Mazda RX-8 Advice
 

Okay, so at the car dealership I work at we just took in a Gray 2004 Mazda RX-8 GT. It is a nice car loaded up on a options w/ a few aftermarket goodies. So here is the deal, I can get a really good deal on this car and I'm having a hard time passing it up. What worries me is all the negative reviews I read on the cars reliability. From what I can tell the cars have had some pretty serious issues. I want to tell myself that by now those issues have probably mostly been worked out of the car and the necessary services have been done, but I'm a bit worried. I know that these cars aren't the fastest vehicles on the road, but I love the styling, especially in this color, and really like mazdas. I thought about getting it and then getting an extended warranty also...so what do you guys think?

RX8's are nice....but I would pass. Find something more reliable for a good deal. There's LOTS of deals out there right now with the shit economy.

Vash-

rotary without turbo= slow, consumes oil, poor economy, unreliable

My buddy just got an 06 and he loves it i agree they are sharp cars and just like anything else if it has been well maintaned and you check out the condition yourself and find it to be right i would buy it.

Having owned a few rotaries I can say that they do need attention but I wouldn't call them unreliable. They are just high maintenance. We have a couple at work, just this past winter I had to push one in to clear it out and put new plugs in since the sales department didn't understand what "let it warm up when you move it during winter" meant. I like them alot though, I would definitely rock one as a 3rd car.

The 04s have some funky ECU issues, nothing that an "enthusiast" will mind. The car itself is inherently sound. The motor is very picky with maintenance, oil type, and coolant type.
First thing you'll want to do is pick up a RE-medy water pump. You can read all about it at rx8 club.

14mpg highway


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I would rock one. I hear they are like big miatas.

gas mileage of a v8
torque of a Honda
uses oil like an old Nissan

I knew there was a reason I'm done with rotaries.

my buddy gets about 20+ mpg on his so long as he drives it easy. Less if he drives it hard and more if he grandma's it.

POS car...shitty gas mileage...and prepare to get ur doors blown off by a 2008 camry or accord V6.

i hope you like slow. :(

I've driven the car around quite a bit today...and the power is disappointing. It handles amazingly and is soooooo sexy. I just can't believe that this car Mazda would make these things so slow.

fantastic car, with a shit motor

I realllllly like how it handles. Stock, it's much more fun to drive than a stock miata... with turbo though rx8 lmfao :(

i've thought about getting one for comfort cruizn daily but a $10,000 GTO looks far more interesting plus if it becomes a rustbucket the engine can go in my miata :) :bowrofl:

The RX8 is about as fast as a 1.6 miata with an 8 psi turbo, or a bit slower than an overweight '99/'00 at 5 psi (actual test with my car :D).

The blend of comfort, handling, the nice interior, and (fairly decent) power, and the backseat, is unparalleled.

The MPG OTOH... my buddy has 17.3 MPG lifetime average. When set on cruise doing 80 mph it gets about 24 MPG. Which is only slightly worse than my turbo miata, but then my miata at 10 psi is a lot faster.

Unreliable??? What tends to break on them? Don't confuse "unreliable" with "needs regular topping up of oil".

I test drove one for my first RX8 experience and loved it. The smooth revving renesis was a blast and it handled very well. I wouldn't mind the topping off of the oil but I wouldn't want one for a daily driver I don't think. Very comfortable to be in and the 6 spd shifter felt awesome. Probably the best shifting car i've ever been in even compared to a couple porsches and other german cars i've been in.

The auto/tiptronic I drove was slow. The 6 speed manual was noticeably faster and more fun and revs higher! So if you do get one...get the 6 speed.
Also, I remember consumer reports saying that the 04 was the worst year model reliability wise.
Just my 2 cents.

i have 2 friends that own rx8s and have driven one many times. the engine IS very smooth. the handling is awesome. overall feel is very nice as well.......BUTTTT:

the gas mileage SUX.....both cant get any better than 16-20 driving normally. there is NO torque anywhere. it eats oil quite thirstily............

if you can live with those shortcomings, get one. many cant though

the car is an Automatic, so I've pretty much ruled it out. It is the GT, with every option, heated leather, 6 disc changer, ipod hookup, sunroof. I timed it 0 - 60 last night and it did it in about 9 seconds, what a Joke, these cars are soooooo sex, especially in the dark gray color that this one is, but with an auto it is a huge dissapointment, I guess I will continue my search.