Newbie - looking to buy!

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Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by Mdjefferson »

Hello All, my name is Mike!

Newbie currently looking to purchase. Had a nice car history, GT86, then an M240i. Unfortunately, had to trade the BMW for a 7 seat Skoda Kodiaq Sportline to transport the kids in and now looking for a cheap way to bring the fun back into driving.

I've seen for sale a PZ but has a bit of rust on rear wheel arches and failed an MOT but since passed with it as an advisory. (see pics below). What do we think, avoid or is it hard to tell from the pics?

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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by Mdjefferson »

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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by Nickp47 »

I would be prepared to get that sorted properly so along with the sill you’ll probably be in to £3/400.

Don’t be too reliant on the car having had a rebuild not so long ago as meaning the engine is in a good state of health. At the kind of money it’s bid up to currently you can’t go too far wrong so worth a punt I reckon if you’re looking for something as a bit of a project rather than ready to go.
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by SmuttyHutty »

It is a punt. It is a risk. Try and get to physically see it or get more photos of the underside and other rusty areas.
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by 79398 »

Any car can be restored, I paid £400 for my PZ and it was in average condition, (rescued from a scrap man) since spent approaching 8k and it's not finished so instead of thinking of how little do I need to spend to get a good one which was my starting position, set a budget for how much your prepared to spend and if its anything up to 10k which would get you an average daily runner then go for it and enjoy the ride, Smutty is restoring a PZ and I have an idea of his spend to date and I'm sure it's more than the couple of grand he initially thought, but his car will be spot on when finished.
The rewards are amazing but it will be a labour of love, heart over head.
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Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by GreySilver Beast »

Hi Mike & :welcome: to the RX-8OC :thumleft:

<<<<<< Please put your Location in your Profile Box, it will help us to know where you are, if required any help in the future :thumright:

Please check out the EVENTS SECTION's for anything coming up soon in your area :thumleft:

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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by Scartlead »

When buying ,chassis condition should be your number one concern., Especially hitting 100k miles. Even if it goes cheap, I'd still look elsewhere. As mentioned above it really depends on how much you want to spend, but I'd be looking for something in much better condition that you can enjoy without having to spend a fortune on.
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30405 (Sat Feb 13, 2021 5:02 pm)
Aka Mark

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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by SmuttyHutty »

Proactive wrote:
Sat Feb 13, 2021 4:23 pm
Any car can be restored, I paid £400 for my PZ and it was in average condition, (rescued from a scrap man) since spent approaching 8k and it's not finished so instead of thinking of how little do I need to spend to get a good one which was my starting position, set a budget for how much your prepared to spend and if its anything up to 10k which would get you an average daily runner then go for it and enjoy the ride, Smutty is restoring a PZ and I have an idea of his spend to date and I'm sure it's more than the couple of grand he initially thought, but his car will be spot on when finished.
The rewards are amazing but it will be a labour of love, heart over head.
I've deliberately not kept tabs, and some expenditure has been on desirable rather than essential things. For example, I bought some scruffy calipers for £60 and had them refurbed by Bigg Red for £369. The brakes on the car are fine but I just wanted bright yellow properly done calipers. That said, I'll make some money back when I repaint a set of brakes and sell them on.

If I dredge my memory, I think I have spent about £250 on all fluids, another £200ish on brake discs and pads all round, £70 having the engine bay detailed, and a decent amount on BigPete's labour and the mechanic round the corner. Oh, and there were belts replaced which must've been under £20. Just remembered the two Bilstein shock absorbers I bought off BigPete and had him fit whilst I was up there as well.

And we've not got to the serious stuff.

There is bubbling paint on the bonnet and the top of one of the rear doors. There are also chips through to the metal on the roof. There are chips and dents that need addressing plus both bumpers need chips and scuffs sorting. And rust has come through to the rear lower arch. I don't expect to get away with anything less than £2000 to repair those and it could well be double that if the rust is dire.

And the wheels need a refurb.

So, my absolute minimum outlay including the purchase of the car will be about £5000 but could be north of £6500.

But I am not doing this for me. I am doing it for a little lad who has lost his dad and so the money doesn't matter. :(
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by 79398 »

SmuttyHutty wrote:
Sat Feb 13, 2021 4:45 pm
Proactive wrote:
Sat Feb 13, 2021 4:23 pm
Any car can be restored, I paid £400 for my PZ and it was in average condition, (rescued from a scrap man) since spent approaching 8k and it's not finished so instead of thinking of how little do I need to spend to get a good one which was my starting position, set a budget for how much your prepared to spend and if its anything up to 10k which would get you an average daily runner then go for it and enjoy the ride, Smutty is restoring a PZ and I have an idea of his spend to date and I'm sure it's more than the couple of grand he initially thought, but his car will be spot on when finished.
The rewards are amazing but it will be a labour of love, heart over head.
I've deliberately not kept tabs, and some expenditure has been on desirable rather than essential things. For example, I bought some scruffy calipers for £60 and had them refurbed by Bigg Red for £369. The brakes on the car are fine but I just wanted bright yellow properly done calipers. That said, I'll make some money back when I repaint a set of brakes and sell them on.

If I dredge my memory, I think I have spent about £250 on all fluids, another £200ish on brake discs and pads all round, £70 having the engine bay detailed, and a decent amount on BigPete's labour and the mechanic round the corner. Oh, and there were belts replaced which must've been under £20. Just remembered the two Bilstein shock absorbers I bought off BigPete and had him fit whilst I was up there as well.

And we've not got to the serious stuff.

There is bubbling paint on the bonnet and the top of one of the rear doors. There are also chips through to the metal on the roof. There are chips and dents that need addressing plus both bumpers need chips and scuffs sorting. And rust has come through to the rear lower arch. I don't expect to get away with anything less than £2000 to repair those and it could well be double that if the rust is dire.

