Stay put or buy
 

Looking for help/sugestions. I have an 05 touring edition 6mt with 28K. It is being completely repainted as we speak. All glass, hardware, etc. removed. Every scatch, chip, etc. being repaired. All due to ovespray.

I have about 9 grand. I own the currrent 8. Was considering a purchase of an 06 or 07 GT. However, except for leather seats, don't care about Nav. what is the difference? I can get a custom 2 tone leather interior for about a grand and use some money for additional mods. What do you think? Thank you in advance.

Your car is worht thousands less as soon as it's done being painted compared to what it was worht with overspray, scratches and dings... maybe that helps you make a decision.

powered adjustable seats, heated seats, heated mirrors, basically a bunch of fancy gadgets.

Custom 2 tone for the existing RX8?

Personally.......the tan/black two toned seats on our GT are awesome.
I personally think that for some custom work to be better than the "stock" leather seats, it would have to be of superior craftsmanship, and I don't know if that can be done for a grand.

And I would think a potential buyer down the road might be wary of custom leather. And with the prices of RX8's dropping, and given that you won't get in resale what you paid for the seats, you might be in a position where, say, you have an '05 RX8 with custom leather for $14,000 competing versus dozens of '05 RX8 GT's with factory leather for, I dunno.......$14,500?

I'm not sure if I've ever seen custom leather that wasn't better then the stock Mazda leaher.. plus his resale is already screwed due to the paintjob.

For the record
 

the overspray had burned into the clear coat and could not be buffed or color sanded out. The insurance company is picking up the tab. Estimate was $4500. The car looked like crap. I doubt a dealer would even notice the repaint. The last car I traded they barely looked at. This model with this milage is selling from 16 to 18K here in south fl. Again, thanks for the help. Don't need heated seats or mirrors, lol.

I fail to see the point of buying a new/used 8 when the 8 you already have runs just fine?

^ ^ ^

Well put

A dealer that can't see a paint job deserves to take the loss. I guarantee I would notice it, even without a paint meter.

A dealer
 

will sell a used car to anyone interested. Paint meter? If a car looks great with a clear carfax report he could not care less. Carmax offered 14k and knew the car had been repainted on the left side previously. Why all the concern about repaint any way. Good to get rid of the orange peel look.

Because it seems like a cover up. A full repaint makes one assume there is frame damage. It's good to do on a car you will keep, a poor idea to do on a car you are trying to get rid of.