[chrisbin]

Originally Posted by rogerxp

The fuel issue doesnt bother me as I'm only getting 19mpg now and do pretty low miles (only put 2,300 miles on the 350 in 6 months as the 330d gets used at weekends). I just want to buy sensibly so that I can get out of it whenever without being too hurt financially.

Hmmm...soooo....if the miles are that low Rog, why worry about stuff like sat nav???

[Skid]

Hi Roger,

I found this while having a surf. Looks like a lot of car for the money.

http://www.imc-bmw.com/details.cfm?c...=2555&noofim=9

[rogerxp]

Originally Posted by chrisbin

Hmmm...soooo....if the miles are that low Rog, why worry about stuff like sat nav???

Two reasons really a) I use the car for work so it's just useful when going somewhere new and b) helps upon resale.

Originally Posted by Skid

I found this while having a surf. Looks like a lot of car for the money.

Nice looking car but two things put me off a) automatic (really am a stickler for a manual) and b) the age of it; I'd have pushed for a face-lift version (03 I think). Both of these things narrowed my car choice and forced me away from BMW; for now.

Yes, I am a fussy sod at times!!

[NFS]

3.0 litre z4 coupe?

[rogerxp]

I did consider Z4 but only looked on AUC. The cheapest Z4 on the AUC 'coming soon' is £12,500 so over budget. The 2.5s were a consideration though. There are some 3.0s on Autotrader but for the price I'm 'trying' to stick at it's really at the rough end of the scale (old/high mileage) so probably best to duck clear.

The non-dealer has come forward with quite an appealing offer on the 1 owner RX8 which matches the 'cost to change' figure on the dealer car (3 owners). It's so annoying the the non-dealer car is £1,500 cheaper but the trade-in on mine is also £1,500 less so no difference; argh.

[NFS]

Originally Posted by rogerxp

I did consider Z4 but only looked on AUC. The cheapest Z4 on the AUC 'coming soon' is £12,500 so over budget. The 2.5s were a consideration though. There are some 3.0s on Autotrader but for the price I'm 'trying' to stick at it's really at the rough end of the scale (old/high mileage) so probably best to duck clear.

The non-dealer has come forward with quite an appealing offer on the 1 owner RX8 which matches the 'cost to change' figure on the dealer car (3 owners). It's so annoying the the non-dealer car is £1,500 cheaper but the trade-in on mine is also £1,500 less so no difference; argh.

With cars of this age I'm not convinced that AUC is the way to go. Have a look at Z4's on autotrader . Bet you get tempted.

[AndyN]

This is coming from someone that LOVED their "Rex"; if it were my money, I'd steer clear of one if I want hassle free motoring for a few months.

The earlier ones were prone to flooding. As long as you follow the "rules" you won't flood it, but sometimes you forgot.

Example is; you start the car from cold, move it from the road to your driveway and switch off. (Should leave it to run for 10 minutes).

When you come to start it, chances are you've flooded it. You then have the joy of cranking the car with the fuel pump alternately shut off (start with foot on throttle) for the next 15 minutes or so, watching it dump about 1/8 of a tank of fuel till it starts.... If it starts...

And this was on a 56 plate, happened only twice to me in 2 years but god was it a pain.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the car and had so much fun with it, if I could afford to have a car to play with at weekends I'd get another but I'd not recommend one to anyone that is just looking for something to tide them over.

Still, the RX8 is awesome value for money.

If I haven't put you off, I'd steer clear of older than a 2006 (55 plate at latest) due to some changes to starter motor and various fixes. You can still pick one up for sub £10k.

I doubt you'd regret it, you just have to be aware it's a not the easiest car to live with.

If it were my money, to get something under £12k, quick, fun, reliable enough to not worry too much blah blah, I'd go for either;

3.0 Z4

Golf GTI (remapped o'course!)

Civic Type R

Found decent examples of all the above on the Autotrader.

I know what a dilemma it is, I spent a good 3 months researching and ironically it came down to the 335i or a 350z for me!

[peterg1965]

Roger, there sounds like a hint of desperation in your posts, do you really have to move that quickly? I am no expert but I would steer clear of the Mazda for a lot of good reasons and you could be stung come resale.

As for Z4s. I am trying to make up my mind on a Z4 that has been offered to me... 2003 (03) Z4 3.0SE - pro nav, b/t, cruise, 18" 108s, grad tint, folding mirrors, heated seats, 6CD, xenons, wind deflector, metallic black with dream red leather, fsh, BMW warranty until Jan 10, 37,000 miles, 2 owners - all for £10500 and he is open to offers.

They are out there at that price.

[rogerxp]

Thanks for the additional comments. To answer a few of the points...

'hint of desperation' - mmm, interesting choice of words and not too far from the truth really. My mortgage dropped like a stone about a year ago which coincided with a self-imposed salary drop (if that hadn't happened I'd be now completely debt free and laughing my t!ts off; such is life!!). We've done pretty well through the recession but not knowing how long it'll last we did the sensible thing. Mortgage rockets up on 1st Dec but salary wont for 3-6 months. If I can get a car for circa £7k I'll own it outright and therefore save the finance payments. Fuel doesn't worry me too much. In 6-ish months I'll back back on track. Hence being firm on price.

