Hello! Finally in a position to get an RX-8 #excited

[Nickp47]

Have pm’d you re the above

[Dr. FrankenRex]

viewtopic.php?f=145&t=80829 Why not take a look on the OC?

If I had some money to sink in to an RX8, let alone an R3, I'd be looking at this one without a second thought.

[Ollie]

Avoid Kent Rotaries.. Everything's compression is a magic 7 from them... May look good on the outside but I wouldn't touch them.

[Dan123]

In my experience you have to be prepared to go balls deep with the travelling for the R3, probably even more so if you want one on the softer side of £5000. The decent examples won't hang around! I found out the hard way. - Pete's one has also sold in no time at all.

Back when I was looking, Kent Rotaries came up a few times but they didn't have a website, I think they used to trade under a different name? Some quick googling led me to the Len Goodman Seven meme on here though (before I was registered on here) so that killed that idea.

Dan

[New Duke]

Yeah I spent 2 days on a train to pick up this R3.

Pleasurable experiences and outcomes should take plenty of time and effort. Relish the sacrifices required of you.

[warpc0il]

Pete's one has also sold in no time at all.

Which suggests it was undervalued, if anything.

...and regarding Kent Rotaries, very shady

[YellowFish]

viewtopic.php?f=145&t=80829 Why not take a look on the OC?

If I had some money to sink in to an RX8, let alone an R3, I'd be looking at this one without a second thought.

I've messaged but it's listed sold on autotrader so think I've missed it. I couldn't go see it till Monday unfortunately. If it's still available I'm very keen but i think its gone

Thanks for the tips on Kent Rotaries. I'll give them a miss, although the pickings are not looking great.

I'd seen a 40th anniversary here https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified ... 1114236459 and was thinking of visiting Kent Rotaries at the same time. Seems a little shady though with the name changes and all the comp tests pictured on the site are in the 7s. Guess they could be holding back the sub 7's from the listing though? Is it even worth a call or just leave it?

[jwalla17]

No you haven't missed it. The autotrader listing has expired and I've not got around to re-listing it.

Moving at short notice to Southampton has scuppered a lot of plans and I've thus not had anyone come look at it yet.

If you're still coming next week, please bear in mind that from Tuesday I'll be out of town for a few days but Monday is still okay.

JW

[goodeggbob]

ebay item,352880828477,not a million miles away from you.

[jwalla17]

If I had some money to sink in to an RX8, let alone an R3, I'd be looking at this one without a second thought.

You've already had your look

[Nickp47]

I don’t think you should dismiss Kent Rotaries completely, ultimately their cars usually come from the same places as most other dealers and private sales. If they have one you like the look of just have it checked over/ comp tested by someone independent such as Luke Murdoch to give yourself peace of mind.

[Nickp47]

I'd consider any purchase from Kent Rotaries as if you were buying from a private seller, e.g. without any warranty or comeback.


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[YellowFish]

So if I go for jwallas17 s I'll need to get the rust fixed ASAP (assuming it's as minor as it looks) Anyone know a good Midlands bodyshop or would you just take a stab on the drive? (got a mate with a gun, space heater and compressor) I'm not totally enept at this kind of thing but it'll be my first stab and car bodywork and I'm concerned about getting a poor colour match although I guess black is a marginally more forgiving colour...

After that it'll be underseal Ed and tbh the members deal mentioned above looks on pretty reasonably priced.

Again, thanks for the help and advice so far, you guys are awesome!

[qwakers]

actually black is a pig because you can always see the shadow at the edge of the repair where the lacquer edge ends. you can buy arosols of ‘blend in thinner’ that solves that issue, but it takes a lot of practice to get it right.

[YellowFish]

I'd hoped it'd be easier but fair enough. It seems like the colour match is possibly the hardest part of bodywork. I feel pretty confident I can prep and lay the paint down OK after some practice on a non car panel but theres an art to colour matching and making sure the pigment is matched both in daylight as well as under a streetlight. Anyone got any tips or am I being overly cautious?

[New Duke]

Might be a good idea to get some photos of any rusty bits if you're genuinely considering buying a car with rust. Then you can get some quotes for the repair/welding and painting. Unless you really know what you're doing I wouldn't recommend trying it yourself on a car that costs thousands.

