I'm buying an rx-8 tomorrow. I am very excited. I've loved them since they came out and wasn't aware of the prices they were going for until recently .

The car has a lot more miles than I'd like and is an 04 but the one owner is the nicest guy you'd ever meet and he is turning 70 next week .

The car is loaded with everything but the spoiler and the navigation. I will definitely be tossing in a double din and an audio system.

Car is 2004 Mazda RX-8 with 92,000 miles. It includes every service record and factory replacement that you can imagine. He still has the documents from when he bought to when he got part X recalled.


Thoughts? If anyone could point me in the direction for Audio/Double din replacement, it would be awesome! If not, I will probably find it myself

 

What date was the car first purchased? If it was a late seller for whatever reason it could still be in warranty(8yr - 100k engine warranty) but the chances are very slim for that honestly.

Get a compression check at a Mazda dealer to see how healthy the engine is. If you buy it without doing this it could go from being 7k to being 10k or 11k because you needed a new engine.

 

He had a compression check at 75k miles and the dealership said they've never seen a car this perfect over 20k miles so he didn't get a free engine replacement.

Car is barely out of warranty

 

See my sig for a pair of useful threads.

 

Does he have the paper that they gave him showing what the results of the test were? Not just a pass or fail but the exact numbers at what rpm, if you have that then post the info. If you read the threads around here you will find plenty that say one dealership gave them a passing grade on a motor while another said its done and replaced it. When spending 7k on something it is never a bad idea to spend ~$100 to make sure it is a wise purchase.

 

Good luck on getting it and post pics when you have it.

 

I'm sure he does. He has a folder full of every single sheet that had rx-8 written on it. Regardless, I'm going to drive it tomorrow and make sure everything is mechanically sound and then will probably take it to the Mazda dealership to get a combustion test. The guy is so old that he doesn't even have a cell phone. He has to borrow his wife's phone and doesn't have a clue what a text message is. I tried texting him telling him I'd be 5 minutes late but he thought his phone was updating or something

 

Don't forget to post what the results are I am curious. Also make sure when you ask for the compression test you tell them you want a sheet of paper that tells you the compression of all rotor faces and the rpm it was achieved at. Some people seem to just be told "it passed" and don't get the full info. This may sound stupid but call ahead and make sure they are able to do a rotary compression test, not all dealers can do it.

 

If you look in the "Interior, audio and electronics" forum, you should be able to find info on changing the audio system, including double din setups. Of course, if you go double din you'll lose the (IMHO) cool circular look of the original radio.

If you poke around this forum, you'll find at least one thread on 8s with over 100k miles, and one with 8s over 200k.

Congrats on the car...have fun with it.

Ken

 

I will post the results. The owner is dropping the car off there today and it should be done in the morning. The service guy knows the owner and spoke very well of how he took care of it. He said the car is immaculate and that Bob didn't drive it near hard enough lol.

Thanks for the link man! I'm definitely going to be redoing the audio department!

 

If he did not drive it hard that can be a bad sign. As long as he did occasional spirited driving and hitting high rpm's then it should be ok. Also you did not mention but is it a manual or an automatic? Hopefully a manual.

 

Idk we will find out tomorrow morning. They said they do the compression check twice and they hand over the paperwork.

The car is a manual. I'd never get an automatic sports car

 

Congrats! Sounds like you got a great 8!

 

I bought it! Woooh Compression check numbers: 7.3/7.3/7.3 and 7.2/7.1/7.3. Everything checked out. Only thing is I'll need new front brake pads in 5k miles.

Now for the good part:

 

Nice VR!!!

Welcome to 8club

 

Thanks man! What is everyone's thoughts on this?

 

nice car man! welcome..

 

Congrats! Looks very clean!

 

Looks like a happy car!
Main thing to keep an eye is coils, you won't know when they're dying, so replace them every 40,000 ish preventatively. And I'm sure you know to keep the oil topped up.
There are things you can do for reliability/prevention, this forum has all the info.
Welcome to the club!

 

Hope you enjoy the car.

What rpm were those compression numbers achieved at and what is the elevation for where you live?

 

I don't remember off of the top of my head but I think I'm roughly sea level +/- 10 feet

 

Nice looking VR!