Rest assured I'm listening to all the comments being made but think I'm mentally (again, good choice of words) committed to the RX8.

The RX8 is by no means featuring anywhere near the top of my budget 'wish' list (£10/12k really opens up the flood gates) but just can't seem to find much else that fits the bill when I'm being firm on budget.

This RX8 does seem like a good deal and one which will enable me to not lose too much come re-sale. It's an 04 car, 49,000miles, 1 owner, full service history, just serviced, taxed, MOTd, new brakes & discs all round, comes with 1 years warranty (from Warranty Wise). It's got the essential things like Sat Nav, Leather, Heated Seats, BOSE which will help come resale.

At the end of the day, in for a dollar, in for a pound. I've never owned an RX8 (or any Mazda) but do hear very good things about them as long as you jump in with your eyes open. A good friend of mine had one and loved it to pieces.

I may have even just secured a private sale too which makes the 'price to change' figure even more attractive. If all falls into place I'll only owe £700 on the car.

Hey, if I hate it, it'll be straight back up for sale...

[peterg1965]

Roger, hope your 350Z gets sold and you get what you want, I have been in a friends RX-8, they do shift and they rev to some crazy figure and sound great - he loves it.

I have been insulated from the ravages of this recession with a secure public sector job and salary (same for Mrs), but am used to paying peanuts for the mortgage at the mo, so it is going to hurt when interest rates start to climb!

[rogerxp]

As I say the guy buying the 350 is making all the right noises, deposit, balance paid once happy with car, pencilled in next Saturday as he's down in Essex, being cautious (always a good sign).

My mortgage has been SILLY cheap recently but as I say the timing of salary increase has not quite worked to plan. Company bank account starting to fill up again and, more importantly, customer confident seems to be returning. There seems to be loads of folk with cash they've been holding onto now talking about the next step; obviously where I step in. Pretty good feeling for the next few months and years in fact. I suppose it's good to have a tight patch cash wise every now and then so you realise how lucky you really are. Got a lovely house, wife & daughter, all healthy, two nice cars on the drive - what have I got to moan about (well, the wife find plenty of things to moan about on behalf of us both!!!)

[peterg1965]

Roger, have you decided which car yet?

[rogerxp]

Yes, if everything with the private sales goes to plan, this is the car of choice...
http://www.specialistcarsofsomerset....aspx?carid=528
It'll come with tax until July, just serviced, new brakes & pads all round, MOTd, 12 months warranty. It's a 1 owner car and seems to have been well maintained (apparently all receipts & invoices for everything are will the car). He's letting me have it for £7k.

I could still make a strategic side-step if something else pops up that I fancy

'You're' Z4 looks nice. I spotted the other one you were looking at whilst surfing around; thought I'd best steer clear of that one in case you shouted!!!

[peterg1965]

That is a lot of car for £7K! Hope everything works out, seems like you got a good deal there and driving around in that for 6 months is hardly roughing it! A blast back up the M5/M6 could be fun!

I need to decide on the black Z4 this weekend, I like it a lot, everything checks out on it, HPI, service history etc, the only negative is the poor condition of the alloys which isn't insurmountable.

[rogerxp]

Wheels are easy to fix. You would even treat it to a new set of different rims - the CSLs look awesome on the coupe and pretty damn fine on the roadster. Seemed like good spec and a good price to me.

[AndyN]

Might be an idea to check how much the 50,000 mile service is on the RX8 as you'll have that pretty soon after purchasing. I got shot of mine at 49k and THINK the service was in the region of £450+.

Service intervals were 12,500 miles.

Mazda dealers hold a digital service record, they don't stamp a book as far as I remember, which you can get on request.

Just a side note, BOSE is standard on RX8s, they have it listed as an extra. It's a pretty good system, 6 CD changer in the dash, stealth sub in the boot. Isn't the best in the world but far superior to most standard sound systems.

Also heated and electric seats came standard with leather option (£1500 I believe). Is a very nice spec though, not many had sat nav and cruise!

[rogerxp]

Thanks Andy. Great input.

The car has just had a service but I'll enquire into exactly what it had done (and the cost which could indicate). I think it's been to a local specialist recently as opposed to a main dealer which I'm quite happy with as the audit trail (invoices, etc) is apparently pretty comprehensive.

Any idea what is done at the 50,000 service or shall I call a dealer??

I thought the BOSE & CD Changer were standard fit items (I'm sure it's identical to the one in my 350Z). Yes, the Sat Nav is pretty rare, which will help come resale.

What do you think of the price???

Think this thread should really be in 'off-topic' but I'll leave that decision up to the mods.

[peterg1965]

Roger, if this is your car, the price is very good seeing as you have satnav etc:




Valuation information

Vehicle details Valuation details
Make Mazda Excellent condition £6920
Model RX-8 Average condition £6140
Variant 4 door Coupe Manual
Below average condition
£5460
Engine 1.3 Petrol Retail £8480
Trim [no trim] Cost new £21902
Year/Plate 2004 04
Mileage 40,000

sorry i input slightly lower miles but it shouldn't make a huge difference.