RX8 Running Costs

Whatever else you do, make sure you really test the engine on your test drive. The engine is pretty highly strung and needs a lot of TLC over the years. Full service histroy is best as always.
 
Toyota MR2... 1.8vvti

okay so its only 140bhp...but it only weighs about 1000kg...

get a facelifted one for the money, should easily return 30+mpg...lightly moddable, great, great handling car...

would be a lot of fun, maybe more chuckable than any mentioned, and its bhp, characteristsics would probably suite someone who has 1 years driving behind them!
 
Yep As Nickg said, this would suit you better or my personal choice would be a celica. Im on my 2nd now & had looked at the RX8 many times, a really nice car but unless you have a lot of surplus cash its just not worth it in my opinion as I couldnt justify the running costs.
 
Your looking at 20mpg, especially with the short runs your talking about, mine is only a 10 mile jouney to work and I was battling to get over 200miles from a tank full.

Great fun, great car, but running costs are a killer now.

Btw, servicing is actually quite cheep on these, its the tires, tax and fuel that do it.
 
I'm only getting around 18 or 19 mpg tbh. It's town driving mainly.

Full tank i get 170 miles and if i'm lucky i get 180 miles :D And that's with Greddy SP :p

Anyway like they say, when you get this kind of car, you just don't think about the fuel consumption, it's nice to drive especially around the bend, pulls quite nice as well when it reaches 6k rpm and looks so good as well :D

Actually, i'm considering selling mine and get a diesel estate as i need a bit more space but i probably will get another one (R3) in the next few years :)

Any more info just ask me as i've got mine for over a year now and hopefully can answer your questions.


Oh 1 more thing, it is a really high maintenance car :p
 
What do you mean by high maintenance?

If all it is is LOOOTSSS of petrol and topping up of oil all the time, that's not too bad.
 
This seems to crop up quite a lot and I am sure you will find plenty of info if you do a search.

MPG will be between 18-22 (traffic-motorway)
They use roughly 0.5litres of oil per 1000 miles by design
Servicing at a Main dealer is £200-£300 per year on average (some are higher due to spark plugs etc)
Budget £130 a corner for decent tyres
Flooding can be an issue if the engine is not warmed up or if your batter goes flat during cranking

Not sure what willy means by high maintenance, I check my fluid levels and tyre pressures every 2 weeks with any car and there is nothing extra to check on the RX8.
 
Nickg said:
Jayman, what celica u got? i have a Corolla T Sport 2zz (same engine as the Celica 190/T Sport) with the same performance, just worse handling!!
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I used to have a Celica 'Blue' which was a special edition, they did the 'Blue' & a 'Red' for the Celica & the MR2 but I traded it & got the GT 190bhp, love it!

Just ticks a lot of boxes for me, looks good, nice to drive (other than over speed bumps) & isnt too expensive to run & you get practicality as well with a decent size boot.
 
What is the performance actually like on the RX8, I know what the book says but in reality do people who own or have driven one think it really measures up? ...a friend of mine is very interested in buying one, I told him what I thought of the engine or at least what I knew, but to be honest that isn't very much really.

I did look into them briefly myself before I bought the ST220, but my love of engine capacity and a good noise is what really put me off. Still, my mate is very keen on them so I'd like to give him some constructive advice if I can, I asked him to let me know if he plans to test drive one, as I'd like to go along and have a drive myself, just to satisfy my curiosity :D
 
Wardie said:
If all it is is LOOOTSSS of petrol and topping up of oil all the time, that's not too bad.
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It would be fine, if it produced LOOOTSSS of power to match the amount of petrol it was using.

Such a shame cos I really liked the car, apart from the engine that is.
 
I get mine serviced every year at around 12,000 miles. They are fairly quick but really aren't straight line stunners and are similar to VTEC in the way that you need to rev them hard to get the most out of them due to the relatively low torque. I quite easily managed to hit 140MPH plus during a stint on some autobahn when I went around Europe in it.

For the fuel consumption you get I would say that it could be faster tbh and a supercharger or turbo would make it perfect IMO, if I was to drop a "normal" engine in I would probably choose the S2000 engine though just because I love revs.
 
how much does the tank hold in fuel btw? as in the 'real' figure that you'd fill up from near near empty..
 
That's a good question bledd cheers.

Eidolon, if I could find what I think is a good alternative i'll seriously consider it.
 
tank is 61L (iirc) generally fill up between 50-55L on the empty mark. The only real alternative I could think of when looking was an E46 M3 or possibly an Integra (newer shape), everything else was a 2 seater soft top. The RX-8 is a very good compromise between practical and sporty and the main let down it has is the fuel consumption. If I was in the same position again I think I would go for the M3 but as I already had an E46 coupe (323Ci) at the time I wanted something different.
 
Thanks guys,

I think my heart is still set on this if you will, but in the back of my mind in the petrol, tax, tyres etc. I can afford it but obviously it will take up a fair bit of money.

Speaking to my Dad about it, he said with a car like this you pretty just put up with some of the downsides, because when you get in it you will have a smile on your face, which is pretty important when you're spending quite a bit of cash.

I am keeping my mind open though, but the insurance puts a stop to most other things.

Other cars i'm considering, but are probably more than I want to spend, or too expensive to insure.

ST220
Clio 197 Cup
Megane 225 Trophy

Even then, the RX8 looks better, has a much better interior and spec list than all of them with the ST220 being the exception.

I do like the Cooper S and in particular with the JCW pack but they hold their value well and for this sort of price have done twice the miles of the other cars.
 
Well I had an ST220, they aren't especially expensive to run, or I didn't think so. Obviously more than your average car, but less than an RX8.
 
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