Maxda RX-8
- Thread starter pokerking
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Yes it will be a higher mileage car but honestly they aren't worth a lot more, but bottom end of market will be riddled with faults lore then likely!
3k will get you a low mileage one!
They really are that cheap these days, which sucks coz I lost a bit on mine now!!
Common stuff to look for worn rotors, plugs/coils, starter motor ( not cheap!!) **** tyres!
To the guy who says engine shot at 60k - total ********!!! The RX7 engines were shot around 70k, not the 8. The renesis version in the 8 if well maintained lasts as long as a normal engines car. Just can't let those rotor tips get worn!
I have seen some cars advertised for £1800 or thereabouts! I wonder if they would be worth a punt??
Yes, there are some with issues, and quite often it is rotor tip issues - other times it is misdiagnosed rotor tip issues, which are actually down to the car not having the recall for the starter/firmware update.
But still, the engine doesn't just give up the ghost at 60k like the RX7 did (Well, I say that - I'm not convinced that 60k is some magic number that they all die at either, but this is where the figure came from).
Some will die at 30k, others 100k and some go on well past that. 95% of the time it is down to how they have been treated and maintained.
The kind of treatment and maintenance schedule they require, is really only suitable for an enthusiast, not Joe Bloggs who just wants a flashy coupé and never checks their fluid, or performs any preventative maintenance.
Buy then
!! Not for a second am I seriously going to buy one! But your out so you wont see this reply then 
Just simply saying there are quite a few out there around this price! You can pick a bargain out of a heap, so maybe worth a punt to some!!
We will see, its only money at the end of the day. What's the worst that can happen? If it all works out and the car I buy turns out to last more than 6 months, do I get a prize?
Soldato
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I have seen some cars advertised for £1800 or thereabouts! I wonder if they would be worth a punt??
Most likely that price due to engine problems. If you must look at an RX8, at least get a hot compression test done before parting with your cash. Another sign of a shafted engine is struggling to start from hot. Bear in mind that it costs around 3K for an engine rebuild!
Soldato
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I have owned an RX8 for a year and know all about the problems with rotary engines. 60K seems to be the point a lot of them fail at. I'm sure well cared for examples may last longer, but how many cared for examples are there at £1800? I bought mine direct from Mazda with a years warranty and it was still a lemon. Mazda just didn't want to know about it. They stuck an uprated starter motor in it to mask the hot start problem and just fobbed me off until my warranty ran out.
Cars like this for example
http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-...ate-plate-fsh-50k-tt-until-sept-2012/98111204
http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/mazda-rx8-bagain-bargain-reduced-by-900/96894934
Worth looking to see you reckon guys? Or shall I just try the higher end of my budget for one. 3.5k?
http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-...ate-plate-fsh-50k-tt-until-sept-2012/98111204
http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/mazda-rx8-bagain-bargain-reduced-by-900/96894934
Worth looking to see you reckon guys? Or shall I just try the higher end of my budget for one. 3.5k?
Soldato
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I tell you what I reckon, get something else
I lost a fortune on mine in the space of a year. Worst thing I have ever bought in my life
I lost a fortune on mine in the space of a year. Worst thing I have ever bought in my life
I tell you what I reckon, get something else
I lost a fortune on mine in the space of a year. Worst thing I have ever bought in my life
Hmmmm really?? I don't know what to do!! I am so set on buying one but this thread has got me a little worried. My other half loves the look of one and she wants me to get one. I have owned a few hot hatches that have also cost me a lot to maintain and replace parts etc, just was hoping to be a bit more sensible and buy a more of a grown up car if that makes sense?
Soldato
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Hmmmm really?? I don't know what to do!! I am so set on buying one but this thread has got me a little worried. My other half loves the look of one and she wants me to get one. I have owned a few hot hatches that have also cost me a lot to maintain and replace parts etc, just was hoping to be a bit more sensible and buy a more of a grown up car if that makes sense?
Surely the car at that sort of price has alarm bells ringing all over the place?
The RX-8 was a relatively expensive car to begin with and its depreciation and current second hand value should be enough to make potential buyers very concerned. To then be shopping at the lower end of that already suspiciously cheap market is surely an accident waiting to happen?
