looking into buying a rx8, some questions after test drive
 

well im in the market for another car and the rx8 has caught my attention. i noticed one at a local dealership and test drove it yesterday. ive been doing the research of the car before the test drive but i was sold on that type of car just by driving it. just may not be that one. reason i say that is i noticed some issues while driving it that i had some questions about and the dealership prolly will lie or not even know if i ask them.

first off i started the car and allowed it to warm up. cranked fine and like the ones ive seen on u tube. before start up i checked the oil cause the dealer was unaware that it consumed oil to operate. once i started the car i looked over the gauge cluster and noticed that the oil gauge to the right of the cluster stated on high. is this normal for this type of car or is it common for these to crap out. i know there more or less dummy gauges but with that said its normally not suppose to be maxed out but in the middle.

second was when i began to pull off i heard what sounded like more noised then usual. i was only in frist pully throu the lot so i stopped and reved it a few times lightly to listen for the noise but didnt hear it again. (also i dont think this car has moved much in a while due to the dust on it) so i pull out an drove down the high way just shifting throu the gears. i first started off lightly just to get a feel for it. after a few mins i pulled onto a road that was straight and vacant. i was in 2nd and layed into the car about 3/4 throttle to see what it had. was kinda smiling with the high revs till i went to shift to 3rd. just seemed like the car wouldnt go into the gear. almost had to force it in. was wondering if possible a syncro was going out or if thats just normal on this car with hard accel.

well long story short i got the car up to around 90mph then slowed back down. stopped at a stop sign and pulled off kinda hard. shifted throu 4th without issue(was prepared with the tighness in 3rd and 4th this time). so i pull back up to the dealership and have a burning smell. dunno if it was oil or plastic. seen something about a recall on some kind of heat sheild.

well those were the only issues i noticed. i like the style of the car and need something with 4 doors. rx8 seems to be the best of both worlds. i have a svt focus right now and really dont wanna get rid of the 2 door feel. i can comprimise thou.
so does anyone have any help they can chime in on this. should i leave it alone and looke at another one or is what i felt just average in those cars that are used.

the car is an 04 6speed. has 57k on the od and dealer is asking 10,000 for it. has the dvd/navi and cloth seats. is this a good buy?

oil gauge not normal. unplug battery reset ecu, check again, 2. car bangs, the abs doing a self test.. 3. the grinding is normal.. especially 3rd gear at high revs... you will notice reverse is difficult aswell.. 10 000 is steep, offer 9000 or 8500, steal it from him.

alright sounds good. i talked to um about the price. said that they are selling it 50 dollars under there cost. prolly a lie but who knows. ima try somemore on a better price. biggest negative is it has some horrible looking chrome 18" rims on it. kinda have plans to do a staggered set up on it but would rather the stock rims until then. only thing is the dealer is i guess trying to play reverse phyco on me. trying to tell me to not buy it cause of the rotory engine. but i schooled him some in them. think they had a bad problem were they sold one and the engine crapped about a year later. what about the burning smell. almost like something had been worked on and was getting hot for the first time.

plastic bags like to get caught up underneath our cars... might take a quick look.

Uh, no stay away from that car for anything over like 5k. Seriously. There are issues there that will cost you quite a bit of money in the long run.

Grinding is NOT normal, unless the previous owner abused the transmission. Mine never grinds, clutch still in great condition, and it's sitting at exactly 60,000 on the odo in my driveway.

The dummy oil pressure gauge being maxed out can't be good as well, as I have never heard of that happening. Only time it should go to max is briefly during the 20-brake-pedal-stomp ecu reset, and that is with the car off. Something else is wrong here.

The burning smell could be anything by your description, but never good.

Keep looking.

There are lots of used 8's out there with less question marks. Keep looking. You'll find one.

i should be more specific on the shifting.. its not super smooth changing gears.. always have to apply some pressure.. and its not only my car i used to sell mazda's they all did.. drive another standard car and the shifting is completely different.

I'd still say enough is wrong or concerning there. The shifting should be 'notchy', not sluggish or resistant.

+1 .....
And I will put my usual two cents in....
I would never recommend the purchase of an (new or otherwise) RX8 to anyone that didn't think of themselves as a gear head and a bit of an DIY'er