im thinkin of buyin a 04 rx8 from a dealership near me. the car seems to be in good condition but it has 80,000 miles. it is only $11900 but i was just wondering if this would be a wise decision?

 

looks like a good price. Good thing about buying it from a dealership is that all the recalls SHOULD have been performed.

There's a few 8's on this forum with over 100,000 miles already.

 

Get the history, maintenance record and have a compression test done.
Report back and we can help you interpret the results

 

Yes, if it was driven properly (and not grandma-driven). So I would drive it first.

Check the maintenance history. See whether the engine has been replaced. If the engine *has* been replaced, make sure it wasn't just a few K miles ago. But, say, if it was replaced at 30K or something like that, then you know you basically have an engine that's 30K younger.

Drive a brand new or a not-as-much used 8 to get a feel for acceleration and then drive the 8 with 80K miles to make sure that it still runs strong and there's nothing abnormal/lackluster about the engine. Make sure that 7-9K topend power is there. I guess if you don't drive any other 8s, just make sure that there's no hesitation or power hole in the power band and the power builds smoothly to 8-9K.

Make sure the transmission shifts smoothly with no grinds after it warms up (after 1-2 mins). Do a fast 1-2-3 acceleration run (e.g. highway merge), don't slam it into gear or anything, just nice and smooth, but basically make sure that you can shift grind-free into 2nd gear at 8000+ RPM and such.

If you want to be on an even safer side, you can tell the dealer that the purchase is conditional on a good compression check.

 

thanks for all the help i plan on going to test drive this one and a new one tomorrow

 

I dunno. I wouldn't. There are better deals out there I'm sure.

 

If you get it make sure they pay for an extended warrenty.

 

I wouldnt do it. Personally i wouldn't for the fact that we all know that rotary engines are not "high mileage vehicles. i agree with recalls since the 2004 model had so many recalls. It even had a recall to replace motors! i would get a new one with a facelift infact, and get a R3 version. Worth the money. You will end up paying the money anywayd down the line. Fellow rotar head

 

^ not true. there are several members here with 100k+

i fully expect my engine to last 200k miles.

 

Power
na rotaries = :/
turbo rotaries = :D

Engine Life
na rotaries = :D
turbo rotaries = :/

tons of 2nd gen rx7s (non turbo) made it to 200k - the renesis won't die young

 

And plenty of 04's that track their car and now have well over 50k miles and still no problems.

 

yeah, contrary to popular belief the 04's are not cursed. Should still be easy to find a good one

 

Just buy Kwelscotts.

 

Pink Flea's car has 112k on it and still runs strong. Needs a new starter and just put a new clutch in but its still a great car! Mines at 45k on original motor and its an 04... i think hers runs better

 

^^my very first rotary that my friend got me onto the rotary boat(in 1999) was a 88 rx7gxl... got it at ~166k. didn't know what to fix to pass smog (exhaust light was on) but was still surprised by the 140hp it had. didn't know $hit bout the rotary back then(premixing or otherwise)...just dogged it everywhere. then sold it for more