Then you'll know whether the lower cost of purchase cancels out the cost/hassle of the repair. For all you know re jwalla's car, the rust could be really minor and he's just being a top bloke giving any buyer a heads up... or maybe it needs sorting sooner rather than later and might appear on an MOT.

On that note, make sure any R3 you buy has a fresh 12 month MOT on it too. Even if you need to offer to add £40 to the asking price if it passes without any advisories. Don't accept one without that unless you're planning on a project build.

[YellowFish]

Might be a good idea to get some photos of any rusty bits if you're genuinely considering buying a car with rust. Then you can get some quotes for the repair/welding and painting. Unless you really know what you're doing I wouldn't recommend trying it yourself on a car that costs thousands.

I've seen some pics and it does look minor, small patch of bubbling under the surface with above the skirt but it looks limited to the surface and therefore possible easy fix (for a pro), I'll skip doing it myself.

Then you'll know whether the lower cost of purchase cancels out the cost/hassle of the repair. For all you know re jwalla's car, the rust could be really minor and he's just being a top bloke giving any buyer a heads up... or maybe it needs sorting sooner rather than later and might appear on an MOT.

On that note, make sure any R3 you buy has a fresh 12 month MOT on it too. Even if you need to offer to add £40 to the asking price if it passes without any advisories. Don't accept one without that unless you're planning on a project build.

Good tip, I'm not expecting the asking price to be the total cost of the car but from what I've seen in pics and been described the rust currently looks manageable but, as always with rust, it can't be left or it'll become something far more sinister.

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[YellowFish]

Thanks for all the advice, I ended up getting jwallas17's R3 with Luke Murdoch (really sound guy who clearly knows his RX8s) giving it a once over before parting with cash, so thanks for all the advice, had an epic drive back from Southampton, its a fun car to say the least

few bits to tidy though, not really enough to call it a project but a few thinks to tick off, namely underbody rust proofing (will use the members deal as Birmingham is pretty local) which is top priority, then sorting the patch of rust on the offside rear door (or replace if anyone knows of a sparkling black being broken) and also a new back cat exhaust as it turned out there was a hole in the current one which will need fixing before it's next MOT. More cosmetically, the alloys could do with a refurb.

So I'll be starting a thread and hopefully it'll be all pretty minor as the rest seems solid.

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[jwalla17]

Good luck Carl!

I very much look forward to seeing the results of the work you’re planning. Glad you were able to give the car a good thrashing too.

I’m just on my way back with it’s replacement, a MX-5 RF which is just as lively to drive, albeit in a very different way.

[Goobie]

Welcome to the club!

Membership fee clearly well worth the spend already with all the first time buying advice, car hunt etc on here.

Looks like a you got a real good bargain with jwalla17 R3 to, well done.

[Shagrington]

Congratulations YellowFish - and same to jwalla17 with the new RF.

[New Duke]

the offside rear door (or replace if anyone knows of a sparkling black being broken) and also a new back cat exhaust as it turned out there was a hole in the current one which will need fixing before it's next MOT.

The good news is that the R3 rear door is the same as the S1.
The bad news is that Mazda didn't do the S1 in the same metallic black as the R3, the closest being the limited edition Kuro Black.
So, if you replace the door then you'll need to get it sprayed.
Where is the rust, as the rear doors are aluminium alloy?

The cat back exhaust is also unique on the R3 and most aftermarket systems won't fit.
Some suppliers offer an R3 option and I believe one will convert theirs for you, at a price.
It might be worth checking to see if the hole can be patched.

[Nickp47]

Kuro was the same Sparkling Black as R3 was it not?

[warpc0il]

Same name but someone fitted a Sparkling Black boot from an R3 onto their Kuro and it wasn't a good match.

[New Duke]

Yellowfish when you can post up decent pics of the door once it's clean and dry so we can see where the rust is and give advice. R3s are rarely broken and when they are you have to be on your toes as the parts go super quick, especially paint specific parts. So probably best to fix the door.

I've had really good results repainting large areas on my R3 with Dr Colourchip (similar to Chipex), it even blending in well onto the metal or primer with the original SB paint. I repainted most of an X-Type rear door with their blue paint a couple of years ago because it blends so well if you're not doing a whole panel. It's very impressive stuff.

Or you may find that a local bodyshop can spray just the door for a couple of hundred quid.

Just depends what you're dealing with.