I bought myself a 2011 Mazda RX-8 R3, Velocity Red. I bought it late August 2011 from my local Mazda dealer and had him import a new one from Chicago so I could get the R3.

After driving this for a year or so and trying to teach my wife to drive a manual transmission she up and starts searching for an RX-8 of her own. She found a 2008 at a local Chevy dealer. She got super excited about it.

So we go down to the dealer the next morning to check it out and take a test drive. It is 28 degrees and drizzling. The car seems okay on the exterior, a little scuff on the driver side sill and a small dent in the passenger door. It has the sunroof/moonroof and is an automatic. This immediately bums her out because the online ad says manual transimission.

We try to start it up and it will not turn over. The key was left in the "ON" position with the key in the car. They get their battery charger/start wheeled over there and absolutely could not get it started. We waited in the lobby long enough to warm up and we got the heck out of there.

I called back later in the afternoon to see if they got it started, the sales guy said they were going to send it to the Mazda dealer to take a look at it. He said they suspect someone put the cheap unleaded gas in and did not know it needs premium.

If they cannot get the car to start in a few hours without sending it to the Mazda dealer, there is no way in hell I am going to buy that car from them. The sales guy said it was his second day on the job, so I went easy on him but they had two other technicians trying and failing to start it. Hopefully they get it fixed, but I don't think my wife is at all intested in an automatic. I taught her well

 

I wouldn't do an automatic ... but that's me

I wouldn't buy any car that wouldn't start sitting in a dealer lot.

If you are still interested .. get maintenance history like coils, plugs, wires.

AND DO A COMPRESSION TEST!!!!!!!

 

Yes, they almost certainly killed the battery, and then flooded it trying to start it on a dead battery, and probably have zero clue on how to deflood it.

So adding that to not wanting an automatic, it's clear it's just a walk.

Take your time finding it. Don't let her 'settle' for less when it comes to major options/features that she wants. With used ones at this point, there won't be a price difference.

 

my wife at 59, drives our '06 MT daily. Keep searchin, she'll find one. then, look out, the addiction starts wifey sez it's her red hat

 

Unless regualr unleaded is WAY lower than here in Europe, that was a lie about the fuel anyway. Our basic unleaded is 95ron and the RX8 will run happily on it all day long. In fact many specialists on UK forums have said that there is no real benifit form using 'super' unleaded anyway.

Yup, sounds like they flooded it, the big risk for an RX8 is all the cold starting that sitting on the carlot will encourage. Best walk away and find a proper manual, chances are the engine will be better as they get used properly, unlike autos.

Great to hear you got your better half excited about them though, nice job!

 

^Regular Unleaded is 87 here but it has nothing to do with the car not starting. OP walk away and keep looking.

 

I was prepared to ask for the service history and inquire about the plugs, coils, compression, etc. I will definitely not be buying that one.

I believe one of the mechanics at my local Mazda dealer owns a series 1 RX-8, I am going to have them help me find a MT with all the right options. I am certainly in no rush to buy another car.

It seems that looking for cars in subfreezing temperatures is a good way to check the ignition system. I daily drive my series 2.

 

Fuel octane is measured differently in Europe than in the US. It's about the same.
Yes, the car was probably flooded when the battery went too low to supply a proper fuel pressure.
An 2008 Automatic wouldn't be too bad. It does have the higher HP 6 port engine.

 

Happily Mazda made a lot of Rx8's, so finding the right one isn't bad at all

 

No way you should even consider that car. Why? 'Cause there are many RX-8 owners who would love to sell their cars, but can't find a buyer. So if you wife wants a manual, just find one. With just a little bit of online work, you'll have your pick. No reason not to get one that's in VG condition. And it's a buyers market; you can pretty much name your price.

 

The "cheap unleaded gas" is definitely not why the car would not start, especially in 28 degree weather. The lower octane fuel will have a lower activation energy and easier to start the combustion process.

Europe octane rating on the pump is usually the RON (research octane method) and in the states it is the PON method ( (ron+mon)/2 ). So our 87 octane fuel is roughly a 91-92 octane fuel by the RON index.

Agree with the others, keep looking, especially since she has her heart set on a MT.

 

Coming from Europe to the US I always wandered what's up with the gas quality in the US...I even weakly associated the lower octane rating with the price difference between EU and US (of course among other factors). I had no clue up to today that EU and US use different rating methods. Thanks alnielsen and PaleRider! One more day learning something in this forum!

 

Thanks for the input, we have noticed quite a few for sale but not very many listed in central Illinois. We will be traveling to Minneapolis Minnesota next month, we will just have to keep an eye out while we travel. Hopefully my local mazda dealer will be able to assist. I should hear from them in the next day or so.

 

Why not try CarMax? One thing about them is if you find a vehicle that you like and its out of state, they could ship it to the nearest CarMax in your area. There would be a fee though, but at least, you got the car you wanted.

 

You can buy my Silver 04 only 46K miles and its manual!

 

Try looking at EVOLV-Chicago. Most of the Chicago people don't even come here anymore.

 

I have never understood how people can purchase a car sight unseen, other than photos. If the car is new that is one thing, but a used car no way I would take that chance. Not to mention CarMax is overpriced and won't negotiate anyway.

 

to bad you werent ready to buy a few months ago, i flew to chicago in november to pick up my 06 shinka from pugi mazda and drove it home to buffalo well worth the 10 hour drive

 

That dealer isn't too far from my home. I could have checked out the car for you.

 

yea i didnt even think about checking this site before hand i just hoped for the best pretty much, they gave it to me for 14k it has 28k miles on it so i didnt wanna miss out on the oppurtunity. its been sitting in storage since i bought and i miss it so much haha

 

my friends and i have done sight unseen a few times, and there are ALWAYS surprises. this is with lots of pictures and honest sellers too.

so sight unseen isn't a good idea, imo.

 

I know what you guys are trying to say, but if you have a warranty on it, then it should be fine, anything wrong with it, they should take care of it for free...right?

 

There are certain things that photos simply don't capture unless you are specifically pointing it out. Lets face it most people trying to unload a car, are doing just that, trying to unload it. A few people are unbelievably honest and will give you all the bad along with the good but those folks are kind of rare and typically don't sell cars for a living. Mechanical issues can be taken care of if YOU purchase a warranty, but cosmetic issues are one of the biggest issues I have. If you buy it from a private seller, then any dreams of a warranty are just that...dreams. Dents that were not visible, cuts in leather or upholstery, stains in carpet or on cloth seats, cigarette burns, the list is endless. It's just something I would not do. It obviously works for some people, but I'm good.

 

that sounds exactly like what i just went through except mines already owned and sitting in my driveway. I let it sit for a week or so too long and then made the mistake of trying to start it on a cold day too. Killed the battery dead and flooded the **** out of it. Got a new battery and spent 20 mins doing all the basic deflooding crap and finally it started in a bellow of white smoke.

It just sounds like the dealer treated it like normal cars and let it sit for too long. Someone probably went out to move it or start it and flooded it or killed the battery trying to start it. Once that happens you need to be in the "club" to know exactly how to deflood and get it running.

That being said, eeeewwwww...automatic?!?!?

 

True, true...i'm not going to argue with you, but if its a classic car that you really have to have it, and its out of state, i think this is another thing...