looking to buy a used Rx-8 in NC
 

Me and the wife are in the market for a new car and the RX-8 is at the top of our list. We're trying to find an 04 or 05 manual but haven't had much luck at dealerships or looking for used cars online in our area around Raleigh. Really the most we can spend is $19,000 which seems to be on the low side for our area as a lot of the used ones we've seen are going for the $21,000 range (and almost all of those have been autos). Any suggestions or advice in how to find one in our price range?

I wish I could help, but I just moved to NC not long ago. You might want to ask around in the regional section though...
https://www.rx8club.com/se-rx-8-forum-30/

You also might want to ask around in the RRDI site...
http://rrdi.org/

...that's a Raleigh based rotary owners group. Hope that helps.

Seems like a reasonable number, and you *should* be able to get that range depending on some options. But if they're that difficult to find locally you may have to expand you distance.

Are you checking for unsold new 8s at local stealerships? Might be able to find a deal on something that isn't moving.

i know of a guy who is selling an 04 auto, 45k miles. but it has mazda's highest warranty on it, to 100k miles. their total care package or w/e. one care. w/e. it breaks down, they send a tow truck to get it. give you a loaner. it breaks down far far away. they pay for a hotel while its fixed. etc. 55k miles left on this warranty. which is better than mazdas default 4 year/50k miles, that is now reduced to 3 year/36k miles for the 07 models i believe.

black, red on black leather interior. grand touring. every single option available. tinted windows. it is near flawless, and he has very nice tires on it too. toyo proxes 4 i believe, and they have about 8k miles on them. not the default potenzas that do badly in the rain. he doesnt want to sell it. but he does want a corvette. so... anyway, PM me if you want more info.

if he hasnt sold it already, (he is kinda busy), its up for sale for 19k.

(this is up in maryland btw, personally, its worth the drive.)

I'm in Madison WI which isn't very close but I have an 05 GT, manual transmission, Sunlight Silver, 16k miles. Excellent condition, no accidents or damage. I've added clear corners and the short shifter. The fog lights are wired to accessory and the car is hard wired to the rear view mirror for a Passport 9500i with remote switch installed in the blank next to the DSC disable switch. The car is tinted 35% all around and I also have winter wheels and tires (Blizzak). $20k, let me know if you're interested.

Go to McNair Performance and ask Grover. Located off Westgate Road near the airport, at least he was when I lived there about 8 years ago. Grover's been around Mazda's for over 20 years now.

hey, well today went better than the rest of the week. we went to the mazda dealership in Cary today and they said they had someone trading in a 04 GT with only 37k on it. He gave us a price of $18,500. Then at another dealership while they didn't have any in stock, he said he could get one through their network and saw a 05 (unknown trim level) with 40k for a similar range in price. So we're going to see how low we can get them both to go.

we also got to test drive one today.... the english language can not properly describe the feeling of bliss that car injects directly into your brain.

I've already read through the FAQ here for care and asked the dealer about proper shut down of the engine, he also said he'd give us a video to tell us how to take care of it to keep from having a flooding incident.

the car at the mazda dealership should be in monday at the latest, don't know about the other. We hope to keep the total price at 18k, 19k if we must, including a 100k/10 year warranty.

thanks for the offers 2maxxx and kersh4w, but we really don't want an auto, and WI is quite far. We hope one of these pan out and we don't have to drive cross country to get one.

god, we test drove it around 7:30, its now 11:41 and I still haven't stopped smiling.

:evil_laug mwuhahaha!! excellent. yes. excellent. :evil_laug

test drove an 04 today at one dealer, we notice that the clutch was much harder (not as buttery as the 07 we drove) also it seemed to idle rougher. are these things that just happen with age, or are they signs the engine or clutch has a problem. we checked and it had had recall 33056, 50359, msp04, 1604b, and 1704b (from what I could read on the stickers by the driver door. any options on this? will be looking at one tomorrow and one of sat, hopefully out of the 3 we'll find the right one for us. oh and the asking price was $19,980 at 35,005 miles.

For roughly the same money you can move up to 2005s instead of the first model year. More things were sorted out by then. Forget the '04s; check the for sale section here (last week a 5500 mile '05 was asking under $18K and sold), look on autotrader and all the usual places if there's not enough of a supply in your immediate area.

things were worked out as the years progressed.

04s had quite a few issues. however, some have been absolutely problem free. also, i would expect a new car to be "buttery" compared to a used car.

yeah but I don't mean the clutch was just a little harder than the 07' we drove, it was harder than our probe GT with 118k miles on it.

My '04 has been entirely problem-free mechanically. I've had a few other bugs that have been worked out - a creaking driver's seat and a problem with the airbag wiring harness. Both resolved under warranty.

well after being hassled by dealers and worrying about geting an 04' I found an 06' for 21,900. its one owner, 17k miles, and carfax and autocheck both give it a clear bill of health. I'll get a look at it in a few days and hopefully buy it. I think this is the one.

oimg omg omg its the one!!

If not, I have a Sunlight Silver '04 GT 6MT with 25K miles that I was considering trading for a BMW but would sell for 17.5K. New Kumho SPTs with 1K miles, Red/black leather. Let me know if you are interested. bradwkelly@yahoo.com. I am in Norfolk, VA.

leik O M G it is!!!! and we're going to get married and have like tons of babies! ... why can't I quit you Rx-8...

haha, but yeah, will be here tomorrow to test drive. we also went looking at base 07s, we got quoted $24,145 which doesn't sound bad for a brand new one, but we'd still rather have the 06 with some of the upper trim stuff.

aww - I want little baby 8s!! you gonna adopt 'em out, or keep em all?


GL - haven't been paying much attention to the prices around here, but I would hazard a completely ignorant guess that you should be able to get a base model new for 21, maybe less. See who's got em.

but I'm biased, I love my base model!

Bought mine last year with 27,900 miles for 20,500 from Carmax in Greensboro last year. The gas prices at the time had lots of people trading them in. Check carmax often, they tend to have a couple in NC just about every time I look.

Carmax in the Charlotte area has five on the show floors as of Mon June 24 07

It got here, we test drove it, its now parked outside. its a beautiful phantom blue (come on mazda that is so aqua) drives like a dream, has about everything on her but leather and the nav. Went speeding around on the hwy with her last night, simply awesome. Will have to get some pictures up of her soon.

congrats! you'll prlly be better off w/o leather. the AC really is not quite strong enough, and w/cloth you won't be sticking to the seats.

Yea, I'm not a fan of leather too.