looking to buy cosmo, but.............

[mumbles]

hello everybody
i wonder if you can help me plz....
i currently drive a 2003 jdm rx8 which i bought to replace my nissan 200sx due to needing 4 full size seats.
now i am looking to buy a late 1995 20b cosmo hopefully very soon.
but my main concern is can i fit 4 people in (teenagers and baby seats but not at same time lol) or will they be a bit cramped like in the nissan???
also is there anything i need to look out for???
the car is coming from a rotary specialist with a 24000mile 2 year detonation warranty so engine wise is pretty much covered (breakn)
but i am just wondering if there was any faults to be aware of???

thanx in advance

 

[Berty]

I wouldn't recommend running one as a daily driver. They are of an age now where they are best suited to weekend cars due to the level of maintenance required.

In regards to space, you will have significantly less legroom in the back compared to the RX8. I am only fairly short and I need to have the drivers seat fairly far back, making the leg room behind me very small. It is pretty similar to a 180SX in terms of rear leg room. The seats were designed for tiny Japanese businessmen.

Things to look out for...

1. Obviously anything to do with engine should set off alarm bells. Turbo's are usually pretty shagged by now so expect them to need replacing some time in the short term. This will cost you more in labour than in parts unless you can do all of the work by yourself. Look for compression figures above 100PSI at 250RPM from a cold engine. Anything less than 90psi should be avoided UNLESS it has been ported. (Porting will lower compression figures due to overlap).

2. Electrical gremlins, including the complex 'rats nest'. Although your turbo's might be healthy, if the car cannot boost consistently then it is likely there is an issue with some elements of the rats nest. Once again, this can be fixed, however labour costs are generally prohibitively expensive as most places will have no idea where to start to diagnose the issue.

3. Electrical gremlins - TWS and ECCS related. At the moment, there is no commonly known way to fix a blown CCS system. It CAN be fixed by experts, however unless you are willing to do the work yourself, expect high labour fees. Anything to do with the steering wheel misbehaving or random interior electrical gremlins can be traced back to the ageing TWS. This is an EASY fix, however a replacement TWS will cost you around 300USD delivered. It is best to have one of these as a spare at all times. If it fails, the car will still be driveable, but some of the more fancy features may not work.

Those seem to be the main issues. I would emphasize the fact though that this car, at this age is not ideal as a daily driver unless it has been meticulously cared for. If this is the case then your only issue will be fuel costs. You can expect anything from 13L per 100km up to 30L per 100km depending on the health of the engine and the way your drive.

Hope that helps!

 

[frank20bcosmo]

hello everybody
i wonder if you can help me plz....
i currently drive a 2003 jdm rx8 which i bought to replace my nissan 200sx due to needing 4 full size seats.
now i am looking to buy a late 1995 20b cosmo hopefully very soon.
but my main concern is can i fit 4 people in (teenagers and baby seats but not at same time lol) or will they be a bit cramped like in the nissan???
also is there anything i need to look out for???
the car is coming from a rotary specialist with a 24000mile 2 year detonation warranty so engine wise is pretty much covered (breakn)
but i am just wondering if there was any faults to be aware of???

thanx in advance

This is obviously Hayward Rotary's Blue Cosmo, that car is far too cheap, I have not seen it in the flesh but in the pictures it looks amazing, this was up for 4k more 12 months ago,, as this is the last year of the Cosmo and had so few in numbers made in 1995 this is a bargain,,,, buy it look after it and watch it go up in value in years to come,, the guys in the states in 3 years time will be allowed to import these starting with the 1990 models first as they will be 25 years old then,, watch the prices soar as I believe supply will out strip demand, not like I want to sell mine as I love it (drinks)

 

[mumbles]

It is that 1 mate. And your right it does look amazing
That's sort of my plan to keep it but as said room is the concern.
I am hoping to go view it this weekend

 

[Austerror]

If you want 4 people in the Cosmo, 1 of those people needs to have no legs.

I'm 6'2 tall and the front seats have loads of room. However my shoulders are a little too wide for the drivers seat. The rear seats I don't fit in at all. However I DO fit in the rear seats of an RX8.

I love my Cosmo. But its no good for a family. Thats why it is my weekender. Although I don't have a 'family' as in kids and wife, i do need to move 4 adults often.

My 2nd car, until recently, was an MX6. That could fit 5 adults (and did) with a squeeze. It got stolen, so my new daily is a Lexus IS200. That also fits 4 adults.

Stick with the 8 for now. If you want a second car for some fun, get the Cosmo, but you will need another car for shopping duties.

 

[frank20bcosmo]

There is an easy solution, Buy the Car sell the Kids!!

He has been to see it this weekend and has fallen in love(angel),
having seen pictures of it I am not surprised and would have bought it myself if I had the cash and had somewhere to hide it from the wife !!!

 

[POODLES]

why you looking at a 17 year old car. you can probably get a younger family type of vehicle and perhaps pay less insurance than on your sports car.

 

[mumbles]

In the same respect that people buy 30 year classic cars is why.
As for insurance. I'm 38 with full NCB and a clean licence.
Insurance is a bit more than I'd like to pay but is still reasonable.
Besides I like the idea of being slightly unique to the regular type of cars that you see.

