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

chaparral said:
Crazy high fuel consumption
Maybe high oil consumption
Coils may need replacing at a cost of about £250
Engine easy to flood and then very hard to start afterwards
Engine may need a rebuild after 60k miles
Looses value very quickly
Clutches can cost mega £££ and don't seem to last long
The Auto leveling Headlight units can packup from getting water in them and cost £1500 to replace..

What are the good sides ?? :p
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Been eyeing them up myself for quite a while. The good sides as I've seen and read:

Very cheap to buy - most likely not going to lose much more value than they will have already I'd imagine.
Relatively cheap to insure compared to similar performance cars (on the quotes I looked at)
Look awesome.
It's an qwerky/interesting. No-one could ever call on bland...
Plus they're meant to handle awesomely

Like many I keep eyeing them up due to how cheap they are compared to anything comparable in that age/performance bracket that I can think of. Whilst they are expensive to run - you've got to think whether you are really going to keep it long enough or do enough miles to really see losses on it.

Think with the amount of mileage I do over a year I'd probably spend an extra grand on petrol over my ST24. Which is a lot less than the amount of money I'd have to spend on top of RX8 money to get an equivalent age 350z for example. Plus I prefer the looks and practicality of the RX8.

I think the deciding factor for me will be when I get around to eventually test driving one and deciding whether I like the power delivery and sound of the engine.
 
[TW]Fox;19947997 said:
Finding the worlds most expensive 2006 Fiesta to make a point seems a bit odd.
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Secondhand small cars cost far more in guernsey...

and also guernsey being a small island with a low speed limit and most trips only being about 2miles long pushes the price of small cars up through the roof over here
 
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My brother in law just sold his.

192hp 56 plate - he had it a year, lost £3k on it and rarely used it as too costly to run for him (also just bought a house).
 
Princey said:
Lol I'm currently getting 23mpg in a 1670kg 6.0l V8! Also 80mph is 4000rpm! :0
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But how much does your car cost?


I don't really get all the RX8 hating. Like most cars, if they're not well looked after, they tend to develop faults (sure, it's probably a bit more critical on an rx8, but still). They're crap on fuel, but what other car offers similar performance, handling and practicality for a similar price tag? Even when taking into account the extra fuel costs?

Actually, that's a serious question as I'm looking at getting one of these. - For people doing less that 6k miles a year, what car would work out as costing the same over a period of 18-24 months while delivering the same performance, practicality and handling?
 
I've never understood what is so good about the RX-8 don't you have to rag it to get any power out of it?

When there's so many good hot hatches and 2 seaters around I don't see where the RX-8 fits in.

Does it handle much better than a MX-5? The prospect of eye watering bills and awful fuel economy would scare me off.
 
Minstadave said:
I've never understood what is so good about the RX-8 don't you have to rag it to get any power out of it?

When there's so many good hot hatches and 2 seaters around I don't see where the RX-8 fits in.

Does it handle much better than a MX-5? The prospect of eye watering bills and awful fuel economy would scare me off.
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The RX-8 is not a hot hatch or a 2 seater ;)
 
i owned one.... for a day..... i've also had a fair few rx7's.

basically i felt there isn't enough oomph to justify the running costs, but they are getting obscenely cheap now to pick up.

there are lots and lots now with engines that have gone pop or about to, and yes they suffer from the same tip wear as rx7's. In fact because the lubrication on older rx8s is worse than the rx7s, (they only have two oil injectors instead of the three in the 7's) there are many many rx8's on their way out now. its not necessarily the fault of the engine, just the way they are maintained and the amount of owners they get through.

it might make good sense to buy a mint bodied rx8 with a knackered engine, and get a new engine / rebuild put in if you really wanted one and then properly look after it.
 
I think these are pretty decent and really cheap.

Fuel costs aren't really an issue if you are doing low miles.

They are only about 5MPG less than an S2000.
 
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