Selling RX-8, do a compression test or drop price?

[POORCARDEALER]

They dont sell unless they are very cheap.....we retailed a 1 owner 231 bhp car recently with 19000 miles on it 05 plate for 4200. It was mint

[carl_w]

hora said:

So what if you have a test done, then it doesnt sell for a month?

I'd offer to have the compression test done as part of the negotiations (When you find a seriously interested buyer)?

This. And put this in the advert, e.g. "will come with fresh compression test". I often do the same with MOTs.

[rajkohli81]

Fastdruid said:

06 plate is £200 / year more in VED and it has 6k more on. To put it another way that's a 17% higher mileage and who knows what state the car is actually in. We went to see loads of cars before buying this one and some were right sheds. Including one with scratches on *every* panel (including the roof, how I don't know how). All looked very nice in pictures on the dealers websites...

Prices are all over the shop for RX-8's, some wildly optimistic, some "I need to sell it today". For a good low mileage car with only two owners and a FSH I don't feel its an unreasonable price but we'll see. I guess a compression test will help it sell no matter what price it goes for.

As the VED rating changed towards the end of
March that year, quite a few 06 plates have sneezed into the lower rating. 6k mileage difference or not, you can't comPete with an approved used car. It's a no brained. You need to drop your price and by some margin too. The trade is very shy on these cars and they are part-exing for pocket money. Even after a 1k warranty the dealer can offer it at that figure and he'll still have a healthy profit margin and cat on profit in that too. Shame, because I think they are great cars.

[nismo48]

Have to agree sadly...
My mate at work bought an 05 with 40k miles FSH immaculate for £2750..
with warranty and compression test too..
They are nice cars.. it's a sign of the current climate that the prices are crashing...

rajkohli81 said:

Fastdruid said:

06 plate is £200 / year more in VED and it has 6k more on. To put it another way that's a 17% higher mileage and who knows what state the car is actually in. We went to see loads of cars before buying this one and some were right sheds. Including one with scratches on *every* panel (including the roof, how I don't know how). All looked very nice in pictures on the dealers websites...

Prices are all over the shop for RX-8's, some wildly optimistic, some "I need to sell it today". For a good low mileage car with only two owners and a FSH I don't feel its an unreasonable price but we'll see. I guess a compression test will help it sell no matter what price it goes for.

As the VED rating changed towards the end of
March that year, quite a few 06 plates have sneezed into the lower rating. 6k mileage difference or not, you can't comPete with an approved used car. It's a no brained. You need to drop your price and by some margin too. The trade is very shy on these cars and they are part-exing for pocket money. Even after a 1k warranty the dealer can offer it at that figure and he'll still have a healthy profit margin and cat on profit in that too. Shame, because I think they are great cars.

[SMcP114]

POORCARDEALER said:

They dont sell unless they are very cheap.....we retailed a 1 owner 231 bhp car recently with 19000 miles on it 05 plate for 4200. It was mint

Likewise, I shifted a 49,000 mile '05 car on Thursday at £1900 just to get rid of it.

[Fastdruid]

doogz said:

SLacKer said:

I guess the answer is how do you prove that it is OK to the potential buyer. A receipt from a registered business goes a long way to showing that it is OK.

A neighbour (in fact two neighbours) have an RX8 and he cleaned the plugs the other week which required front wheels off and removal of a arch guard and there are two plugs each side. They were a pig to remove and were rusted a little. I suppose you could do the test in front of the potential buyer but it would get old pretty quick.

Fair enough. I done a compression test on my big v-twin lawnmower yesterday. It took about 4 minutes in total, but i guess i see your point, if they're not that easy to get. A receipt showing it's ok is handy, but i'd rather see it with my own eyes.

Anyway, hope you get it sold OP.

It's not the same test at all.

In a normal piston engine you remove spark plug, replace with tester, crank it and get a (maximum) figure, if low you can add oil and crank again to see if it's valves or rings.

With a rotary you again remove (IIRC leading) spark plug, replace with tester and crank but you have essentially three pistons for the same spark plug and while all should be the same potentially one (or more) could have low compression so without a fancy bit of (expensive) hardware to separate the results you only get the maximum (which would be the healthiest). Potentially you could have virtually no compression on two out of three with good on one.

You can remove the one-way valve, watch the needle on the compression tester and note where it rises to and that it rises to the same place for all three rotor sides but I'm not sure how easy that is in reality as at 250rpm that would be 750 bounces a minute (I think, might be the other way round in which case its 83/minute which is a bit easier to do but still > 1/sec)

You also need to take into consideration the rpm the test is performed at so that you can work back on the graph shown earlier in the thread.

All in all a pita to do without the proper tool

FWIW I've got a (normal) compression tester, I don't fancy trying to do a compression test on it though.

IMO in the absence of a full compression test all you need to do for a perspective buyer is show it hot starts fine. That will highlight (WARNING made up figure) 95% of all cars with issues.

For those saying its worth peanuts, well its not worth as much maybe as we'd like but it's also not worth 2k! Have had an offer for 3k for example (too low to accept but can't fault someone for trying it) and other higher mileage cars have completed on ebay auctions at well over 2k! (don't remember exactly how much but I remember one went for 3.6k).

