Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

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Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by revingtosh »

Hi Guys,

Im giving some serious thought into buying a late model RX8 - i've built and owned a number of modified of cars (never a rotary), so i am hands on, have access to facilities and tools - and im prepared for issues.

I have read through the newbie buyers guide - and now know & understand the risks involved, but i'm thinking of buying anyway..

All other things being equal, My question for the group is this:-

Am i better off buying:-

a) A mint low mileage (40000) 2009 car with full dealer service history for 11 grand and a recent compression test...

b) a 'nice' car for 9 grand which has documented proof of a new engine within the last 6 months.

c) A sh**tbox cheap car (with a mint shell) with no proven history & to just be ready to expect issues, but pocket the difference in cash in the meantime until the inevitable engine boom happens.

The car wouldn't be my daily - more of a project car which would sit in a nice heated garage and used occasionally.

Your ideas would be very appreciated

Mike
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Re: Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by goodeggbob »

Hello there, a mint shell would be my choice particularly if you can do the work yourself, rob.
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revingtosh (Mon Nov 08, 2021 3:22 pm)
Rob :thumright:
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Re: Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by 79398 »

Finding a mint shell cheap will be difficult, pick a reasonably presented car say around £3500, budget around £1500 For basic ancillaries and £3-4K for a rebuilt engine when its needed.
2-3K for body work which it will need, and Respray.
Your then up to an 11K car, the difference is you will know the car, and its reliability, even spending 11K with history won't give you this confidence and you could end up doubling that, personally I would avoid anything dealer looked after, a read of various topics will let you see why for yourself, they can't even do a simple recall properly for the most part.
On top of that tyres, suspension, bushes, set up ect, budget is what you want to go for.
It's about knowing your car, you can build in reliability but it will cost.
PS
I don't think a S***box with a mint shell actually exists.
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Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by GreySilver Beast »

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

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Re: Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by HarSc »

Howdy Mike :guns: and :welcome:


Definitely not biased here (hah! :paranoid:), but I 100% think the R3 is the best out there ;) ;) and since you're mentioning late model, I assume you mean the 2008+ R3's.

By mint low mileage one, I think you're eluding to the LG09 OVO white R3 on eBay for sale through a dealer here for £11,995? (Ignore this next part if it's not the one :^o) I personally think it's asking strong money for the car, and at least as far as I can see on the listing there isn't any numbers given for a compression test. While the engine may well be perfectly healthy at that stage, anything tipping over 30,000 miles regardless of condition i'd likely be aiming to get a test (and even then, it can't hurt to have one at any mileage!). I can't easily see from the photos, but if the underside is clean, the paintwork is in good condition it definitely adds to the value, but i'd put that around £9-10k honestly even in this current market for used cars, the 1 owner pristine 20k mile cars seem to fetch £10-12k recently.

I feel like with the R3's (or any 8 in general I guess) you can end up spending more fixing one than just buying better condition/mileage/service history in the first place, since the fixing costs soon add up. Of course there is a middle ground to be found there, but personally (and this is what I did when buying my white R3) is find one with a recent engine rebuild preferred (or good compression test) and buy it for a decent price if possible, and with the market now i'd expect anywhere from what... £6-9k at the top end? It's quite a wide range as it depends who is selling it, if it's a private seller i'd expect on the lower end/middle, and if it's a rebuilder selling on i'd definitely expect the higher end of the two. One thing to note with recently rebuilt engines is warranty, if you're interested in them and what it takes to extend/transfer or whatever the case may be. Worth looking into depending on who rebuilt it as they have differing terms.

Ultimately, it's you to choose which route you want, but if you want the easy route to enjoy a mint car, i'd aim for a good low mileage one <35,000mi and expect to pay anywhere around £9-10k (maybe more for super low/unique ones), or go recent rebuild/test on higher mileage for about £6-9k, or even get a ropey example for anywhere from £4-6k, maybe less if the engine is blown (but the prices of the low end cars really does fluctuate depending on condition and mechanical state)

Of course all the prices/advice above only really reflects on R3's, S1's aren't so much my forte ;) :lol: but hope this might give some insight.

And also, since there are only a few around, it really is a bit of a waiting to pounce game to find a good deal when it comes up. Looking at just over 400 still on the road now I believe out of an original 800! :shock: :^o
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Re: Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by Shagrington »

Hi and :welcome: revingtosh. :) It seems the most recent general wisdom from those who know better than me would suggest a mint shell is the most important thing to look for - everything else is fixable and at a roughly known cost.
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Re: Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by revingtosh »

Yes i was referring to that white one!! Excellent detective skills there :-)

I have spoken with the trader who is flogging the car and - "He doesnt see the need to provide a compression test & doesnt know if the car has had a previous engine or not.. but its a good car"

Erm.. for 11 grand im expecting a little more than that me old son - hahaha
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Re: Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by GlowingBulb »

revingtosh wrote:
Tue Nov 09, 2021 7:57 am
Yes i was referring to that white one!! Excellent detective skills there :-)

I have spoken with the trader who is flogging the car and - "He doesnt see the need to provide a compression test & doesnt know if the car has had a previous engine or not.. but its a good car"

