zznalg

Hi All, I'm new to the group, am considering buying an RX-8 and really need the benefit of you guys' experience regarding flooding before taking the plunge. I live in Manhattan and would have to park the car in a parking garage. The parking attendants routinely move cars around from one spot to another to make space for other cars, etc. I know the RX-8 would regularly be started up, moved and turned off before it being allowed to warm up. This could happen several times every day with different attendants. Should I be very concerned about the possibility of flooding under these circumstances? Might the RX-8 be the wrong car for a parking garage? Thanks very much for your thoughts.

eccles

Slip the attendant a couple of bucks to let you park in a corner where it won't need to be moved, and take the keys with you. Always used to work for me.

six_shooter

No need to worry, once it floods, the attendant isn't going to be moving it anywhere. :D

gingersrus

The Mazda people just called me for the after-purchase survey. I mentioned that I had not been told about the flooding problem and the lady said she had had several other people mention it. I told her I was concerned about valet parking. She gave me the Mazda customer service # 1-800-222-5500 - option 4.

When I called customer service, they told me it was up to me whether I wanted to risk valet parking, that I could give a copy of the Qwick Start guide to the attendent. Never mind how I would make sure every attendent at the Marriott would read and understand it. She said something to the effect "The Mazda rotary engine is a unique engine and it has special requirements." (She was obviously reading from a tip sheet.) I told her that no one at the dealership had mentioned a word about this and she just started reading again from her tip sheet about the Qwick Start Guide.

Such a shame that a great car like this is going to get a bad reputation for engine problems. My resale value is obviously going in the toilet. Good thing I plan to keep it a long time. Used RX8's ought to be a pretty good deal in a few months.