Should I buy my father-in-law's RX-8?
 

I've been a big fan of the RX-8 for a while-- I love the styling, the enhanced practicality over other sports cars, and that they're fairly rare on the road. Now my father-in-law is offering me a good deal on his 2004 RX-8, 39,000 miles. He's babied the car and has all maintenance records. It's never seen snow and barely rain. I know it's a great deal. I've been itching to get my first sports car for a while...

The problem is I'm also a cheapskate. All this chatter about engine failure and other costs is giving me some trepidation, and it looks like the 2004s are now completely out of warranty. I can absorb the expected costs, though I'm less sure of what a major failure would cost. I'm sort of a tightwad by nature. Is this car going to keep me up at night?

I've always wanted one, and this opportunity seems too good to pass up. What am I more likely to regret-- passing up this deal, or this car nickel and diming me to death? :-) I should be able to do basic maintenance myself. It will be garaged and put away for winters.

I know there are tons of "looking to buy" and "new owner" resources on this forum. No need to point me to those. I'm just looking for opinion on this situation. Have you or someone you knew been in similar shoes?

And if my father-in-law is on this forum -- hi dad!

Knowing the prior owner counts for quite a bit.
But, as we say with everything else, get a compression test :)

That will tell you the most critical bit about the most critical part.

It's probably not the car for you if you are not open to having a good attitude towards any problem that may arise. The chances are the car could last another 75,000 miles without issue. But it is possible you will experience a premature engine failure and that alone will cost you around $4,000.00 to get replaced.

The routine maintenance of the car is pretty cheap (if you're the DIY kinda person).
However, the more you neglect the car -or the more miles that are put on it- are going to cause natural wear on "harder to fix" parts. This is true of ANY vehicle.
The only difference being the lack of available parts/mechanics for the rotary (hence, they can name any price they want... Sort of).
My advice to you, in your situation, is to learn the car, and learn it well, or else look for another car. It's that simple :)

How much for the car? How do you know it's a good deal? The car isn't fire and forget. You do have to take care of it. How deep into 8 club is your step-father? You should look at his post history. If his posts consist of, hey I did this awesome burn out in the lot at Wendy's or, my car smells like syrup and I love it, I'd stay away.

A well taken care off 2004 can last a long time.

Tis true...My 04 is still running like a champ.

RIWWP: Yeah, I read in the new owner guide about the compression test advice. Thanks for reiterating it.

9krpmrx8: Thanks for the ballpark estimate on engine replacement.

Supernaut6: He said when he priced it out on Kelley Blue Book, the "Fair" condition price was $11,500, and that's what he wants for it. It's actually in at least "Very Good" condition. I don't know whether he participates in any clubs or forums -- and if I were to guess, I'd say he doesn't. Car is unmodified.

He's certainly not doing donuts in Wendy's parking lots :-) Perhaps a bit of "spirited" driving here and there, but mostly laid-back highway driving miles.

Two things:

Have your FIL find out when the engine warranty expires, and have him get the compression tested if its still inside that time frame. If the car gets a new engine, great! If not, then you might want to consider the strength of the engine based on the results.

Second, if you're afraid of potentially having to pay for parts for a car, you shouldn't own a car then. All cars can potentially cost you money when some part breaks. If you want to lessen this risk, you need to buy a brand new car with a warranty in place.

BC.

Also consider this: if the car starts having major problems, will you have any resentment towards your father-in-law? Sometimes it's not wise to buy or sell big ticket stuff to relations. If you can imagine the worst case scenario and you'd still be cool with your father-in-law, you're good to go, I think.

My only comment would be...make sure you can separate the car from the person you bought it from...If not, don't buy a car from a relative. :)

LOL....simultaneous good advise :)

sports car ownership is not for cheapskates, go get a Honduh Civic

^^Agreed

1.) Constant maintenance on an rx8 is a must...Not a bad thing...It just requires more attention.

2.) Parts are not cheap.

My advice...If you don't want to spend the money to maintain it, don't buy it.