Erm.. for 11 grand im expecting a little more than that me old son - hahaha
Walk away from that...
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Re: Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by 79398 »

revingtosh wrote:
Tue Nov 09, 2021 7:57 am
Yes i was referring to that white one!! Excellent detective skills there :-)

I have spoken with the trader who is flogging the car and - "He doesnt see the need to provide a compression test & doesnt know if the car has had a previous engine or not.. but its a good car"

Erm.. for 11 grand im expecting a little more than that me old son - hahaha
This the trouble with younger cars and dealers, too young to have any useful history and dealers with no knowledge of the cars, even Mazda dealers should be avoided.
To a dealer the cars just a commodity.
I would look to buy from specialists who should be able to offer both history and knowledge, Ebay and the like are too much of a minefield for this car IMO.
Honest cars can be bought from specialists.
This is me expressing an opinion after rescuing mine from the scrapman🤣 but I was prepared to do whatever was needed to bring the car back from the brink, my spend is now significantly more than any costs mentioned on this thread, do beware the cost of the car is just the beginning.
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Re: Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by HarSc »

Check out this R3! clicky

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Re: Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by GrantRL »

Welcome to the community! Update us when you take home one.
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Re: Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by DrewR3 »

If it was a 2010+ car for 11k then it wouldnt be to far off i think seen as prices have gone up. Bit the 09 have the weaker gearbox and you will end up with syncro grinds eventually. About 800 to fix. Its still a 10k car though with good miles and a mint body if low owner and history. It seems wrong that people seem to want to hold the price of R3s down when other cars have increased 17-30% in value a month for last few months? I would be wanting 12k for mine now if i was to sell, which im not but as an example of prices in this market. (2010, 23k miles, full history and rather nice condition)

My advice, keep looking and wait for a 2010 version, with a sound mint shell and 35kish miles for you 11k budget. Try and get a garage queen like mine that someone has had locked away. They come up occasionally. I wouldnt bother with the hassle of buying cheap with a never ending list of things to build or do which inevitably ends up costing more than buying low miles and good body in the first place. Unless you have lots of spare time of course and want to occupy it as a hobby.......
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Re: Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by Boston Rotary »

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Re: Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by Magsrx8 »

Wow, is the second one priced according to the silly low mileage?
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Re: Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by Boston Rotary »

Magsrx8 wrote:
Tue Dec 07, 2021 12:02 pm
Wow, is the second one priced according to the silly low mileage?
It is and only 1 owner from new and 100% zero rust
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Re: Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by warpc0il »

DrewR3 wrote:
Tue Dec 07, 2021 8:22 am
If it was a 2010+ car for 11k then it wouldnt be to far off i think seen as prices have gone up. Bit the 09 have the weaker gearbox and you will end up with syncro grinds eventually. About 800 to fix.
Many earlier R3's had the synchros replaced under warranty. It wasn't a recall but it was FoC to the owner, which meant that they wouldn't have a copy of the invoice in any paperwork that they retained.

However, it will be noted on the Electronic Service Record, that any franchised Mazda dealer can check for you.
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Re: Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by HarSc »

warpc0il wrote:
Tue Dec 07, 2021 1:08 pm
DrewR3 wrote:
Tue Dec 07, 2021 8:22 am
If it was a 2010+ car for 11k then it wouldnt be to far off i think seen as prices have gone up. Bit the 09 have the weaker gearbox and you will end up with syncro grinds eventually. About 800 to fix.
Many earlier R3's had the synchros replaced under warranty. It wasn't a recall but it was FoC to the owner, which meant that they wouldn't have a copy of the invoice in any paperwork that they retained.

However, it will be noted on the Electronic Service Record, that any franchised Mazda dealer can check for you.
That's good to know that, I'll ask them about that next time i'm in. Would be cool to know :D
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Re: Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by DrewR3 »

HarSc wrote:
Tue Dec 07, 2021 5:02 pm
warpc0il wrote:
Tue Dec 07, 2021 1:08 pm
DrewR3 wrote:
Tue Dec 07, 2021 8:22 am
If it was a 2010+ car for 11k then it wouldnt be to far off i think seen as prices have gone up. Bit the 09 have the weaker gearbox and you will end up with syncro grinds eventually. About 800 to fix.
Many earlier R3's had the synchros replaced under warranty. It wasn't a recall but it was FoC to the owner, which meant that they wouldn't have a copy of the invoice in any paperwork that they retained.

However, it will be noted on the Electronic Service Record, that any franchised Mazda dealer can check for you.
That's good to know that, I'll ask them about that next time i'm in. Would be cool to know :D
Yours definately havnt been done Harry, dont get excited 😂 only joking, fingers crossed
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Re: Hello - newbie here. Rx8 buying advice needed.

Post by HarSc »

DrewR3 wrote:
Tue Dec 07, 2021 6:06 pm
Yours definately havnt been done Harry, dont get excited 😂 only joking, fingers crossed
I'm fully expecting MHZ to have not had them done, but the spare R3 box on the other hand having done a good amount of mileage in the early stage of its life I reckon is more of a possibility :twisted: worth an ask either way :lol:
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