Trying to decide between these two rx-8's and a crossfire. Help please...

1. 04 rx-8 See it here.
70,000 Miles, replaced engine with 25k ish on the new one. Has a evap gross leak which may need the secondary air injection diverter valve solenoid replaced...(anyone know how much this may cost to fix?

$7,900

2. 04 rx-8 see it here.
58,000 miles, small dent/scratch on the door (i couldn't even see it in the picture)

$8,400

3. 04 Chrysler Crossfire See it here.
40k miles, maintenance is typically expensive since it is 90% Mercedes Benz parts. 2 seats which i don't really care about since i rarely have more than one person in my car.

$8,900

All with Salvaged tites.

What do you think? Anything special i should know while test driving any of these? help... :/

 

Obviously I'll recommend the rx-8 over pretty much anything else (being an owner myself), but I don't know anything about the crossfire. The 4 seats is also useful when needed, but I never get volunteered to drive anywhere with my friends because for anyone 6'+ it's not that good of a ride in the back since leg room is minimum (but I wouldn't know since I'm always in the driver seat). I'd be careful with the one with a check engine light, those can sometime be more than what the initial diagnosis is.
I'd say check tire tread depth and brake rotor/pad remaining and use that to negotiate if you can.
I've had an '04 Manual 8 from 33k miles to 55k miles (20 months) and haven't had any major issue with it thus far. (replaced starter, but all else is regular maintenance).
I recommend looking at some manual 8's. I barely knew how to drive manual before it and it didn't take long to get good, as its one of the easier manuals to drive.
That's my 2 cents

 

2nd Rx8. However I think they are asking too much for it with a salvage title. I got my 04 60000 miles for 9 and it was a clean title. So I would say keep looking and be patient

 

crossfire

 

unless you have a boyfriend...dont get the crossfire.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6-9jTTwEIQ

 

Plus 1.

I choose secret option 4, none of the above. I would stay away from salvage titled vehicles altogether, but good luck with whatever you decide.

 

I agree. They are too much of a hassle. There is a bad reason that they are salvage.
BTW, we used to make a lot of fun of the Crossfire.

 

Haha well thanks i guess i won't be getting the crossfire.. And as much as i'd love to get an rx-8 without a salvage title the price difference makes me think and I've owned a salvaged car before without a single problem in the 3 years i had it.

Hope i'm able to find a rx-8 under 10k here soon.

 

They are available in KC for under 10k. I looked at a clean 2004, 65k miles, clean, loaded 8 for $8.9k last week. There is a clean 80k mile one for $10k as well. They are out there.

 

dont get salvage title rx8's unless you can pay for an engine replacement

 

Crossfire no questions asked.

 

Miata

 

RX-8 > Crossfire

 

Why not wait a few more months and save up $2k more or so and buy a non-salvaged titled rx8?

 

A few months is a little too long i'm already going on 2 months and it's become more difficult to borrow cars for work and i've never had a problem with my previous car with a salvaged title so i didn't see the downside of it. (and it allows me to get nicer cars for cheaper.)

Anyway test drove the black 04 today and it seemed to shift really weird between 4 and 3 while in automatic mode, the guy selling it says he always drives in the manual mode so he never noticed....

The second one the person changed their mind when i went to see it.. ha so looks like i'm left with the crossfire unless a deal pops up within the next few weeks.

an 05 one popped up with a clean title... http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=733...iew&ad=4289881

Are the 05's better in anyway? hopefully will give this one a test drive in the next few days.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5nvL...eature=related

 

i don't know why you would even consider the rx8 in the same pool as a crossfire.

 

You can find clean titled rx8s for that price. Just look around.

 

For gay people...lol

 

 

Newer model year is better than an older one, just from age and depreciation. '04 was the first model year for the RX-8, and it's usually preferable to avoid the first model year of anything, but I don't think there were any significant changes from '04 to '05 other than ECU flash improvements. And you can get the latest flash (MSP16) for free if the prior owner did not get it done.

Since you're looking for an automatic, '06 would be much better than '04 or '05 since '06 onward has the six speed transmission rather than four speed, and also the six port engine. But that's likely to be out of your price range.

Hope the one you found checks out OK.

Ken

 

..ok im curious why?

 

This one looks better than the other options. The description made me lol. 'Tons of torque..."??

 

Well, the first thing you should do is drive the Crossfire, and then look at the size of tires, and see if they are brand new. In case you don't know, fronts are 225/40-18, and rears are 255/35-19. They get expensive to replace, real quick.

The next thing you need to know is that the drivetrain in the Crossfire is pretty much bullet proof, and there are some great tuners that can juice up your Crossfire a bit.

There are some weak points.
If you are already considering a Crossfire, then the styling isn't an issue for you, unlike the bulk of the people on here. It works for some, but not for others.

The early cars typically need cooling fans replaced (you should find out if it has been previously replaced), Relay Control Modules need some solder joints reflowed, and the crankshaft position sensor will probably go bad, if it hasn't already. One last thing is a rattle from the trunk lid, which there's a fix for, and if the trunk doesn't lock, there's a hose in the right rear interior panel that tended to unhook itself. Easy fix.

Unlike the RX-8, you rarely hear of a Crossfire engine needing replacement.
Unlike the RX-8, the Crossfire's suspension was set up for older, richer fat Americans, and isn't crisp, responsive, and light feeling, but, if your previous car was a Camry, then anything's better.

If you buy the Crossfire, you just get in and drive, put gas in the tank, and wonder which mods you should do to improve the power and the handling. With the RX-8, you have to spend time wondering if the motor is going to die, add oil to the tank, mod the oil pump, coils, catalytic converter, and lots of other little things before you can even start to think about any performance mods, if you can even really think about those.

Since money sounds like a very tight issue, and it obviously is since you are looking at SALVAGED cars, you should stay away from the RX-8. In fact, you should probably stay away from both of these cars, and buy a used reliable, not-fun car and save up money for a better car purchase in the future.

My knowledge of Crossfire's comes directly from the fact that my gf owns an '08 Roadster, new, since Oct '08. She likes her car a lot. She takes it to a road course track, and slides it around the place with a huge smile on her face several times a year. I much preferred my Boxster over her Crossfire. I definitely prefer the RX-8 over the Crossfire.

Oddly enough, so does she.

BC.