€3.5K to spend, advice needed

The RX8 is guaranteed to give trouble the burn oil at a rate it might as well be 2 stroke and if you doing any sort of mileage they drink fuel insurance category is high also just not a fan .

Plenty of decent 2.5 cars out there or that money , wouldn't join the BMW brigade but that's just my opinion , I'm not a fan but I'm sure others will recommend models for you.

Mazda RX8 - If you can find one with a good compression test done , it's a serious car for the money. They need to be looked after and maintained, but so long as the compression is good I woulnd't be too put off.

Honda S2000 - If you can stretch the budget a little , these are holding their value very well but there's a reason for that, they are still an excellent sports car with excellent reliability and fun factor.

Honda Accord 2.5 IVtec - A lot of car for the money , good engine , good power , reliability and comfort.

Alfa 156 2.5 V6 - Alfa bargain prices at the minute , great handling car , fantastic engine and will be sure to put a smile on your face.

Alfa 166 2.5 V6 - I have one of these and for me it ticks all the boxes , fun to drive , looks great , rare , V6 engine sounds , looks and goes brilliantly. Can be driven for fun or will cruise all day long on the motorway , lots of extra's , heated seats , full leather , sports throttle responce , sat nav , climate control and can be brought in from the UK for under 2k VRT and all. I'm very glad this one falls under the radar IMO it's a diamond buy.

Just dont buy that particular Merc from that particular garage!

Ardennes1944 wrote: »

Just dont buy that particular Merc from that particular garage!

Care to elaborate

RootX wrote: »

Hi,

this is the place to start if you're seriously considering an RX-8

http://rx8ownersclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=24047&hilit=New+buyers+guide

Unless the owner is willing to have the engine compression tested(hot compression test with proper rotary tester), I would n't even bother going for a test drive.
Hot-start issues is usually an indication of a low-compression engine but a fast starter may mask this; just because it starts from hot OK doesn't mean compression is fine.

Approximately every 30k miles, ignition components(coils, plugs, leads) need replacing. Coils aren't a service item(according to Mazda) therefore you may be looking at an expensive service replacing all these if the owner was relying on Mazda's schedule.
If the owner claims coils have been changed recently, ask for receipt. If they were purchased off eBay, chances are they're fake and they do more harm than good.

Rotary engine doesn't burn oil in the traditional form(indicating a failing engine). It injects oil from the sump in order to lubricate the seals.
Oil consumption is low and nowhere near the pub stories you may heave heard

Now, I don't want to disappoint you but finding one in a good condition for 3.5K it will be very difficult.

I did alot of research before getting one and even if I'm overdoing it with maintenance, I still have 3K saved for when the engine goes

Yep agree with the above, if the car has had a re-build a d has all relevent documentation to support this from a reputable mechanhic/Garage then that is what I would be going for.

There is also a place in Kent UK that specialises in RX-8 and all cars are sold with a hot compression test. That's where I would be going for one, prices start at around 3,000 pound VRT on a 2004 model will be €720, boat €00 - €130 and a fun drive from Kent.

http://hextablerotaries.webs.com/

heffoo wrote: »

Care to elaborate

That garage is well known around Cork (along with his brother) for selling poor quality cars

Insurance on an ep3 for me is proving difficult, I can get insured on a TT Mk1 225 for 800e with Aviva but no insurance company will look at me when asking for quotes on ep3

gavdolfini wrote: »

The EK9 look just screams young boy racer to me. The EP3 is abit more subtle to me. Do you have to drive it high revs to get it going in the ep3?. If tax wasnt such a rip off id go with a 6 pot bmw.

Yes and no , Vtec works in a similar way to the Alfa Romeo Tsparks , 6 pots and V6's , under 3k - 4k revs they are quite tame , good in the city and won't kill your fuel consumtion but if you want them to go get them above that and the engine is a totally differant animal then, all of those engines love to rev'd and are happy to do so all day long without being harmfull.

Don't join the BMW brigade , much better engines/cars out there for half the price. Nothing more boring than ' Oh I have a Bimmer , it's a blah blah' yeah yeah everyone has one.

Sorry I just really dislike BMW's , overpriced and serious fan boy obsession in Ireland.

Ardennes1944 wrote: »

That garage is well known around Cork (along with his brother) for selling poor quality cars

Thanks for that. Was looking for a new diesel and saw he had a few. I'll avoid so.:)

Tea 1000 wrote: »

In fairness, judge a car on it's merits, not the badge it wears, regardless about obsessions.
And Audi are the only really over-rated brand in Ireland!

Yeah I take your point , I just base my opinion on the one's I have drove against cars that are in similar category/range and I don't think the BMW's stack up against them depsite being more popular, I do think they are overpriced for what you get both in terms of performance and equipment and that fact that you see them everywhere just turns me off them.

No doubt there is a reason for there popularity and by no means bad cars , I just think there is much more bang for your buck to be gotten if you open the horizons a bit. I think far too many people listen to pub talk and buy a car because there mate said it's great or because 'everyone has one sure'.

I know plenty of BMW drivers friends.colleages who will discredit other cars such as Alfa Romeo/RX-8/Nissan's based purely on pub talk and assumtion and have never ever looked at one in the flesh, there cars are in the garage as often if not more getting repairs and half of them couldn't tell you where the dip stick is.