Javafuel

My first car, 1987 Honda CRX Si ran 140K over 13 years without major problems.

Second car, 2001 VW GTI VR6, a love and hate relationship. Finally cut my loses and ditched the German junk. Don't ever buy VW, I should have listened to my friend.

Third car, 2004 RX8, amazing handling and love the styling. But water pump went out at 43K? that's a bit early for Japanese cars, wouldn't you agree? I guess they don't make them like they used to...or water pumps made by Ford? Joking. Anyway, now I'm wondering if I should keep it or sell it.

2007 Mini Cooper S has improved its MPG, listed 29/36 MPG. Pretty impressive for a turbocharged engine. I'm not crazy about the styling, but I feel guilty about driving 8 which is a border line gas guzzler. Prious is just too white and nerdy. http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...hite+and+nerdy

swoope

iTrader: (5)

sorry,

the pump was replaced under warranty?

and if you could take the time to upgrade you last recalls. this should be easy as you have every other car you have owned covered.

beers

mwc

I hear ya. The only difference is that I'm still suffering through the same ownership experience. I'm frankly not too impressed by its "German engineered" design. How many times did your power windows break? Coil packs go? etc, etc, etc.....

Cheers

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

I find it really funny that these people driving a sports car and complaining about mpg.

Man, go get a Hyundai or something.

and the water pump thing, I want a list of repairs on your CRX.

NoTears316

I got a flat tire about a year ago... maybe I should just sell the car.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

I had 2.

Should I sue Mazda ?

DailyDriver2k5

My VW Jetta GLI was in the shop every two months for the things that baffled me, otherwise, it seem like every other weekend i was under the hood constanlty fixing/replacing something.

The car would continually to foul out plugs, burn out coil packs, stupid relays would go out. What pushed me over the edge finally was one night i was driving home at 1:00 in the morning, and suddenly all my lights went out for no apparent reason, dashlights, tailights,headlights. I almost died that night on the highway. Thats when i said no more this death trap/money pit has to go!

There fun cars, but german engineering is left to be desired.

RotoRocket

iTrader: (1)

My wife has a 06 Passat.

Biggest POS ever.

VW sucks.

I love my RX8. No problems or complaints. Now, if they could only relocate the oil dipstick and make it legible.

If a broken water pump at 43k is the only problem you've had, you're doing better than average for any car.

NotAPreppie

^^^

What he said.
My '99 Passat was a joy to drive. Too bad it was in the shop so damned much.

New Yorker

Is it just me—or is going from a broken water pump to "what happen to Japanese cars?" a bit of a stretch?

KRNrx8Driver

Ummmm....wow water pump gone that fast...iono thats kinda new but then again I havent been around cars too long i know my cousins AE86's water pump is doing fine even after his engine swap...iono i'm right behind you in mileage with the 8 i'm right at around 37k i hope mine lasts a while...i'm scared of whats gonna happen after warranty is gone...best of luck to you man, i love my car too much to get something else but thats entirely your call

oh ya btw i thought the Mini Cooper S was supercharged...or maybe thats just the old one? iono i'm kinda confused but w/e =)

rx8rotary

You have had one bad expierence in 43K miles and are ready to dump it? My 8 has been in the shop for 90 out of the past 180 days - finally getting a new motor - but I am not ready to dump it yet.

If a water pump makes you want to dump your car - better dump it and go with public transportation - that is the only way you can gaurantee you don't have a problem with your car!!!

Icemark

You do know the Mini, is a German enginineered copy of an English car, that is built in South America.. right???

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

^^ Im second to that.

dynamho

My 80's Passat was also a fun piece of headache.

I don't think it's the engineering. It's the quality they lack.

youpey

the water pump in 8 blew out before i hit 25k miles

pwned page2

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

Damn, I just hit 25.5K miles. my engine and Water pump will explode ..... NOT

homersapien

The AC in my Honda SUV crapped out at 37K miles (Honda still replaced it for free). What's yer point?

It's always some kid who chimes in with anecdotal crap like this. "My Honda went 160K miles and didn't cost me a dime". Nevermind that they bought it with 150K miles and totalled it at 160K

If you're really the generalizations though, I'd say you should have known you'd have problems with the 8, as it's often listed as a 'worst bet' for used cars by Consumer Reports.

