funkyfresh

I am looking at an 8 that has 64k for $9000. What do you guys think a good deal?
How do I know if this car is in good shape.


Keep in mind I am a college student so looking for something decently reliable without too much maintenance.

Cant wait to hear feedback

Old Rotor

What is the history, salvaged, service? At that mileage it should be due for plugs, coils and wires about $300 if you do it yourself. If it's in good shape thats a good price.

Kaiser bun

iTrader: (2)

dont get it

Bullitt

iTrader: (7)

Yeah, I gotta go with Kaiser on this one.

04MT_JAC

well it depends whether or not he is ready to accept the cost that come with the car

if you are barely making ends meet now with the job you have then i would agree and tell you not to get an 8, the gas alone will kill you, its a car you need to be able to afford to take care of

but if you are financially stable then after checking it out i would buy it

Bigbacon

iTrader: (4)

how bout more info on the car? like what year, trim, etc..

but yea....if you are in college and not making a whole lot of money, might be best to get something more 'boring' unless you making lots of money.

for one, college people like to be dicks and there have been plenty of threads started in the past a long the lines of "car got X in the school parking lot today"

Really though, to me, the car is really only expensive you need to get something fixed..parts are not all the cheap if something happens that insurance won't cover. Not to mention how much gas you'll use also. It can be a relatively cheap car to own but at the same time, break something silly like a headlamp and be ready to pay.

terch1

iTrader: (2)

He's in college all his money is going to go towards booze and fancy bongs. Come on dude! You'll be better off with a civic or scion! The RX8 is not a car for somone in college and on a limited budget.

REsuperD

might want to walk away

this car requires maintenance (which isn't too bad, but if you're the kind of person who shies away from this, it's probably not for you), otherwise you will get reliability problems

Bigbacon

iTrader: (4)

I worked at a sams club through college. I could have afforded this car on the funds I made working there......that is until something would break on it. Maintenance costs aren't that high even if you don't do stuff like oil changes yourself. The only thing to me thats *** expensive to do at the dealer (maintenance wise) is ATF change....

If you plan ahead you can deal with the 300 dollar costs ever 30,000 miles for plug,wires,etc.

the only killer is the unknown..

04MT_JAC

i am in college and i drive/drove an 8 once i got use to the gas i was fine with car if you are in college working at mcdonalds then this is not the car for you b/c you don't make enough, but i am blessed enough to have a good job w/ the feds so i am fine

its all about having common sense if you only bring home like $150 a pay period then you have no business driving this car

VashGS

Yea I agree with the 2nd poster. Don't get it. How deep are your pockets? How much can you shadetree? Do you have access to other vehicle if you need it? Don't get me wrong I love RX's but I would NEVER have one as my only wheels (out of warranty). I have several cars & trucks.

Renesis07

iTrader: (1)

My RX8 worked for me in college on the college budget! Granted, I dropped out of college to make more money to pay for it but that's besides the point

In all seriousness, car is expensive to keep running properly and drinks gas. Analyze your budget carefully and make sure this is a "dependant" you want to accept lol.

funkyfresh

sorry I got over excited that I didnt post details.

its a 2004 RX8 with 60k+ miles and black color. I contacted the dealer and they said there is no accidents or any problems at all. Ofcourse I am not basing my decision on their word but I am waiting to buy the carfax till I am certain I want it.

The gas and oil shouldnt be too much of a problem for me to pay. It will only be a difference of a few dollars every fill.

However whats the maintenance budget on it like. I really like seeing figures so if you guys can give me an average of maintenance costs every so often would be helpful to put it in perspective for me.

thanks for all the input so far

vincephan

iTrader: (1)

Just for your reference, I bought a 2005 Touring for 9,500. It had 71k on the odometer, was a one owner car (although he could have taken more care of it), and had most service records.

I didn't end up with a killer deal but I think it was a good one. You might want to take the car to a dealership to see if anything is wrong with the car. It's worth the extra money out of your pockets. Of course, also run the VIN through Carfax first. It could save you the trouble if the car turns out to have frame damage or something. You never know.

Make sure you buy a car that's in good aesthetic condition as well. Scratches here and there will eventually drive you crazy. Make sure you hold out for one with a nice interior as well. That's where you'll be enjoying your car for the majority of the time, in the interior.

Ask questions and make sure you go over the car from head to toe. If you think you've looked at it enough. Look at it 2 more times. After that? Bring an extra set of eyes with you. Trust me. I found a bunch of tiny scratches I somehow missed on top of the roof that I should have caught.