Just see them quite a lot on the road been driven, not at the side of the road in flames or broken down! Quite a misguided view I'm sure but had no idea they were a death trap waiting to happen. I just presumed due to tax, MPG and insurance in the current times the value of the car went down as people are not willing to have a everyday car achieve no more than 19MPG, people are upping sticks and going diesel. I only work 9 miles away round trip so don't really care about fuel.
I duuno, I may try one and see how it goes for a few months.
Soldato
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I dont think they will actually kill you but they may make you contemplate suicide!
The 350z is "cheap" for the reasons you list but i paid £9.5k for a 56 plate with leather, sat nav, bose etc. To me that was because they are hard cars to shift in the current climate, drink fuel like its going out of fashion and are in the high tax bracket. Thats fair enough. However if that price had dropped to a couple of thousand quid it clearly goes beyond that.
By all means buy one - i think they are fine looking cars tbh. Id just be making sure i was going into it with my eyes open which to be fair i think you are. Would you be prepared to spend more than the purchase price to fix it should the worst happen?
I really like them, by bro in law has a meaty 385bhp RX7 its mental, he's spent a tonne on it though, I would buy an 8 just for laugh and see how long it takes for it to die, if you pay around £3k you can get a decent one I reckon.
don't buy one without a hot compression test, or one that has trouble starting when hot
don't buy one without a hot compression test, or one that has trouble starting when hot
If you spend around 3k you should get a decent car. The first one looks decent but needs the locking sorting, second seems vague, and with 80k on clock doesn't even mention services?
Where have you got £1800 from? You made your ridiculous 60k mile statement before anyone mentioned an £1800 RX8.
Perhaps yours was badly maintained before you had it, perhaps it was badly maintained during your ownership, who knows? They don't magically go bang at 60k miles though. There are far too many variables during 60k miles for that to be even remotely accurate, even if there was a finite life on them.
IvanDobskey said:
Or around £1200 for a used engine supplied with a compression test and warranty.
There are lots of cars that'll easily throw bills just as big, if not bigger.
Associate
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My brother got his with the extended warranty (which was handy or it would have skinted him) in the space of a year it threw over 3K's worth of bills and Mazda still didn't fix it properly. He loved it to bits but when the car is spending as much time at mazda as it is on the drive it's time to get shot. Of course you may be lucky but the odds certainly aren't in your favour especially when it sounds like you just want a cheap flashy coupe. As said by other posters this car is now really only for enthusiasts with all the problems it has.
Soldato
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Do you go into the deal expecting the bill though?
If you have £3k to spend on a car do you buy a reliable car for £3k or do you buy a performance car that is £3k because of all the potential problems?
If I had a place for an RX8 in my life (this isn't a question of want - I'd like one), and only had £3k to buy a new car then I would still buy an RX8.
I do not see the potential for problems to be a big enough issue to require a backup fund from the word go.
That said, I would not go and buy the first RX8 I saw, and I'm pretty confident that I'd be able to distinguish between a genuinely good car and a tidy looking lemon.
For a private sale, I'd probably insist on a compression test, too.
Obviously if you do not have the patience/knowledge to root out a good one, then I'd probably say have that fund spare before you bought it if £1500 isn't a figure you can raise quickly. That isn't because I think all RX8s are dying, mind you, but average Mr. Joe Bloggs is far more likely to end up with a Lemon than an enthusiast who likes the car enough to spend months reading up on them.
I do not see the potential for problems to be a big enough issue to require a backup fund from the word go.
That said, I would not go and buy the first RX8 I saw, and I'm pretty confident that I'd be able to distinguish between a genuinely good car and a tidy looking lemon.
For a private sale, I'd probably insist on a compression test, too.
Obviously if you do not have the patience/knowledge to root out a good one, then I'd probably say have that fund spare before you bought it if £1500 isn't a figure you can raise quickly. That isn't because I think all RX8s are dying, mind you, but average Mr. Joe Bloggs is far more likely to end up with a Lemon than an enthusiast who likes the car enough to spend months reading up on them.