 

[frank20bcosmo]

if you are asking that question then you just don't get it,,

why does anybody buy classic cars in that case,, and remember this is the only car Mazda ever made with a 3 rotor engine which is unique,, and with only 4,000 ever made etc
need I say more?,
oh and it is stunning looking car,, which helps

somebody has to keep these on the road or they will just fade away in to history, my Cosmo is 21 years old and is better condition than some 3 year old cars
I could have bought it twice with what I have spent on it and a lot more money still to spend,, but that is not what it is about and if you dont understand or it does not make sense to you then you will never understand why we do it

each to their own as they say and if we were all the same life would be dull eh?

 

[mumbles]

Condition of this car is better than my rx8 which is half the age.
And the only thing holding me back is the room.
However I only need 4 seats every now and then so I'm looking at other ways of being able to still have the room I need.

If I do manage to get this car then it will be used regularly and try preventing at least 1 of these magnificent motors from fading away

 

[Austerror]

Yeah you could buy the Cosmo, then also buy a cheap 4 door for the family. I don't know what is available in your area, but a cheap and nasty 4 door would work! (you don't need aircon!)

Also, why buy an old car? Because old cars are not fat! But also, the Cosmo is faster than almost everything that you can buy new now. Not many cars in this price range can get to 100km/h in less than 4.5seconds

Driving my Cosmo is like nothing else I've driven. They are engineering masterpieces.

 

[mumbles]

Well I don't know what to do now
I've been given the loan from the bank but unfortunately for me it looks like I'm having some major changes in my personal life.
Getting a loan may not be my brightest move before I know how much things are going to change both financially and within home life.
If things go the way I want then this will be on my drive within a week.
But till I know 100% then it's going on hold for now

 

[frank20bcosmo]

mmmm, that sounds bad, I dont want to pry,, I just hope things work out ok whatever decision you make

good luck(drinks)

 

[mumbles]

no not too good mate tbh. but hopefully things will work out fine
cheers (2thumbs)

 

[cosmojc]

if you are asking that question then you just don't get it,,

why does anybody buy classic cars in that case,, and remember this is the only car Mazda ever made with a 3 rotor engine which is unique,, and with only 4,000 ever made etc
need I say more?,
oh and it is stunning looking car,, which helps

somebody has to keep these on the road or they will just fade away in to history, my Cosmo is 21 years old and is better condition than some 3 year old cars
I could have bought it twice with what I have spent on it and a lot more money still to spend,, but that is not what it is about and if you dont understand or it does not make sense to you then you will never understand why we do it

each to their own as they say and if we were all the same life would be dull eh?

Well said Frank!

Mumbles - don't buy it! You really really need to be able to afford it and you should assume to pay double what you pay plus more in some cases! It also depends how you treat it and how many klms you put on it! I'm at a stage with grown up kids where I can indulge myself with a mobile pothole in the road where I pour too much money! Stay with something more sensible until you can pay for it and if it never runs again - it won't make any difference to you financially and you dont owe anyone for it!
Kramer

 

[frank20bcosmo]

Well said Frank!

Mumbles - don't buy it! You really really need to be able to afford it and you should assume to pay double what you pay plus more in some cases! It also depends how you treat it and how many klms you put on it! I'm at a stage with grown up kids where I can indulge myself with a mobile pothole in the road where I pour too much money! Stay with something more sensible until you can pay for it and if it never runs again - it won't make any difference to you financially and you dont owe anyone for it!
Kramer

Hi Kramer

he didnt get it in the end it was sold before he got the cash together,, it was bought by a guy in the states,, he is a mate of the guy I sold my 13b Cosmo to,, not sure if he is going to export it to the states in a few years but I think he comes back to the UK a lot and will use it when he is here,, I will get the whole story of whats going to happen with it soon as I am meeting up with my old Cosmo soon for a catch up with the owner and see what he has been up to with it

 

[mumbles]

Hi frank and Kramer.
This is true that I didn't get the cash together unfortunately.
If I would of bought this in a heart beat.
Truly amazing car that's different to most other things out there.
Hopefully I'll be in a better financial position very soon and I will be on the look out for another Cosmo wether it be 13b or 20b I really don't mind

 

[frank20bcosmo]

Hi frank and Kramer.
This is true that I didn't get the cash together unfortunately.
If I would of bought this in a heart beat.
Truly amazing car that's different to most other things out there.
Hopefully I'll be in a better financial position very soon and I will be on the look out for another Cosmo wether it be 13b or 20b I really don't mind

I keep looking for you but the prices have gone barmy,, get to Rotorstock this year as you never know one may turn up for sale there
a couple of guys from the Netherlands Cosmo club turn up and they may know of one or two that maybe up for grabs over there and you can drive it back

if anything else comes up that I spot on the web I will be in touch

Frank

 

[cosmojc]

$

Interesting comment regarding prices going barmy! Just out of curiosity, what's a Cosmo worth in Europe/ Britain?

Kramer

 

[frank20bcosmo]

Interesting comment regarding prices going barmy! Just out of curiosity, what's a Cosmo worth in Europe/ Britain?

Kramer

well the one that has just been sold went for just under 6k, it was up for sale a while but when it first went up it was up for around 9k
but 13b's go for about 3k
I have to say there is not that many in the UK probably less than 20

so they are rare, it is finding enthusiasts that want them everybody seems more interested in rx7's, prices for these are around the same as the Cosmo from 3 -9k depending on year and mods
RX8's have hit rock bottom as there is so many and using as daily drivers fuel prices are killing them as 99 octane fuel here is close to 1.50 a litre(jerkit)