Hello,

Not new to the forum but new to the RX8. I was an avid Mazda 6 owner for about 6 years until I was side swiped. Long story short, i'm looking to stay within the mazda family and saw this RX8 for sale.

2004 MAZDA RX8
VIN: JM1FE173340136694
COUPE 4 DOOR
1.3L R0 FI

http://www.emmonsmotorcompany.com/we...Texas/1842437/


I'm doing my research now and from what i've read, the 2004's seem to have some bad motors in them - not all but some!

The car has roughly 56,682 miles on it and the carfax does look good, showing maintenance every 3k or so.

Car fax - http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory...FE173340136694


Any how, i'm looking for adivse from experience owners / members that could point me in the right direction on where to look for problems. So far from what i've been able to search up, getting a compression test done and checking for regular service seems to be the main checking areas.

Appreciate any help in looking for other possible problems when buying a used RX8.

Thanks,

Frantic3

 

That Rx8 looks clean!! And its got the GT package which is nice to have. Personally i don't think 56k miles is too much, and it SHOULD still have the warranty until 10/21/2012. But a compression test will tell all.

Check this thread out - New and potential owners start here.

You can also try to find out when the coils, wires and plugs were changed last. And if they need to be replaced you can try to haggle down on price a little. Same with tires or anything else that might need replacing.

 

Just finished reading it...

Have to be honest - kind of pulled me away from even attempting to buy it now. These 8's upkeep is no joke.

However, looks like it was regularly maintenance and the mileage is not too bad.

 

I am amazed at the AWESOME job we do of scaring away potential buyers as if this car were a freaking anomaly and requires MASSIVE amounts of upkeep and is an unreliable piece of crap.

it's a car and to be honest, it's not all that different then most other cars.
if you do the basic maintenance you'll be fine. There's guys on here who HARDLY do maintenance and their cars are fine.
the ONE thing that you need to keep an eye on is the oil level and if I may be blunt: even that is over rated. You could EASILY go 3,000 miles in between checking oil and odds are you'll be fine.

 

Its not that bad.

Since you would be just buying a used car, first things you should do, unless you have proof of it being done recently from the current owner, are oil and filter change, spark plugs, wires, and coils, transmission and rear differential fluid change, and a brake fluid flush.

That is, if the compression tests out good.

If the compression doesn't test out good, don't buy it.
Simple as that.

Once all those bits are done, enjoy the car and check the oil level every other tank of gas. If that's too much, then you need a different car.

BC.

 

LOL, I’m not totally out of it yet but I can see how a novice car buyer might be persuaded otherwise.

The previous owner looks like he / she took care of the maintenance so I’m going to give it a shot.

Will more than likely check it out on Friday, test drive it, and look into the compression test.

On my 6, I did most of the basic maintenance DIY. Reading further, seems that the 8 has a ton more room to work on under the hood.


Thanks for the tips on checking the other areas. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

 

Lol not trying to scare you

And even if it fails the compression check, you could make the dealer get the engine replaced under warranty. Because sometimes it is a biotch to get a dealer to swap out an engine.

As long as you know how/are willing to learn how to take care of this car, you should be fine

 

Don't scare the "newbies" and the "wants to have it"..lol

Anyway, what was said already, i will just add that you read the stickies and follow the procedures, and you'll be alright.

 

Regarding the compression test: absolutely get it done. $150 saved me from making an $11K mistake. Regarding the replacement engine: be wary, the owner of the car must come in with complaints of low power. The dealer may be inclined to check other, less expensive things first. The dealer I had do the test was also not supposed to tell me that the car failed because it did not come with the above-mentioned complaint. I was only aware of the failure when I checked the numbers against the service manual. Demand the printout and the pressure-time trace if they can provide it. All that said, the car I did buy has transmission problems but the engine tested well above average compression, which is comforting. Call or go to any Mazda dealer and get Mazda's service records. If you can, call the original dealer and ask for their records as well. I checked these details on all of the cars I looked in to except the one I bought and it bit me in the ***.

 

Checked out the car yesterday…

1. Trunk was not lining up flush with the bumper. The dealer had other RX8 right next to this one and the trunks were flush. This led me to believe that there was def some rear end collision and someone tried to cover it up.

2. Started the car and it did not sound good. It actually took 3 tries to get it going which on the third try I had to flutter the gas to get her going.

3. Heard a whine with the motor after revving up past 3k.

4. Overall condition with the car did not look how it was shown in the pictures.

5. Dealer did not want to get the compression test done on their end. They told me that I would be able to get the compression test done but they would not work with me to take that out of the price.

With all this, I went with my gut to walk away. Researching now to see if the whine is normal but I went with my conscience and passed on this RX8.

Thanks for eveyone helping out and giving me insight on what to look for.

 

If a car dealer does not want to work with you on checking the car out. Then you don't need to do business with them.
You made the right move by walking away. There are other fish in the sea.

 

Sounds like you made the right call. Good luck finding another.

 

Good Walk Man!

As for maintenance, my 8 takes little more than my 6, or my Expedition, or my Ranger. You just have to do it (Oil, Coolant, Filters, regular stuff). Now, mine is also a hobby. If you separate my time playing, and my time fixing what I played with, it just gets an oil change a little more often.

Good idea to walk away though.