So I'm a 240sx owner and have long been interested in Rx's. I love rear wheel drive but love to actually "drive" the car so the handling of the RX is what draws me to it. I have long been a Nissan guy, but the 240 is no more and the 350 just doesn't quite handle to my liking. Going for a fun spin on one of the twisties in my area is my idea of fun.

The '98 240 is in the twilight of its years. It would take quite a bit of time and money to pull her back together (which I plan on doing, everyone needs something to tinker on right? ) but I want something to drive while doing so. I love the RX8 and have been looking for a deal on a used one.

I found an '05 locally that seems to be in excellent condition visually, exterior and interior, but it has an excessive amount of miles on it. 101k to be exact. Would it even be worth it to consider for 8k or would I serve myself better by paying the 5k+ more for something with more resonable milage? I know this all is going to be subjective based on how the car was maintained, but if it was maintained well, which it appears to have been, is the threat of possibly having to rebuild soon worth the savings?

Just looking for some opinions here.

I plan on calling Mazda with the VIN and finding out all the info I can on the car (Motor Replacement, TSB's, etc...) and possibly having a comp test run on it if the dealer who has it will let me.

I'm sure you guys get these all the time. I know every other board I have been on get's these threads, but hey...at least I seem to know what I'm talking about right? I just don't have enough experience with rotary's and don't know anyone locally with a ton of knowledge on them.

Thanks in advanced.

 

You are aware the warranty on the RX-8 is 8yrs or 100K miles are you not? So why buy a car without a free warranty.

 

You can check http://www.nadaguides.com/ to find what a reasonable price for the car is.

 

well 8k is a good deal but its out of warranty so you might wanna check when and if the engine was replaced and also how the car was maintained

 

Yeah I know that the warranty is up on it.

If the thing has not been maintained worth a damn I am going to stay away. I have a pretty good idea on what to look for in that aspect. If it has had an engine replaced I will have to do some research on that to find out when and where (That would probably be a bonus if it has a relatively fresh rebuild or new engine.)

I guess my question is this, if the car has been maintained well (no major work needs done on brakes, suspension, etc.) but is on the first motor is the 8k price enough to outweigh the possibility of an engine being needed in the near future. If it is in good shape I will probably look in to doing a compression test prior to buying it. that is proably the only real way to know whats up with the motor.

 

if you're looking at that price range i'd probably stick to something in the 80-90k mile range so you still give yourself enough of the warranty to feel a little more comfortable and it shouldn't be much more expensive (and you can probably find one around that price). but if you're willing to take the chance, put away enough just in case you do need the new engine, do the compression test, and still feel good about it - go for it.