stavall

Good morning and hello to you all im new on in the club and am getting geared up to buy my first RX 8...
So far iv only looked at a couple of cars 1 was an old donkey which during the test drive kicked out under low load breaking so that was an instant thank you and we will call you.
The other is a jap import low mileage 2003 reg sold in the UK looks in good condition sat nav, dvd player,and some writing in Japanese which looked nice and will be taken to Mazda for a compression test and a once over.
Question what are the pros, cons of buying a jap import.
thank you

Marklar

Should be pretty much exactly the same as the UK high-power version.

bse50

Check the ECU firmware, 2003\2004 went through some important reflashes meant to take care of some longevity issues of the earlier production models (like OMP volume etc).
What's the mileage?

stavall

23000 miles but has an after market immobiliser which is a little of a concern but i hope with the VIN number and a contact in Mazda some history will bloom

stavall

o it is also an automatic with the flappy paddle gear change any thoughts

Marklar

If you are even considering a standard, don't get an auto. The MT version is what you want.