Too Good to Be True???
 

Hey guys im almost there into buying an 8. Ive been on this forum for a while now looked at almost everything and know the car very well. So i went on autotrader.com to find the best 8 i could. And i came upon this 8 which i thought was too good to be true. Its an 04 blue with 4,500 miles on it. Its only for
16,995 and i could not believe my eyes when i saw it. I called the dealership and they said they got it from an Insurance Auction and the right front end was damaged. They told me they fixed it and its perfect now. What should i do if i go there i want to buy it because it is a 4 hour drive!!! What do u guys think, i dunno why its so cheap, this car would sell for much more. Thnx for your input.

Check the title...

+1.

You know what they say: if its too good to be true...it likely is.

Invest in a check from carfax. That will tell you alot about the history.

They already straight-up told him it was in an accident. That, plus the fact that it's an '04 model would pretty much account for the advertised price.

I say go for it if it's still covered by warranty for a few more years. If there's something majorly wrong with it from the accident, it will likely present itself within a year or so. Then you would just take it in for repair.

If it's "As-Is" though, you don't want to be driving 4 hours to buy a car blind. Keep looking.

If the car has a reconditioned title, I would hate to find out whenever a problem arises within a year or so. Just because they already said it was in an accident does not indicate that the title is clean. I understand that it is an 04, but it still has ONLY 4500 miles.

An accident does not neccessarily mean totaled. For that price, it may be under a SALVAGED title or something else. Especially from a dealer. Private party, maybe the guy's desperate--but a dealer?

Check the title.

That's really low for a dealer price on a car with mileage that low. I'm with Phantom- check into this thoroughly before you buy.

EDIT: and if you do buy it, tell them you want all the recall work and service bulletins done before it leaves the lot. This means PCM, starter, spark plugs, cat convertor check, and vacuum test.

Any 04 has an extended warrenty to to the last recall.

You still have the orginal warrenty left. Warrenty is automaticly transffered to any owner. It's on the car from the factory not the orginal owner.

I have purchased several salvaged automobiles (not the RX-8) and did just fine with them. Take it to a good alignment shop and have them check it out. You're saving money on the front end of the deal - be aware that the car's history will affect your re-sale at the back end of the deal.

As long as you know what you're getting you should be alright. Enjoy.

17 is not a great/unbelievable price for a previously wrecked albiet low mileage 04. I could probably only get a few grand more than that for my 8500 mile pristine 05.

The warranty does not cover anything related to accidents. If they determine that the accident caused the malfunction they don't have to cover it, but being that you are buying it from them they might be nice. Read the warranty booklet.

Thnx for all the replies guys but the delaership is not an official Mazda dealership. So dus that mean they will do the recalls even though there not official? I emailed them about the warranty and got nothing back yet, i want to do a carfax but they allrdy told me what happened to it. As long as the title goes im gona call them today and ask about everything before i actually go there. Its a good deal and i dont think anythign would be wrong with it as long as they repaired it right.....
-Here is the link to the pics of the car, now remember the car was damaged on the RIGHT PASSENGER SIDE and they said they repaired to perfection.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/img_po...2&photoIndex=0

Do a carfax, and find out if the warranty is still valid. Insurance Co. auction usually means the car was totalled, the insurance co. paid off the owner then auctioned the wreck. This usually means the warranty is void. If it's void - stay away. If it's not, then look into the recall stuff.

Chasvhill is right about salvage - but it can also be a major headache.

And if they know you're going 4 hours they will pwn you. Don't tell them, and be ready to walk even though it will be 1/2 a day wasted.

Ok guys i did a carfax and this is what it told me on 02/23/2005 it said

"SALVAGE TITLE/CERTIFICATE ISSUED
REBUILT TITLE ISSUED"

now i dunno if that sbad because it says rebuilt title issued. what should i do should i leave the car alone or go ahead and look into buying it. also these recalls were done to it on 11/22/2006.

Recall #3305G RX-8 FUEL TANK ISSUE
Recall #3405G RX-8 LOWER ARM BALLJOINT
Recall #4206F EMISSION

That is all the recall work. The service bulletins are another story - I wouldn't push for them from anyone but a dealer. So now the Q is warranty, and I'm not quite sure if you can just call MNAO to find out. Worth a try, but maybe someone more knowledgeable can tell you how to find out if the warranty has been void.

if your really interested in this car (which you seem to be), Check all the facts (like you are starting to do) and be sure to go over and take a look at the car in person. Your going to be spending $17k on it, why not spend 4 hours to go look at it. Dont go over there thinking that your buying it already, go over thinking that your going to go check it out. in all reality, if its OK, and you might have to do some work on it ALREADY... w/o warranty... go find yourself another rx8. I got mine with 20kmiles on it for $18k (2004).

and besides.... its blue. we all know that the Black ones have more HP....
;)

your on the right track though, just keep finding out all the down sides to the car before you start celebrating the good sides.

-RoMeO

Thats not true at all... the blue is the fastest, just look at the name "Winning Blue" that clearly has the most hp. And thnx for the help the idea of going there and just "looking" at it seems right. What should i look for and if i get a test drive what should i look for in the drive, i will also call and ask them if it still has warranty. Thnx again guys. :cuddle:

Nahh Sunlight Silver is the fastest because it sold its soul to the devil. :FIREdevil

That is why some say it is cursed. :rant:

White is the fastest because all the paint is washed off. That equals in major weight reduction =]

04 rebuilt should go for 12k maybe 14.. mileage is pretty much irrelevant .. keep in mind you're not going to get out of it that easy .. no one wants to buy a rebuilt .. especially a sports car .. once you ruin the frame .. you may as well toss the car

I don't think $16,995 is an amazing price.

There are two 2004s on the Simmon's Rockwell lot near my office. Mileage unknown, but both are $17,495. Sim-Rock buys a lot of auction cars, but I've not heard of them passing along salvage/rebuilt titles.

I say see it, drive it, take a buddy for a 2nd set of eyes and morale support. By taking a buddy you have the ability to get the car home if you decide to buy and you have someone to back you up in a high-pressure sales situation.

I'd also say talk them down substantially from $16,995.

Hey, given the date, anyone think this car could be from this thread?
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ght=blue+wreck
...too bad we never learned more about that wreck.

Thnx again guys im probably gona go check it out but i have another option that i am lookign at the moment. There is a personal seller selling an 8 and i have to switch the title into my name. What should i do should i go to the bank and ask for a loan and if yes what is the procedure to do that.

private sale loans - just look up capital one or eloan .. i think has it too .. basically rate is slightly higher but you should be able to refi later .. refi are usually no cost .. the only think is that you may skip a payment

It's best to know what rate you'll be financed for so you can tell a dealership to *F* off if they qoute you a higher rate. Prlly should look at you credit report and pay the extra 5 or 6 bucks to get your credit score.

Free credit reports here - you get 1 per company per year, but can't get a free credit score (as far as I know)

And yes, you can just walk into the bank and ask about a loan. Or go to a website like lending tree.

This is 2006. Any reasonable bank, credit union or whatever who would make you an auto-loan should either pre-approve you for a maximum limit, then give you a "check" which you can write either to a dealership or a person.

The bank giving you the loan will probably have two different processes for making a purchase and securing the title depending on whether you purchase at a dealership or make a private-party purchase. In the case of my bank, I couldn't write a loan-check to a private-party, the bank would FedEx a check to them directly and I think the private party had to send the title to them or send a form which allowed my bank to get the title from their bank.

You'll have to talk to your lender to get the right procedure for them.