Mazda Rx-8 What to look for when buying ??

chaparral

chaparral

chaparral

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I been looking at an RX-8 that am thinking of maybe buying....

Is there any important things i should be checking on it before buying ???


i heard horror stories something about the engine tips that can wear out and cost a few k to be fixed..
Is it possible to check for the condition of these engine tips and if yes how ??


Also how can i tell if it a 192ps or 231ps model ??
 
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Buy something with similar fuel consumption costs instead, like perhaps an AMG Mercedes or a perhaps a V8 Twin Turbo Porsche Cayenne.
 
Westyfield2 said:
Start stockpiling Oil ready.
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Read they only meant to use .30 ltr per 1000miles

Minstadave said:
Number of previous owners, these tend to be more trouble than they're worth and change hands quickly.
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It a 2004 model and done 29,000miles

2 owners (1 from new and the second owned it for only about 6 months)

[TW]Fox;19946728 said:
Buy something with similar fuel consumption costs instead, like perhaps an AMG Mercedes or a perhaps a V8 Twin Turbo Porsche Cayenne.
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My calibra only gives me 21mpg summer time and 18mpg winter time

Surely ian rx-8 can't be that much worst then that
 
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[TW]Fox;19946728 said:
Buy something with similar fuel consumption costs instead, like perhaps an AMG Mercedes or a perhaps a V8 Twin Turbo Porsche Cayenne.
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Or a Mig 29.


Listen for a chirping at idle, this is often the clutch bearing.

Do a warm start, so after a test drive turn it off and then back on again after a minute. See if it catches first time or takes some work.

Test the owners on their maintenance of the car. Do they add oil? I can see a lot of people just ignoring this.

Expect 20mpg. Lovely car as long as you know what you're getting into. The oil consumption is a total non-issue - don't pay attention to the LOL OIL crew.

Check out the RX8 owners club for more info (edit: you found them)
 
chaparral said:
i heard horror stories something about the engine tips that can wear out and cost a few k to be fixed..
Is it possible to check for the condition of these engine tips and if yes how ??
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It's possible to get a compression test done but not sure if it's something that needs to be done at a specialist.

As others have said it will be very heavy on fuel and oil, my friend with one often sees single figure MPG round town and it uses quite a bit more oil than Mazda would have you believe.

Having said that if you aren't doing big mileage it's a practical 4 door car that has taken a massive depreciation hit.
 
Del Lardo said:
It's possible to get a compression test done but not sure if it's something that needs to be done at a specialist.

As others have said it will be very heavy on fuel and oil, my friend with one often sees single figure MPG round town and it uses quite a bit more oil than Mazda would have you believe.

Having said that if you aren't doing big mileage it's a practical 4 door car that has taken a massive depreciation hit.
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I always thought the tips issue was to do with the RX-7? Never heard of it being a common thing with the RX8.

I think the Oil consumption depends....I found it well below what Mazda said. However, considering the MPG the oil really is no hardship. Even 1/2L of oil every 1000 miles is £5 oil and around ~£250 fuel!
 
Yeah check out the buyers fact and make sure you test everything on there.

I did and ended up with a pretty nice one and so far have down about 10K miles with not issues at all.

The 231ps version will have a 6 speed box and redlines at 9k rpm and a few other minor extras, the 192ps version has only a 5 speed box and redlines at 7k rpm.

With a RX8 provided it is looked after correctly it should be fine.

Also check to see if coils have been repalced at all, these are not a service item but coil failure can lead to other problems if it is not picked up. If the coils have not been replaced and the car has done 30K+ miles then it pays for them to be done and there are about £250 for the parts.

Everything you need to know is on the club forum, if you have any questions join up for free there as a guest and ask away !

Diddy
 
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Vanilla said:
I always thought the tips issue was to do with the RX-7? Never heard of it being a common thing with the RX8.

I think the Oil consumption depends....I found it well below what Mazda said. However, considering the MPG the oil really is no hardship. Even 1/2L of oil every 1000 miles is £5 oil and around ~£250 fuel!
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With the RX-7 it was inevitable and IIRC they made improvements with the RX-8 but it is still a possibility. I think the big difference is that on the RX-7 it was a full rebuild and on the RX-8 you can just replace the tips without the need to replace the rotor. It's a few years since I looked into the RX-8 so things may have changed since then.
 
I get about 22mpg with mixed roads, almost 25mpg on a long run between 3k & 4K revs (thats 70 to 80mph in 6th), if I drive very heavy footed beeping it a lot then its about 16mpg
 
I wouldn't buy one without a recent hot compression test. Coils/Plugs/leads replaced every 30k or so and a new cat would be good aswell, if not definitely budget for the coils at least.
 
[TW]Fox;19946728 said:
Buy something with similar fuel consumption costs instead, like perhaps an AMG Mercedes or a perhaps a V8 Twin Turbo Porsche Cayenne.
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Oh the irony.

Oil isn't a huge issue really, it does not require Fully Synthetic stuff, so it's not really as expensive as you may think and 1Ltr/1500 miles was the experience of the owner I borrowed one from.

Also, if private, ask the vendor if it uses any oil - if they say no, walk away.

As stated, check it on a hot start.

Check around the rear doors and sil plates for rust, also check the fins on the wings and wheels for corrosion - it's a common issue, and they all suffer from it, but it's perhaps a point that'll get you some money off.

It's also worth finding out when the Coilpacks were last done, as it is the breakdown of these that is one of the routes to premature rotor tip wear.

It's worth having a compression test done - it is a Mazda or specialist only job (don't let any dealer tell you otherwise, or that they've done it themselves) and usually costs around £100 from most Mazda dealerships.

Other than that, my experience was approximately 14MPG hooning it. The owner claimed he achieved 21MPG over several tanks on his normal commute with the odd hoon.
 
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