So im looking to buy an 04 RX 8 cause thats all i can afford right now. Was wondering if anyone would tell me if/any major defects of any kind or mechanical failures that happened in this year of production. Trying to convince my mom that they are good cars actually:lol:

save more money by the car later. buy something cheaper now

since you seem to want to do zero leg work on looking up these questions which would take all of 10 seconds... i'm going to have to say "buy a honda"

no don't buy a honda, buy a toyota

buy a civic si and put a sweet autozone muffler on it! civic si is fater than the 8 anyway! ITs a WIN WIN!!!!!

Buy a mid 90's civic hatchback, cut the springs on it so your oil pan drags on the ground. buy walmart tint film, buy three aftermarket rims, pull out the rear seat. Then Buy some I heart drifting stickers and you'll be voted prom king at you school guaranteed!

EDIT: I almost forgot get some 682k head light bulbs. Phew that was close, everything else would have looked silly without those.

Gonna have to go with the honda thing. 8's cost money to maintain. If you're not making enough to afford one, you need to get a beater until you have a job that will let you afford the 8. I drop about 60 bucks a week on gas, tires that are $150 each and only last 17,000 miles. Then you're going to want a better stereo, a short shifter, etc etc etc etc. an 04 isn't going to have much warranty left on it either, if at all.

Definitely not a car to buy if you're on the edge financially. Socket7's numbers are typical. For reliability, it's not like engines blow all the time, but a lot of '04s did have blown engines. There were enough general problems that Mazda stopped counting RX-8 complaints in their customer satisfaction surveys.

Ken