Viper with 13K miles on it. Pristine condition. Not a single issue with it. Actually made some money on it too. Thankfully there are a decent amount of people who will pay a couple of pennies more as well.

apparently you haven't bought many used rotary cars then.

piston engines can sit for 40 years without being ran and be perfect. rotary engines have rubber o-rings sealing the combustion chambers. rubber deteriorates with age even with lack of use. i wasn't so much referring to the interior of the car with my references, i was referring to the rubber fuel lines, the engines seals, the intake manifolds(plastic), the belts and hoses(lose one and you may lose the motor), i could go on and on.

yes it may be just my opinion, but i also run a rotary engine shop and i see all the failures and causes first hand. for the amount of money i would have looked for a newer, higher mile car with more warranty left.

Again, different strokes for different folks. Not interested in a well used car.

I'll take my chances on a car that has been driven continuously over time but in small increments. While I don't know much about these motors, I would think that if the car has been well maintained, compression checks out well, etc. that I will continue to have the same results as the previous owner. Of course I know things can and will break, but I'll take my chances.

I guess I could have bought the high mileage car that needs a new motor just due use (it seems apparent that these motors are lucky to go 100K miles) but I'd rather take my chances with a newer car. If I scan over the many problem posts on this forum, history shows many issues with use or higher miles. I searched a bit but could not find a post showing issues due to light use over time. Again, this car has not sat in moth balls, it has been used regularly over the last 7+ years. It's also 7.5 years old, not 27.5 years old. I know things get brittle, etc. but it's not that old. It's been well maintained (belt changed, plug wires, coils, etc.), garaged kept and driven regularly. The previous two adult owners are both car enthusiasts, etc. Not some clueless kid. This is a good gamble IMO.

Either way, this car is a fun toy for me. Not a daily driver. Should anything happen, it's not going to break me. I'll handle the issue should it occur.

Thanks for the opinions.

the early cars had more issues than the later models. they're called revisions to fix issues, many engines get revised numerous times to fix flaws.

i understand you probably already bought the car and want to tell yourself it will be alright and it probably will be, but you may want to accept some of those bits of info if you do look into buying another down the road.

Sounds good Karack...That is why I came here to look, buy and make an informed decision. Ultimately I make it...And will live by it.

I am not some kid who is non-mechanical...I road raced AMA Pro for 12+ years (built my own bikes / motors)...Did the Daytona 200 in 2002, have had countless cars, over 50 motorcycles, and currently race hare scrambles...So no stranger to things with motors.

I know this car is different, but it is still a car. Nothing magical in my book.

Hopefully the good track record I have built with all of the purchases I have made in my lifetime will pay off with this car.

But yes, I have used this forum as a base to make what I think is a good decision. Ultimately am I going to not buy it because you may think the seals will go, hoses will pop, rubber will crack, etc? No...But I do value everyone's opinions...That's why I am here.

PS...We must have time to waste to keep going back and forth over something trivial! LOL!! Oh, and thanks for explaining to me what revisions are! Look at sport bikes...Get them almost every year. LOL!

Not a terrible price.

That's not a fair example.

A viper is consider a "super car" in many circles. At their price range it is very common for cars to have very low miles, and they retain their value pretty good. Many people buy high end sports cars to not use them.

So...how is it that you go from owning a Viper to wanting to buy an RX-8? Even some of the older ones are worth a pretty penny.

Actually you'll find a lot of Gen II Vipers with miles on them. But yes, it was kind of in the supercar class. Wish I never sold it.

I am in the construction business. My toys follow my income! Lol. Anyway, I buy what I can afford at the time. Plus I like to try different cars. I've had quite a selection and they have all been great in different ways. I have two small kids...The back seat on this one will make it more usable.

