2004 rx8 for 4500? 7 previous owners!!

ramirez · 15 Dec 2010 at 18:52

atpbx said:
I wouldnt touch it, or any other RX8 for that matter, with a barge pole.

it does appear they are cheap to buy and have lots of owners for a reason doesn't it !

lordrobs · 15 Dec 2010 at 19:24

DiamondMark said:
Leave it in the glove box, saves all that.

Yeah, that is where it lives at the moment but it is fighting for space with my sat nav, charger, torch etc. and is starting to look like it has been through the wars a bit

NightShadow · 15 Dec 2010 at 21:04

B1C3P said:
I hear a lot of people say yeah by the time they get to say 50k miles the rotary head needs replaced, which costs a bomb (2 grand or something). Is this just a myth? I assume it's based on how the car has been treated over it's life time. I assume getting this test done will tell you if the head is on it's way out?

This is more so with the RX7 but seemingly some RX8s still suffer form loss of compression which can occur regardless of mileage (20K miles upwards have been known to need work!). The don't have a "head", the rotor tips simply wear leading to low compression, rebuilds at a reputable place are easily £2500+ and a compression test is pretty definitive, get it done by a rotary specialist or a "proper" Mazda dealer not one of these Ford/Mazda places as they generally know nothing about w@nkel engines.

Slow starting can be common on early cars which had a slower/weaker starter motor, also early models came with carp batteries which were very low CCA, try to get a car that has had both the battery and starter replaced, coil packs and ignition leads is bonus as well (like mine!).

Kitchster_uk · 16 Dec 2010 at 17:01

7 owners is a lot. Remember, you're not interested in the total number of careful owners, you're interested in how long it has been owned by someone who doesn't give a damn.

daveydave · 16 Dec 2010 at 21:47

MikeHiow said:
It isn't uncommon for these to accumulate a few owners. People buy them thinking they are bargains, then realise just how thirsty they are and move them on.

DAIR · 17 Dec 2010 at 13:23

I use to own the 190bhp version (RX8) a few years back.

Nice little GT car. Wasnt the most exciting car to drive and drank Oil and Petrol as if it were going out of fashion.

Apart from that the seats were comfy and the driving position was great!

My old one

PumpkinSteve · 17 Dec 2010 at 18:42

I was looking at an RX8 a while back, they can be had cheap as chips. I was a little hesitant on buying a used one as there are plenty of monkeys around who have no idea how to maintain a car such as this, using the wrong kind of oil, not warming the engine up properly before switching the ignition off etc... then they wonder why they need an engine rebuild at 30k miles :rolleyes:

[TW]Fox · 17 Dec 2010 at 19:28

DAIR said:
Wasnt the most exciting car to drive

Really? Somebody on here kept going on as if its one of the best drivers cars ever made :confused:

graemer · 17 Dec 2010 at 20:05

I have one on a 55 plate and alove it. It's the 231 version however then one above I would say look around more as I am sure there are ones out there for the same money with a better history.
Whilst I love the car and the drive you can't buy one of these and not budget for fuel costs and you have to look after them.

MikeHiow · 17 Dec 2010 at 21:53

[TW]Fox;18024815 said:
Really? Somebody on here kept going on as if its one of the best drivers cars ever made

I believe that same "somebody" also mentioned that the power delivery gives the impression of the car being slow and boring to many people. I can only imagine this is only made worse in the lower powered model.

Quite simply, without the place or "skillz" to exploit it, this car probably is boring on straight motorways and A roads.

[TW]Fox · 17 Dec 2010 at 21:56

Ah I see, he just didnt have you considerable motorsport experience I guess.

DAIR, is it true that you basically cant drive, which is why you didnt find the RX8 to be a thrilling rollercoaster?

MikeHiow · 17 Dec 2010 at 22:01

You get better at twisting words as the weeks go on, I'm impressed.

DAIR · 18 Dec 2010 at 11:04

[TW]Fox;18024815 said:
Really? Somebody on here kept going on as if its one of the best drivers cars ever made

On track perhaps..... Top Gear will lead you to believe this.

However, imo it wasn't all that exciting!

Rilot · 18 Dec 2010 at 11:11

DAIR said:
On track perhaps..... Top Gear will lead you to believe this.

However, imo it wasn't all that exciting!

You had the wrong version. The 230 is much more fun. The low rev limit and 5-speed box in the 190 really dampen the experience.

DAIR · 18 Dec 2010 at 12:45

You could be right as the 190 version did have a lower rev limit (as youve pointed out).

Peerzy · 18 Dec 2010 at 13:12

Rilot said:
You had the wrong version. The 230 is much more fun. The low rev limit and 5-speed box in the 190 really dampen the experience.

Out of interest how could adding a sixth gear help make a sports car more fun? I'm assuming the gearbox in the 231 has different ratios or something?

ramirez · 18 Dec 2010 at 13:18

It revs to 9000 rpm instead of 7500 in the 190.

I think were gonna look at alternative cars now, there seem to e an awful lot o problems with the rx8s without the performance to match.

Peerzy · 18 Dec 2010 at 13:30

ramirez said:
It revs to 9000 rpm instead of 7500 in the 190.

Yeah but that's nothing to do with the gearbox is it?

DAIR · 18 Dec 2010 at 13:38

Think it just has a different map... I might be wrong.

Have you looked at the R3 (Facelift)?

Peerzy · 18 Dec 2010 at 13:41

Rilot said one of the reasons the 231 was much better than the 190 was because of the gearbox - I'm asking why a 6spd and not a 5spd gearbox makes such a difference. I'm not asking what the difference is between the two.