elirentz

Hey all, new to the community. I've recently been thinking of trading my 03 civic ex w 144k miles and $500 for an 04 rx8 with 72k. I'm a little weary of the the trade though.

I have the chance to trade because the rx8 is having some warm start issues. I've read on the forum about them a good bit. I changed the plugs and the oil and it seemed like it had been flooded. The current owner says he had the compression checked before we began discussing the trade. The coil packs haven't been replaced yet as I didn't want to spend any more money on a car that wasn't mine yet.

The positives are it runs great when it starts and it has the full Agency Power exhaust although it causes the occasional p0420 code. Its definitely an upgrade but at what costs?

Any opinions from you experienced rotary guys? I have a little bit of money I can spend on it but am not trying to get in over my head. I'm mechanically inclined (used to working on turbo subarus though) and enjoy autoxing and track days so I'm not scared to do some work on the car myself.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Warm start issues is not a good sign, but if the engine is toast and the owner can provide service records, you get a new engine. That's the gist of it.

I'd be a little wary of someone trading a mid-miles sports car for a high milage civic. Sounds like he's trying to get rid of a hot potato, so either he can't fix it, which means he hasn't tried, or he's been rejected from the warranty.

Bigbacon

iTrader: (4)

pass...

if you are wary of the trade DON'T DO IT.

and you spent money on the car for the dude and it isn't even yours?!? Stupid....you just helped that guy FOR FREE.

Maybe I'll start doing that, try selling a car and telling people it needs work, get them to replace some parts to see if it fixes it so they will buy it and then never come through after the parts are installed. Thats pretty genius.

elirentz

He doesn't know I changed them yet. I realized when I did it I may not get the money back but he's a friend of a friend so I'm not that worried about the $70 worse case scenario. If it falls through he'll have to pay for the other work done and I'll keep the plugs and sell them to another rx8 customer that comes to my friends shop.

He bought the car at auction and brought it to my friend's shop because of the start issues. He said when he brought the car in that he had just taken it to the local dealership and gotten the compression checked, again before the trade offer was on the table. They aren't very rotary or warranty friendly there so he brought it to my friend.

I'm beginning to be more weary of it the more I read though.

rotarykillz

iTrader: (1)

If he had the compression checked, what was it? Dealer would have given him a document of the results too on an invoice or receipt.

Definitely sounds shady. If you don't need the civic, I would look into it further, but if you're relying on it as a daily driver, I would pass.

Razz1

^

Yes, he would have the receipt for the compression test.

Besides gasoline is 3.65 for regular and soon to be 5 bucks.

Keep the Civic

Roidz

^^This

paimon.soror

iTrader: (15)

Bigbacon

iTrader: (4)

Dude...... walk the F away....So not worth it and so sounds like you don't want to deal with a car that is going to cost $$$ to maintain over a civic.

elirentz

Yeah I know it seems ridiculous but I decided to get the plugs because I was almost sure about the trade at the time and figured I'd test and see if the plugs helped to help make up my mind. I figured spending $70 and a few minutes of my time was worth it to potentially save me a big mistake. I knew a lot less then than I do now about rotaries which is saying a lot.

Since the plugs didn't help I've done a lot more research and started questioning my decision to trade. Hence this thread. I'll have to ask about the compression numbers. The car just drives so great otherwise it makes it difficult to pass on it.

The guy who owns the car is an honest guy but he's not a gear-head. He got the car for $7k at an auction where it appears it got flooded b/c the guys at the auction didn't know about shutting it off cold repeatedly. It has a few other small issues for me that would be a lot bigger for him like the typical heater **** problem, the cat code, and the typical coolant reservoir light. With that the coils and plugs with labor he was going to run out of money. He brought it to my friend to try and save money over the dealership but it was still too much.

The Civic is my daily I have an sti that I stupidly modified to the point of not being a good street car as a "fun" car. I saw the rx8 as having the potential to be a really fun daily driver that I would keep close to stock maybe autox occasionally. I understand that it takes a little extra t.l.c. and $ for upkeep. The more I read other threads and your responses and remind myself that I have no way of knowing the car's history prior to the auction the more I'm getting scared away though. I definitely don't have the money to be replacing an engine.

Jacob6875

My advice would be to take it somewhere (mazda dealer if u are desperate) and find out everything wrong with the car.

It would be silly but buy/trade for a car with mechanical problems based on what you think the problems are with it.

elirentz

Talked to the dealership that tested the compression. They were all between 7-7.5. Again im new to rotaries and the dealer said it was good. What do you guys think?