I'm sure next year I'll have something else. But looking forward to the rotary experience!!

well i wouldn't expect to make money on one of these cars unless you find a sucker with too much money and doesn't know what KBB is. they will drop considerably in price once the powertrain and core engine warranties fall off.

paid $3.3k for my '04 LY, which was simply flooded.

the main reason i was looking for an 8 was the 4 seats so we could fit more than 2 people into it, on the flipside my TII gets a bit better gas mileage(rotary still, 24mpg highway) and has nearly twice the power with a little less response. after driving it i was still on the fence with the horrible fuel mileage but the car runs and feels great, worth the discrepency in mileage versus the BMW which gets about 30mpg highway compared to 17mpg highway with the 8. but we're planning on giving the BMW to the kid once he gets his license next year so we will still have a decent mileage car for long trips.

we bought the BMW because i couldn't find a decently priced 8 at the time, i have a hard time wanting to pay even blue book for a problematic car. the late models are more worth it to me but i despise the depreciation factor of many cars so i generally look for cars that need minor repairs.

if there was an 8 to make money off it, this was one of the very few. i still keep finding mods done to it because the PO knew literally nothing about it(bought it with the intent of fixing it or selling it non running, wound up selling because it wasn't just flooded it was severely flooded).

All my "toy" cars sit 80-90% of the time and see 2000-2500 miles a year if they're lucky. It's all good. Keep the fluids fresh, and the battery charged up.......run 'em hard when you do drive them and you're all set.

I will gladly pay a few bucks more for low mileage, one owner, well documented cars, above average cars. One thing I have learned is that my definition of the words, "mint", "showroom", etc. are different than most people selling used cars.

Unless you're buying stuff you see on Barrett-Jackson or Mecum; cars are a terribly bad depreciating asset. Buy new and it's even worse. You buy what you like at the time, what you enjoy driving, looking at, tinkering with, etc. When/if you get bored then change it up. If you make a few buck on the sale, then consider youself lucky but certainly don't expect it.

buy a Miata brah. Don't do it! Ill sell you my blue GT with 72k miles and 15 k engine miles for 8 grand if you want it. Has a dealer bumper to bumper for 36k with only a hundred dollar deductible. Killer deal!

So if we see you driving a Lambo that means the business picked up; but if we see you driving an RX-8 that means you haven't built a house in a while:D:

Seriously, the RX-8 will be a fun 'toy.' Mine is a secondary vehicle/toy, so I only use for fun. And it's the perfect sports car for me. It has the right amount of power - for me - and I love the fact that the rear seats are functional in case I need to bring somebody onboard.

I can can assure you the ride on the street and/or around the mountains will be more pleasurable in the RX-8 than in your former viper. I've driven a handful of Vipers (two of them at the track), and even though I respect their hp and torque, I wasn't too impressed by their overall handling. Also, for some reason I could never understand the positioning of the shifter. It's so far high! But I did love their power and overall looks. It's a very nice body design. The Viper is the only production American sports car I really like and respect.

Some reviewers have stated the RX-8 has the handling of an exotic car, minus the price tag.

I believe that assumption is fairly accurate.

I am REALLY enjoying the car...1350 miles home...Got to spend some good time with it!

I am REALLY impressed with the handling, seating position, etc. I have to say it has exceeded my expectations...Especially for less than $12K. Seems like a lot of car for the money. So far one of my favorites.

The car is near perfect inside...Looks like it is 3 mos. old. Exterior is in excellent condition as well. IF I want to be really picky, I will go to a dent wizard and have the couple of dings removed. It really is in GREAT shape.

It runs like NEW. Nothing funny, idles great, etc. Gas milage was about 18-19 doing about 80+ all the way home. Nothing great, but on par with what I have read. It used a bit more than 1/2 quart of oil in the first thousand miles...Again I think on par with what I read.

So no issues thus far...Going to do an oil change and replace the front rotors / pad. That's about it!!

As far as the car choice...Work is going really well right now...Thankfully I am in commercial construction...So not a dead industry. But I just built a pool for the family (there went my thoughts of the GTR!) and I wanted to spend wisely. But I have no regrets...I LOVE this car so far.

Thanks to all for the advice, constructive criticism, etc. It has been helpful!

Hi there, at the risk of being ridiculed, I thought I would tell you I bought a pristine 1 owner 04 lightning yellow GT with 18.5 K miles for $14K & I absolutely LOVE it! Asking price was $17900. However, it shortly thereafter displayed CEL & started misfiring. Added expense of pricey tuneup parts & BHR midpipe took a little luster off it. Many of the posts here have helped me out immensely, & I'm hoping once I get the pipe on, I can rekindle the spark(pun intended). I would hate to think of it as lemon yellow & come to regret it. I haven't had a car that I like so much since my 1st, '69 Javelin, also yellow. Good Luck!