Prices for R3 front end.

[alisdairm]

Hi Guys,
I'm looking out for a written off R3 to put back on the road.
I've not got the car yet, but have lined up a panel beater and sprayer to undertake the repairs.
As most cars that are salvage have front end damage, I'm hoping someone on here will be able to give me ball park prices for the following:
Bonnet
Bumper
Bumper support
Wings L&R
Headlights L&R

As the R3 is relatively rare, I'm assuming it will be Mazda OE parts for pretty much everything..

If I can get a late model R3 with less than 50k miles for under £3k, I'd hoping I could get it back on the road looking good for £5k

Cheers. Ali

[Nickp47]

I wish you luck but It may be a struggle to find such a car as the parts the R3 has over the previous RX-8s make them quite valuable even as breakers, they do come up though especially if you are able to up your budget a bit.

As a ball park;

Bonnet - shared with all RX-8 models so peanuts
Bumper - £200-300
Bumper support - shared with other models (I think) so peanuts
Wings L&R - £100-150 a side
Headlights L&R - £300-400

Happy to be corrected on prices by those who sell the bits regularly

[Nickp47]

Also you need to consider engine damage.

Rotary engines don't handle the shock forces of impact well, especially if they're running at the time of the accident.

Basically, anything with a enough force to set-off the airbags and you must consider the engine as a parts-donor, at best.

[alisdairm]

To be honest, I think that you will be better off buying a good R3 compared to a repair. The parts on an R3 are worth a lot more than as a compete car, and any damaged car on the front end will still likely sell for a good chunk of money, and with repairs you'll be looking about £5/6/7k total in general, which is money for a half-decent example without a write off in its history and known engine health, not even thinking about the time, effort and money into repairs - if it's damaged the bonnet and wings, you might have oil cooler damage and potentially other parts too, and they're not cheap on an R3, nor is the radiator, and it really can stack up quick.

The front end including headlights bonnet and wings just for the panels you can expect to pay anywhere around £1k. Although you'll still have to factor in repairs and paint etc. Nick above is about bang on with parts, you might find them cheaper if you buy them all from one person and they want a deal done.

I wish you luck with your plan, and I hope which ever route you go with that it goes well!

[alisdairm]

Thanks for your info and advice guys.
I'll keep an eye out for a good R3, but the cheapest on Autotrader just now is £7.2, with the rest averaging about £8k.
I've been looking at the salvage auctions for over a year, and only one has come up. Very heavy front end, and must of been close to Cat B which to much of a risk for me.
I'll keep saving and looking.

[alisdairm]

I repair salvage cars. The family wagon was a badly written off cat s Merc C class estate, requiring jig work at a friends garage. I too looked into doing this.

I have a straight, unrepaired R3......read into that as you wish

[alisdairm]

Thanks for your info and advice guys.
I'll keep an eye out for a good R3, but the cheapest on Autotrader just now is £7.2, with the rest averaging about £8k.
I've been looking at the salvage auctions for over a year, and only one has come up. Very heavy front end, and must of been close to Cat B which to much of a risk for me.
I'll keep saving and looking.

Look in the sales and wants here. Normally better priced and looked after examples. They pop up once a month or so, you wont have to wait too long. Does anyone know if Rory has sold his yet?

[HarSc]

Was the R3 at auction you saw HY10 UMU in white by chance?

[DrewR3]

Was the R3 at auction you saw HY10 UMU in white by chance?

Stop spotting R3's Harry.....im going to get you an anorak for xmas

[HarSc]

Stop spotting R3's Harry.....im going to get you an anorak for xmas

I'm in this too deep now, I can't stop spotting!

[GreySilver Beast]

Harry can't help himself

[BigPete]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-Rx-8-R ... 635-2958-0

[BigPete]

.... and the bonus of buying from a Trusted Trader

[liam.k97]

Was the R3 at auction you saw HY10 UMU in white by chance?

Stop spotting R3's Harry.....im going to get you an anorak for xmas

Harry is indeed a committed R3 seeker at this point. I feel 'anorak' is bunching him up with the likes of train spotters 🥸 - we won't go there. Not that i have anything against that, as i went through that phase in my mid teens. The point is, I came out the other end of it, learned my lessons and have moved on.

It's ok Harry, I won't mention the spreadsheet. Your secret is safe with me

Jokes aside, we all owe it to Harry to keep track of the Uk's R3 population

[Nutty_Chappie]

Haha hy10umu Is one of mine I’ve repaired.
Ive had notice that my storage is expiring again so I’ll be selling all this time. So this will be available. Hy10 is repaired…just not painted yet!
I have a few r3s for sale if you want to give me a call and have a chat