I agree with the above advice about buying from relatives. Make sure that you'll be okay with all possible outcomes.

Years ago my family had a Dodge Caravan that my Dad sold to my Uncle (his brother in-law). Less than a month after my Uncle bought it the transmission went bad and needed to be replaced. It was quite an expensive repair, and it was a sore spot between them for a good couple of years.

Beware.

I don't really understand...is your father-in-law selling it to you or giving it to you to take care of it?

Based on the thread title and the OPs posts; pretty sure he is selling it to him.

1.) Excellent advice above about buying from a relative. Take it to heart.

2.) Excellent advice above about buying a sports car as a cheapskate. Take it to heart.

Add those things together (especially #2), I would say that this is not the car for you.

I mean, do you realize that a set of spark plugs costs about $80? Or that you'll have to spend ~$120 for coils every couple of years (presuming you'll be too cheap to buy the high performance set for $500.) Or the gas mileage? Would you have a problem spending the few extra bucks for premium octane? The list goes on and on.

I envision a "cheapskate" always buying the cheapest part you can find, or avoiding the maintenance altogether. And either way, it's a recipe for a disastrous relationship with this beautiful ride.

I wouldn't say that is an amazing deal. Knowing what little you've told us, I'd tell you to pass.

But as others have stated, there is value in knowing a lot about the previous owner and how he cared for the car. Exactly how much dollar value, I couldn't say.

Do you guys know if the KBB is generally accurate these days for RX-8s? I should also clarify that the Blue Book value I stated was Private Party value, not retail.

No, KBB is typically not accurate.

If it's accurate, it is by chance.

I'd pay $2-3 over KBB without a reservation if I knew the engine's compression was perfectly healthy, and wouldn't even pay $2k under KBB if I knew it was borderline failing. The amounts may vary, but it's going to be a common opinion for anyone that knows anything about rotaries. The only people that are going to hold to KBB numbers are those that don't understand the value of a good compression rotary. So much of the car's value hinges on the condition of the engine.

It's really true of piston engines as well, but is ignored far more often, if for no other reason that it doesn't matter quite as much.

More advice:

Look through every thread under trouble shooting...Imagine those issues going wrong with your potential buy, research the cost to repair those issues, and decide whether or not you would want to invest...You've already told us you're a penny pincher (lol...I like that term)...Penny pinchers and rx8s do NOT go well together.

Who knows...That 8 may run fine for the next 50k-60k miles or so...but the reality is, it most likely won't if you aren't willing to invest in it.

I bought mine just shy of a year ago...I've spent AT LEAST $2500 in the last 10 months to replace parts that I knew would benefit my 8 (which is also an 04)...There wasn't necessarily anything wrong...I wanted to prevent anything from going wrong...You need that mind set with this car...I promise you that since I bought him, not one weekend has gone by that I haven't spent playing doctor with it to make sure everything is still in good condition (if you don't believe me...hell...I'll add you on fb...you can check yourself...lol)...Then again...I was in love with this car from the start...I've wanted an rx8 since 05, started searching for one to buy in 08, and waited 3 years until I found one I was happy with...So there's alot of history to my attachment with it.

Don't focus on the price to buy it (which doesn't seem like a good deal anyway in my opinion), but rather how much time and money you're willing to invest to keep it running...The end.

I got it...i didn't notice the "buy" in the title.

Really? I hate the exaggerated reliability complaints of the rotary, but the 2004's were pretty bad. I would say there is a chance it will last another 75,000 miles, but I would never say that the odds of a 2004 lasting another 75,000 miles are greater than the chances of it having an engine failure before that. Even the well cared for engines haven't fared well. For a cost-concerned individual, I wouldn't recommend the 2004's with ending warranties.

Then again, I prefer the pessimistic view with a pleasant surprise rather than being optimistic and disappointed.

Update: Bought a newer one with warranty so I can rest a bit easier for the first 2.5 years of ownership. https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/new-rx-8-owner-228085/