I have found what it seems to be a great 2004 with 15k miles. Indise and out is just "perfect". I don't know much about rotarty engines and I would like to know what things I should be looking for to make sure the car is in good shape.

Is there a way to find out if the car has been broken in correctly?

What, other than oil change should change right after I get the car?

Any other thing you could think of please let me know. Thanks in advance.

 

The condition of the tires are usually a dead giveaway. Are the rears more worn than the front? Are fronts more bare on the outer edges. Are all 4 tires looking the same?


My wife has 32,000 miles on her auto 8 and there is still at least 1/2 the tread left.

 

its an 04 so it's still under warranty...see if you can drive a new one, and compare how the clutch and transmission feel.

i wouldnt use the tires as a judge...i went through my OEM's in 20,000 and i dont abuse my car.

 

Would you be buying this used 8 from a dealer or a private party? If it’s not a dealer I would get into a conversation about the RX-8 / Rotary with the owner and see how much they know. Do they know about this site? Do they have copies of the service history on the 8 including flashes? Chances are an owner that pushed to have the most recent flashes has done other things right in regards to the ownership of this car. Do they have decent tools a few bottles of 5w-20 around or any other clues that they are a “ gear head “? Does the owner’s manual look like it’s been opened a few times? If it’s a dealer you on your own, don’t trust anything they tell you. Either way you want to take the car to a mechanic and look for signs of damage and if they can tell regular maintenance has been done.

 

Thanks guys. I already had scheduled an apppointment with a mechanic. The dealer I may be buying it from told they are OK with me taking the car to the mechanic. As you can imagine, they don't have any records of anything that was done to the car.

 

Get a Carfax report? They are good for SOME things. They should also be able to pull up any work done to the car by a Mazda dealer. If nothing has been done to the car by Mazda I would be concerned.

 

I'd say these are good things as far as engine condition is concerned, meaning the car has been driven like it's supposed to be driven. Too many babied cars out there getting new engines. Good for the rest of the driveline, maybe not .

 

Don't trust a Carfax report to tell you if the car's been in a major accident! My car was rear-ended nearly one year ago, had $15,000 worth of damage, and nothing shows on Carfax yet. Make sure the mechanic puts the car up on a lift and looks for signs of frame repairs and/or overspray which would indicate bodywork done.

 

I got the car yesterday. I am going to be taking it to the mechanic today hopefully.

Any body knows when doing an alignment if camber, caster and toe can be set on the front and back?

 

Weird, I just got my used '04 last week (15,671 mi.) and haven't notice any problems with it. I checked the car out really well and didn't see a thing with it at all. The tires were good and looked almost new, the interior was spotless along with the engine bay. All the fluid levels were topped off, oil on the dipstick was normal looking, etc.

As far as service records though, Mazda said they had it come through for the recalls and that was it. They didn't have any records at the two dealerships near the one where I got it from (a Lexus dealership) that said they had ever seen the car. So I am not sure where the guy took it at, but can only assume everything was done to it. I am going to change the oil shortly to make sure it is done because I don't know when it was last done.

Anybody got a link to the recommended service for the car along with a price range? Also, if there was a TSB for rusty rotors can someone provide a link or a .PDF for them so I can take it with me when I get the car flashed? Thanks.

 

Along with above suggestions, definitely pull the warranty service history (at any Mazda dealer) and observe if (how many times) spark plugs were changed. This is the tell tale for flooding events. Car fax will give you the info on how long it has sat on dealer lots. During test drive, determine how engine pulls all the way to 9000.

Once you get the car, go thru the TSB's and see how many are pending issues on the car. Get these fixed especially the engine issues including latest flash. Get upgraded battery under warranty. As for costs out of your pocket - go to synthetic tranny and diff fluids (Redline).

For service in Indy - save yourself a headache and bypass Rousch. I suggest Hubler (south not west).

 

I spent almost 4 hours at the mechanic. The car seems to be in great shape. They ran a compression test (among other things) and here are the results:

Rotor #1 @ 212 RPM: 7.7/7.3/7.5
Rotor #2 @ 216 RPM: 7.6/7.5/7.2

Mazda minimum specification is 7.0 Kg/cm^2
Extrapolated to 250 RPM, the engine compression is over 8.0 Kg/cm^2

They did find a possible seepage from the oil level sensor and there is also a small dent on the front bumper that may cause the paint to crack at some point.

I was also lucky to be able to get a hold of the first owner. Very nice guy. I found out that the car has the "N" flash.