Thinking my next project is going to be an RX8. Been a longtime mazda fan/owner but never owned a rotary. I'm well aware of all the do's and don't and general high maintenence involved with owning one. After waiting a long time a local 04 RX8 w/ 100k miles and a engine thats on its way out. The car has some cosmetic issues. Mainly banged up RF fender and rear bumber scrapes, no rust. Owner is asking $4k OBO. What do ;you guys think a car like that is worth? It currently does still drive but failed compression test last year and has been branded by Mazda. Thanks for any advice.

 

Run

 

cosmetic wear AND a bad engine? A reman/rebuilt engine is between 4-7k installed. Fixing the body could be easily a few thousand.

Unless he sells it to you for 2k, its a terrible deal.

Like the other guy said: RUN

 

If it failed comp last year, it should still have been covered by the 8/100 warranty, the engine should have been replaced...
Depending on how much of a project you want, but consider that a rebuilt engine will run you what $4k? So you're $8k down assuming you change the engine yourself, and there's still body damage to take care of... can't decide for you if that's worth your money :/

 

Fixed

 

If you want a project car, you'll still want to start with a decent foundation. A car with a bad engine and cosmetic damage isn't a good start. You'll blow your budget getting the basics fixed.

 

I like the responses! You all are pretty emotional about your cars I like it! So despite your warnings I did go ahead and purchase the car for a wee bit over 3k. Did I pay too much? Probably. But the carfax checked out, the only significant body damage was to the RF fender, it is rust free (in WI thats unheard of for a 9 year old anything) and it was located literally a mile from my home. For me that last part alone was worth a few hundred bucks. I don't have the time to be driving all over the country looking at cars. Basically having been a mazda fan for so long (93 Protege, 97 Protege, 99 miata, 03 P5, 07 CX7) I've always drooled over the prospect of owning a 7 or 8. The opportunity presented itself and I jumped on it. I've made far more risky moves in my life. Next goal is to rebuild that engine myself. We'll see what happens. For me its definitely more about the journey than the destination. For those of you that want me to crash and burn an epic build thread will be started shortly.

 

Good luck man. You're definitely not in the wrong for giving this a go, and, in my opinion, the price seems fairly reasonable.

If you're in the position, practically and financially, to garage it and have the time and space to work on it don't let anyone else sway you; Just make sure you do your homework.

Though while the engine is out, make sure clean up or replace any questionable components that are typically hard to get at. As yours is an '04, the SSV immediately comes to mind, as do the motor mounts.

 

Take your time to read other members build threads. Do it right the first time
Good luck with the build!

 

Thanks for the advice. I've been doing light research you could say for the last year or so. Realistically I'm prepared for this to take an entire year. Between work, wife, kids, dog, and everything else I'll be lucky to string together a few hours a week to work on it. I've read through a few build journals and picked up some good tips. I'll keep reading those, buy the workshop/engine manuals, and Adtkins DVD, RR videos, and whatever else I can find. Its nice that even though the rx8 line has ended this forum and the rotary community is still very active and helpful to noobs like me.