I think you might be able to find a car that's a bit cheaper. That's my opinion.

SayNoToPistons

iTrader: (8)

College and RX8 does not go together. Take this advice from a college student.

DocBeech

iTrader: (1)

Its a very expensive car to maintain. Unless you are going to have 300 dollars left over after all your bills, car payments, groceries, and insurance don't buy this car. If you drop a cat your looking at hundreds of dollars. New coils, wires, and plugs will be over 400 if you go with a good set. A clutch kit can cost you 500 bucks easily. Plus being in college you don't have a garage to do a motor mount swap, or drop the tranny for a clutch. Unless your campus has an auto shop where you can rent tools and space, I wouldn't do it. Buy yourself a beater and when you grad and are making good money then get yourself an 8.

Renesis07

iTrader: (1)

It all depends on his finances, like I said, I did just fine with my car, and still have it. I did also just dump over $3,000 to fix my drivetrain issues however. God I contradict myself a lot lol.

All depends on your budget, finances, patience, and purpose for the car OP

funkyfresh

Can you guys give me a ballpark of average costs per month or 4 month or something liek that. Not for gas but for all service stuff.

Just so I see if it fits my budget.

Thanks

Renesis07

iTrader: (1)

gas is 14-17mpg average combined around town. needs coils/plugs/wires every 30K miles ($400). Tires last roughly 20K miles and if you go cheap, you can get some Kuhmos or Eagle RS-As for $450 for all four + mounting ($100?). Alignments every year like any other car.

Oil is $3-5 per quart and you'll need one every 1500 miles.

REsuperD

just do it. worse case scenario you end up losing most of what you paid for the car and have to take the bus

seriously tho, assuming the car you pick up is in decent shape and the motor is sound, set aside $1-2k should be plenty to replace things (like ignition parts) if only for peace of mind. in that case, gas $ will be the biggest perpetual expense; quarts of oil isn't really that expensive

SayNoToPistons

iTrader: (8)

Can't give you an average cost per month because it varies. I use premix per fill up and that's about 8oz per fill up, nothing much. Same with the frequent oil changes and fill ups. Regular maintenance includes spark plugs every year or 10k is the norm. Coils every 20-30k miles unless you go for the BHR upgrade. When you take coils and spark plugs into consideration, you have to consider wires also.

Then there's the other misc maintenance. Transmission fluid, coolant, differential fluid, etc. You also have to compute things that may go bad out of the blue, such as, shocks/struts, brakes, catalytic converters, and little exterior and interior parts.

I am a full time college student and I have a tough time paying for the car, insurance, gas, and maintenance on top of school and books. Most of the time, I take mass transportation. For me, it is a much cheaper alternative. I don't even see my RX8 doing over 5,000 miles average a year from now on, because of that, I also save on insurance by going for the limited mileage plan.

funkyfresh

I honestly wont use the car everyday but rather a few times every couple of weeks so I dont see myself putting more than 3k miles a year honestly and thats mostly because of summer travels.

It seems like its maintenance stuff that every nice car (like bmw 3 series, g35, etc.) would require, granted the rx8 might be alittle more maintenance but if its every 10k miles or more than it shouldnt be too big of a deal I believe.

Can other confirm that this has happened with their cars as well and that SayNo and Renesis have just had really good luck.

the more advice the merrier btw

Renesis07

iTrader: (1)

When people say they're more maintenance, they don't necesarily mean more money. it's the same basic stuff as most cars, just a few ROTARY thing you must do.

Examples of extra maintanence:

-Do not shut off unless fully warmed up to avoid flooding
-Check oil every other fill up (itll use a quart between changes)
-Coils/plugs only last 25-30K miles, other cars last much longer.
-OEM tires only last 20K miles (same as 350Z, and other cars using summer tires)

It's really not THAT hard to maintain these cars, up until 76,XXX miles, I literally just changed oil and did basic maintenance.

Only reason more focused on maintenance now is due to my cars high miles, old age, and the fact I do not drive it as often.

Otherwise, it was a solid daily driver, and my drivetrain issues were caused by different things that werent the cars fault. I believe my car has been very good to me and Im overall happy as an owner, and a younger owner at that.

DocBeech

iTrader: (1)

the average cost to own this car runs 7000 dollars a year. this includes gas, depreciation, and the average cost of maintenance. This does not include mods, and upgrades.

Renesis07

iTrader: (1)

Define depreciation...

If you're referring to the market value of you vehicle dropping, that's not really a maintenance expense......