I want to buy this 2006 rx-8. It has 140k but it did have mazda recall the motor at 95k. He wants 4500 the inside could use a little cleaning up but he said he would fix interior but increase price to about 5000. I was wondering what you guys think if its a good buy or not.

 

not too bad but you need to be prepared for a new engine.

 

well its on recall so i believe mazda will replace it for free and i read that after they fix it once they put the new generation motors in so they dont have the same problems. thats just what i have read though

 

1) There was NEVER a recall for our engines. It was an extension of the original factory warranty, extending coverage for the engine from the original 60,000 mile powertrain warranty to 100,000 miles. The car you mention is NOT covered under that, and hasn't been for 40,000 miles.

2) For $4,500, you are buying a problem. Full stop. That is the price of a SALVAGED RX-8, or one with a blown engine, etc... Expect to need another ~$3,000 to $4,000 in repairs if you do it yourself, $6,000 to $8,000 if you pay someone else to do it.

3) Engine replacements are not "new generation". They are re-manufactured engines, which means they took salvageable parts from other blown engines and put them together to make a passable engine. The average reman will die faster than the average factory engine.

 

Just keep on looking. Unless you are prepared for a rebuild and are sure the car is in tip top shape before purchase, I'd pass and get a better one. Also if you aren't willing to do a lot of work and dont know what you are getting into it may be better to look at other vehicles. As everyone else might say, the stickies are there for a reason. Not trying to turn you away or anything, they are badass cars. But if there isn't a full commitment to the car and all of its quirks, you could be setting yourself up for some disappointment.

 

Don't do it! It's a trap! Find another one with less or no issues at all, good luck.

 

Thanks for all the info how are the new gen ones and there motors, much more reliable?

 

new gen you talking about 09+? its pretty reliable so far.
the only problem is its gonna be expensive.

 

expenisve in what terms in price or repair

 

Series 2 (2009 - 2012) start at about $18,000+ purchase price for used ones.

Likely not affordable for you if you are currently looking at an RX-8 for $4,500.

 

oh i can spend up to 20,000 i was just trying to save my dad some money and see if that cheap one was worth anything

 

Oh, it probably IS worth $4,500. As a salvaged or blown motor RX-8. If you want a running one, start with at least double that, and keep adding money as you get newer with lower miles.


I'll be honest though, is is incredibly rare that we see anything good out of someone buying an RX-8 with their parent's money. This is a quirky niche vehicle that requires quite a bit of driver/owner attention and personal responsibility to keep up with. People that buy one with someone else's money historically don't have what it takes to keep it in good condition, even if every single one insists that they are. Inevitably they destroy it, through negligence, stupidity, or ignorance.

Please, buy something else. Come back and find one once you can afford it with your own money and know how to respect and care for what you buy yourself.

Seriously.

 

haha your funny dude i have owned one before and i took amazing care of it i just couldnt handle the automatic it bugged the **** out of me

 

Sigh.

It wasn't a joke, and your response pretty much just confirms the opinion. Unsubbing.

 

haha whatever dude, driving it like its got a baby in it prolly would ruin it i mean that would screw up any car

 

Hmmm interesting read.

 

For the record, I was a car nut at age 3. My folks paid for most of my first new car (VW Rabbit) right after college, and I was positively obsessive about taking care of it and keeping it detailed. If they'd paid for the whole thing, I wouldn't have loved it any less. And I've been the same way for every car I've bought. Because I love cars.

Maybe I was the exception, but I think most **** car lovers cherish their cars, whether it's their first or latest - and no matter who paid for it.

 

Got any real info on that, from everything that I've read, it was just a voluntary emissions recall, and once they clear your engine as healthy, they don't have to even check your car.

 

Yes. There is a rather large thread stickied in this same subforum: 8 years, 100,000 mi extended warranty.

 

The tsb on this issue states that if the vehicle has a sticker confirming it has been checked then simply return it to the customer and no further inspection needed. And if the is no sticker but the vin check says it was done, then add a sticker and return to customer. So if a car even at 80k was checked out and the techs okay'd the engines bill of health, then they never have to look at it again. Unfortunately if you call mazda dealers or even corporate, they say "its not a recall" and there's nothing you can do about it once your vin has been cleared. Unless you're friends with the local mazda service manager that is.

 

Unfortunately a lot of people by 8's because they were told the engine is under warranty up to 100k and it simply isn't fact. I love my 8 but would have thought more about my purchase if I knew the facts

 

The warranty is different from the TSB. There are several dozen different TSBs, none of them are recalls. Several of the TSBs refer to or deal with "power loss".

I had a cat fail at about 52,000 miles, never ran right again, took it back for a compression test a couple months later, it failed but they said it was fine, took it to a different dealer 2 days later for a 2nd opinion, it passed, barely, they said to bring it back in a couple months. I went back 6 weeks later, compression scores were even better. Fast forward 40,000 miles and almost 2 years and I brought it back to get checked before the end of the warranty and it failed, and got a reman put in under the warranty.


No where in there was I denied my request due to any sticker or anything on record.

 

Do you still have any paper work stating how they bill it out, like a reciept saying which labor op codes they billed it to, or anything like that. I've been battling with mazda poughkeepsie ny for a year now, and corporate won't help. They only say they will charge me if it passes their inspection. And the one time I tried it, they charged me to beat on my car for an hour.( I fought the fee because I worked at the dodge dealer next to them and watched so I could call them on the bs)

 

This is actually correct. If it passes inspection than the diagnostics charge is on you. If it fails, then the diagnostics charges to identify a warrantied failure are covered under the warranty by law.

The first dealer's compression test they billed to my powertrain warranty, the next 2 I paid out of pocket since they passed, the 4th was no charge, billed to the extended warranty on the engine core.

I am in the process of packing my house to move within a week, so no access to my paperwork right now to look for it.

 

you could save him a whole lot more by earning the money to buy your own car...