We've tried the 'ask what we'd really like' part of the sell, time to drop and see who bites.

[MEC]

if the £3k offer still stands i'd take it!

[Fastdruid]

Why accept 3k when similar cars have sold for more on an 'open' ebay auction? Ok if we *needed* to sell it right this very second then I can see the logic (the same as I can see the logic in a dealer dumping one at 1.9k for a quick sale). I'd be better off going for a £1 start/no reserve listing, advertising it everywhere I could and taking the risk.

Almost rather not sell it and stick it in storage for a couple of years. Not exactly as if we want to sell it in the first place.

[freecar]

Fastdruid said:

Why accept 3k when similar cars have sold for more on an 'open' ebay auction? Ok if we *needed* to sell it right this very second then I can see the logic (the same as I can see the logic in a dealer dumping one at 1.9k for a quick sale). I'd be better off going for a £1 start/no reserve listing, advertising it everywhere I could and taking the risk.

Almost rather not sell it and stick it in storage for a couple of years. Not exactly as if we want to sell it in the first place.

Simply put the three grand offer isn't going to increase any time soon.

As the car ages it will be worth less, storing it wont change that.

The RX8 is dead, suffered massive problems and as a result is pretty much worthless.

It's a bitter pill to swallow but there's not much you can do to restore buyers confidence in the rotary engine.

Ebay is full of idiots and non paying bidders, if you're convinced that you could get above three grand list it with a 3K reverve and hope for the best.

[Fastdruid]

Missing the point somewhat I feel.

The reason we are selling is because we have a second baby due soon.

*Love* the RX-8, hate to sell it but it was a struggle with the first baby and a toddler + a baby while technically doable is going to be hell. Fast forwards a couple of years however and a toddler + a 4 year old is very doable in one and would be practical to get one again. Trouble would be finding one in as good a condition and history. The MPS6 while fun and obviously still a good handling car isn't a patch on the RX-8.

So it wouldn't be "store it then sell it", it would be "store it then use it again". Value at some random point in the future doesn't come into it although it would be nice to dream that prices may appreciate!

Edited by Fastdruid on Monday 5th March 15:52

[SMcP114]

hora said:

SMcP114 said:

Likewise, I shifted a 49,000 mile '05 car on Thursday at £1900 just to get rid of it.

Jesus wept. If it was kosher I'd have had that.

Well he was heppy enough with it anyway. It needed an o2 sensor as far as I could tell, and maybe a refurb.

I get offered them quite regular at silly money, £800 quid for an '03 car etc. I personally wouldn't touch another one though if it came for free.

[Amateurish]

I think £3k is nearer the market rate. Older models are consistently selling sub £2k on ebay now. Check out this recent 2006 model with 80k miles I was watching on ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251005165586?ssPageName=...

[Happy82]

I might go back into RX8 ownership looking at the prices they're going for Amazing what the opinion from expert mechanics down the pub can do to the value of a vehicle

[Fastdruid]

80k though, over double what ours has, this is far nearer the mark.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130652133542

[chrisgtx]

If you are in the midlands,try Hurley Rotary in Coventry,he sorted out our shaft sensor and did a compression test on ours,it doesnt take long and i'm sure he charges sub 50 pounds to do it.
I know what you mean about the RX8,it's an absolute hoot to drive and looks great.

[RAClNG SNAKE]

I have chased up dozen of adverts for RX8s in the last couple of weeks and all but 2 of the advertisers clam up when I mention a compression test. Really frustrating, despite explaining how quick their car could sell even if I don't buy it they are simply not willing to make any effort or expenditure toward their sale and are hoping for a clueless buyer to roll up and hand over cash blindly.

Fastdruid's ebay advert is excellent and answers all the questions and doubts any buyer could have, frustrating then that I promised myself my next car would not be silver!

[RAClNG SNAKE]

hora said:

RAClNG SNAKE said:

they are simply not willing to make any effort or expenditure toward their sale and are hoping for a clueless buyer to roll up and hand over cash blindly.

That says to me that they're car(s) have hidden issues.

Sound logic, but I don't think most advertisers are that cunning, many seem to be selling the car because a service is due.

[TwistingMyMelon]

hora said:

That says to me that they're car(s) have hidden issues.

No it means they probably :

A. Can't be arsed
B. Have no idea what a compression test
C. Realise that there are a lot of time wasters out there and can't be bothered to spend time and money on a test buyer that probs won't turn up.

If you are keen on a compression test find a car you like and then organise it yourself.

[RAClNG SNAKE]

TwistingMyMelon said:

If you are keen on a compression test find a car you like and then organise it yourself.

I make it part of a conditional offer but your point A. kicks in. Unlike a HPI check it is not easy to organise as a buyer.

[Amateurish]

Fastdruid said:

80k though, over double what ours has, this is far nearer the mark.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130652133542

So that's done fewer miles than yours, and is a year younger, and sold for £700 less than your asking price. I think your price needs to start with a "3".