And the wheels need a refurb.

So, my absolute minimum outlay including the purchase of the car will be about £5000 but could be north of £6500.

But I am not doing this for me. I am doing it for a little lad who has lost his dad and so the money doesn't matter. :(
Like I have said before
Well done Sir
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by 79398 »

If I ever do another rx8 I would just put 10k in the bank and get everything done by the right people stage by stage as I have no interest in doing anything myself as you know.
I think that's the best approach for me as I have zero patience and what staggers me is that its 3 years to get to this point.
All down to cashflow I'm afraid, so would not do one piecemeal again.

So Mike hopefully you can see what's involved and what you may be letting yourself in for👍😎
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by 98of400 »

What's your budget? Someone has just posted a nice low mileage 40th Anniversary in the Facebook RX8 classifieds group.



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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by qwakers »

A bit of advice, free and gratis...

Not withstanding the low purchase cost...
A RX8 IS NOT a cheap car to run.

Don’t get me wrong, I love mine, but it’s cost me thousands more than it would have cost me if I’d bought, for example, a Porsche boxster, and that includes the purchase price!
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GreySilver Beast (Sat Feb 13, 2021 6:12 pm)
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by 79398 »


And there is this PZ but may have gone
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by Mdjefferson »

Thanks for all the posts.

Will keep an eye on this one and see if it goes for a decent price.
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by 350matt »

As the others have already said focus on the rust or hopefully lack of it on any car you buy

all the mechanical aspects can be sorted
the rust starts from the rear arch tops , rots out the inside and then water runs down the inside and rots out the rear of the sill just in front of the wheel

so check all around there and along the sills

then get a compression test done on any car you like the look of

you don't have to use a mazda tester for an indication a normal gunson tester is good enough give you an idea
if you remove the 1 way valve in teh end of the hose and watch the level the needle 'bounces' to ensure they are all the same
1 low reading means a side seal is past it and should be used to negotiate price accordingly

decide if you want 231 or 192
the special editions are also nice but to be honest a good rx8 of any flavour is a great car to drive and should put a smile on your face
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by njkmr »

I would certainly see whats available from club members on here first as you can see whats been done to them and the chances are they will have been looked after correctly.
I think there are a few up for sale on here at the moment.
Good look with your search.
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by warpc0il »

qwakers wrote:
Sat Feb 13, 2021 5:54 pm
A bit of advice, free and gratis...

Not withstanding the low purchase cost...
A RX8 IS NOT a cheap car to run.

Don’t get me wrong, I love mine, but it’s cost me thousands more than it would have cost me if I’d bought, for example, a Porsche boxster, and that includes the purchase price!
The RX-8 was never a cheap car to run, from new, and the incredibly cheap used prices to buy a car now don't change that.
Actually they make it worse as the sorts of outlays it takes to keep one running is now even greater than when they were new.

The rewards make it worthwhile but you need to be aware and budget for this, otherwise it's a whole world of pain.
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by ChrisHolmes »

You won't go wrong with this one, buy it and drive it!

viewtopic.php?f=145&t=83166&p=1308423#p1308423
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GreySilver Beast (Sun Feb 14, 2021 11:43 am)
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by SmuttyHutty »

ChrisHolmes wrote:
Sun Feb 14, 2021 11:42 am
You won't go wrong with this one, buy it and drive it!

viewtopic.php?f=145&t=83166&p=1308423#p1308423
That is just about as future proof an RX8 you can get.
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ChrisHolmes (Sun Feb 14, 2021 2:09 pm)
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by ChrisHolmes »

Only around 100 Nemesis licensed currently
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GreySilver Beast (Sun Feb 14, 2021 2:28 pm)
Rotary History;

Sep 2005-Aug 2006 EO55 XOL VR 231 New
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by GreySilver Beast »

It it was me, I would be buying this one for pure piece of mind :thumleft:
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ChrisHolmes (Sun Feb 14, 2021 3:45 pm)
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by SmuttyHutty »

Just sold for £1800.
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by ChrisHolmes »

SmuttyHutty wrote:
Tue Feb 16, 2021 3:51 pm
Just sold for £1800.
Just for clarity this post does not refer to my Nemesis.
Rotary History;

Sep 2005-Aug 2006 EO55 XOL VR 231 New
Oct 2014-Mar 2019 OE06 EWJ VR 231
Jan 2019-Jun 2020 T200 CAD Orange SC 231
Feb 2020-May 2023 RR54 AJR VR 231 Modified for Track
Oct 2020-Mar 2021 YA56 EUE Copper Red Nemesis
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by SmuttyHutty »

ChrisHolmes wrote:
Tue Feb 16, 2021 10:59 pm
SmuttyHutty wrote:
Tue Feb 16, 2021 3:51 pm
Just sold for £1800.
Just for clarity this post does not refer to my Nemesis.
Sorry, yes. The PZ on eBay.
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Re: Newbie - looking to buy!

Post by nightfire10 »

ChrisHolmes wrote:
SmuttyHutty wrote:
Tue Feb 16, 2021 3:51 pm
Just sold for £1800.
Just for clarity this post does not refer to my Nemesis.
Hahaha

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Hayward's Street/bridgeported rebuild,595's,Tein coilovers edfc Racingbeat rear anti roll bar oil pres oil temp gauge pod's,lockwood front rear grills,Tinted wind ws folding tow hook's,595s,connect2 ,at long last sohn and ap50 tank instaled ,revi ram air duct already fitted ! calipers painted,diff oil changed .
just oil lines to fit at some stage ( had them a while too) :P

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