RotoRocket

iTrader: (1)

CR upgraded the reliability of the 2005 and 2006 8 to 'average.'

I have the CR Buyer's Guide to prove it.

Javafuel

Yes, warranty covers the water pump. I guess I'm still suffering from VW lemon syndromes. It freaks me out whenever the 8 makes funny noise.

One thing about Honda engines (at least mine old buddy crx) is that it will run 120k easily without any problems, but when it goes...the whole engine falls apart.

GTI VR6 was a fun car plus average mpg is around 31, not bad for a V6. It's too bad they never figure out the electrical problems.

Here's a story from VW service dept. I was waiting for my car in the VW service dept. A lady came in and asked the service rep why her new Jetta has many problems and she was worrying about the VW reliability. Here the the rep said to her " I sent my wife out everyday in the same car." My thought was that's a nice heart warming answer. Later, another woman came in and complained about her beetle. Guess what the rep told her? that's right, " I sent my wife out everyday in the same car." F*cker said it with a straight face. That was my VW wake up call.

As for 8 mpg goes, it is a topic has been beaten to death. All I have to say is that my friend's 2006 Corvette V8 should not have better mpg than my 8, but it does.

Also as I get older I think greener. 8 is an awesome weekend car, not so green for everyday use...especially in Los Angeles. FYI, I did ride the bus to my client office (40 miles one way) until I moved to a new place where there's no bus route. Bus took longer to get there, but it was less stressful than sitting in the traffic. Not to mention I got plenty of rest and read many books. I wish LA has better public transportation system.

My plan is to get a Honda Element for outdoor needs and mini for daily drive. If I have the space and the money, I'll keep the 8 and gear it up for the track only.

Krankor

Fortunately, as I get older, I think less green. So the universe is in balance.

VRZOOMZOOM

Haha, suddenly just readin a couple posts seems like it become a VW bashing thread lol. I guess i'll add my experience LOL......Although i have to say the german engineering is over engineering IMO, have u seen or taken apart the elecrtical stuff in a VW, everythign so complicated, from changing a headlight bulb, remve two clips to remove the cover inside the engine, twist ur wrist and get a feel for where the socket where the light bulb is and remove and installin it back without the bulb lookin crooked in the headlight housing and getting it to click and lock into place is a PITA.

First 1500 miles, raining, use the wipers, every time the wiper hit the A pillar, water starts trickling down the driver window and drippin through the power window switches.....Cause: leaves and dirt in sunroof gutter...meanwhile i never used the sunroof in the winter. intercooler hose was loose and loss of boost (felt really inconsistent), never threw a check engine light til 18K later and it was found that the stock intake hose was cracked. Have no idea. Repaired the hoses......finally the 1.8T engine works the way it was suppose to work. I remember having the 02 Jetta 1.8T, had coolant light come on, tech replaces one sensor, a week goees by, the light comes on again, turns out to be another sensor that went bad in the coolant reservior. VWs are good cars, quality wise in materials but their suppliers/electrial engineering (overly designed) and overly complicated procedures to change a headlight bulb makes it a POS at times.

The RX-8 on the other hand has a lot more simple electrical hardware/designs. The car doesn't make me worry about whats goign to happen next when i start the car, i hope i dont have a check engine light. In past 7K miles, only had one issue and it was the faulty gas cap. But anyways IMO Japanese cars in my experience are more reliable than a German make just on electronics alone. For some reason, the Germans electronics always seem to malfunction in the long run versus a Japanese car.

Icemark

Funny I have been saying the same thing. People say how relaible the german cars are like BMW and Benz, but I rebuild a hell of a lot more BMW dash boards with bad displays than I do of 10 and 20 year old RX-7 body computers.

ken-x8

I had OE water pumps on two Honda Accords fail at somewhere around that mileage.

If the dealer replaced your pump under warranty, or put in a rebuilt, they kept the old one. But if you did get to keep the old water pump, you might try selling it on ebay. Someone may need a core. If you keep it, you might have it stuffed and mounted.

Ken

Raptor75

VW is to the 2000s as FIAT was to the 1970s. Design wise a great cars but engineering wise a piece of crap they fall apart.