RunnedAround

So I got into college you see, and half the deal of me getting into college was being allowed to use 26,000 bucks on a car, and this is where I'm stuck. For starters, above all, I need a car that will last me 10 years... And looking at many of these posts, I'd be lucky to have an RX 8 run for a month... I'm aggravated at one point, cause I absolutely love the car, the sleek design, the amazing interior, and the such. But it's the one thing that I hate about it that I also love, the engine. I mean, do you guys think that this car will last me, lets say, 10 years without having me to jump into the hood and fix stuff? Right now It's either an RX 8, or a Infiniti G35 Coupe(used). However much i seem to love the car, love doesn't conquer reliability. I would expect that since the engine has less moving parts that it will last longer, but now it seems to have more problems than any car in history (except maybe a Yugo). Don't misunderstand me, I'm not trying to put the car down, I absolutely love every aspect of it, but no matter how much I love it, love doesn't fix problems, money does, and thats something I don't have...

Just post yalls opinion if it's a good investment for a first time driver, or if I should just stick to the conventional piston engines for now...

SA22C

More problems than a Yugo?

That's awesome.

Grab a clue buddy, this is an internet forum, every little problem is reported here, whether ONE person experiences it or one thousand.

Sounds like owning a car is a trifle above your intelligence level. Perhaps a bicyle is more your speed.

Boozehound

I have to agree with SA22C insofar as the posting of problems is concerned. The number of posts and problems does not equal what problems most people will experience. As for overall reliability, you can get 10 years out of almost anything if you baby it and are willing to work on it every now and again, but if you need a driving appliance, you should probably look elsewhere. I wouldn't rate Infinity too high on that particular issue either - I know a few Infinity owners who always have some ongoing issue with their cars (albeit none of them own G35s). If you need said bulletproof appliance, go for a Toyota or better yet, a Lexus. They're nice cars that are comfortable, extremely well built, and you might even get decent milage in one...

Or you could jump on some Korean car with a 10 year warranty. It might spend 1/3 of every year in the shop, but at least it'd be under warranty....

All that said, I love my 8, but I don't know I'd buy one if I had to count on 10 years of perfect reliability.

RXhusker

Dang -- don't go an read the G35 forum or you won't have anything to buy. Getting reliability info from a forum like this is like getting your news from the National Enquirer.

The 8 is a highly reliable and very new car. Anyone with an issue will post it here (and many who don't even have the car will post issues here as well). I, like most people here, have had my 8 for 8 months with zero problems and 100% enjoyment :D

Go take at look at the Honda Accord forum or any other car forum and you wouldn't buy any of them.

Either the 8 or G35 would be great -- I would never recommend either for a college freshman (ever see what happens to a car parked on campus ) My I took my RX-7 to college and it got beat to $hit. Get a good used car and save the extra $17,000 for soemthing really special -- when you really deserve it -- when you graduate from college.

EDIT: Here was the damage to my 7:
headlights bashed out
antenna broke twice
keyed 3 times
tires knifed once
spray painted once

Of course having a Nebraska plated car at the University of Colorado may have played somewhat of a role in this but my roommate from Hawaii didn't fair much better. College campuses are no place for a nice new car.

Raevik

Good LORD, no need to be a jerk to the guy!

First off, you're a lucky bastard to be getting 26k on a car just for having the priviledge of going to college.

With that said, I'd suggest you get the G35.

Weren't expecting that, were you?

The reason is this: This is the first model year of the Renesis, and there are problems. The car CAN flood (hasn't happened to me yet, but plenty has been reported on it, use the Search function), it runs rich, gets crappy gas milage, and pumps exhaust like it's goin out of style (black soot all over the inside of the tail pipes). Very limited resources will be available to you in college for places to take the car if it brakes down unless you happen to have a Mazda dealership you trust nearby.

The G35 is faster, has a more standardized engine that can be readily worked on in other places, etc.

Now, with all that said, let me tell you that I adore my RX-8 and wouldn't trade it for a G35...EVER. Why? Because the uniqueness of the car, the engine, it's styling, interior, HANDLING (huge one for me there), smooth acceleration, all make it priceless to me. I'm willing to accept risk (though I mitigated some by getting the fattest warranty my dealership would sell me) in order to get these amazing and unique features.

G35s don't get attention like the RX8. The G35 doesn't pur like the RX-8, and it sure doesn't handle like the 8.

For you, though, going into college with obvious concerns about reliability, get the G35.

Boozehound

Good call Husker... Saving the car for after graduation was my plan, and it was nice not having to watch my car like a damn hawk while I was in Austin (the land of parallel parking - in Texas at least).

But think of the upside with the co-eds if you had an 8 in college...

Topgun

10 years would be 40 times longer than mine lasted it is in shop for a new engine at 580 miles.

RunnedAround

Funny that you mentioned Austin, hopefully your not going to that college, cause I'm going to Texas A&M. Oh ya, MPG doesn't matter, all I'm worrying about right now is reliability, and I figured that Texas won't be getting cold anytime soon, so I doubt that I'll have to worry about engine flooding. But thanks alot for yalls post, never got so many replys so fast. Back to the car business, I'm pretty sure I want an RX 8, why? Cause the Infiniti is boring, and businessy, you guys showed me the light! By telling me that a forum labeled "post your car problems here" isn't a good source to check for the reliabilty of the car. Anyway, I think I'm gonna buy a blue one...

RXhusker ~ Getting reliability info from a forum like this is like getting your news from the National Enquirer.

Boozehound

Hmmm... my avatar wasn't a giveaway? You ARE going to the right college...

A&M is a fine school, but for me, I decided that I would rather go to one of the top 10 engineering schools in the nation, in arguably the best city in Texas... ...and it sure wasn't Collie Station. :D

Good luck with college and your pending RX-8!

ranger4277

Buy a used accord or civic, invest the remainder of the money and use that when you graduate. If you can't get a job you might need $10,000 spare laying about... plus the nice car will get abused so badly by other people that you'll want to cry. Husker is dead on.

That's just what I'd do.... unless I already had the 8. Then it would have to be taken away or sold over my dead body...

Bah! Plenty of time to be an adult later... just get the 8. You'll not regret it... just don't complain when it gets dinged and scratched to all hell.

RunnedAround

Wow, again funny that you mentioned engineering, cause I'm going to become a Nuclear Engineer. And oh ya, even though its off topic, around how many miles are you supposed to change your oil?

Boozehound

Nuclear Engr... Cool. I almost got my technical specialization in nuclear engineering (4 credit hours away), but I went with general Mechanical Engineering instead - I liked being in the machine shop too much...

For the oil, the manual says 5K or 7.5K, but everytime I take mine to J. Haas, they change it at 3 and sticker it to be back in 3. Since I was a preorder before the HP hit the fan, all my oil changes are free until the warranty runs out.

KFence27

I'd go with Husker on this one as well. Get a used car for college, you dont want such a nice car on campus. It will just get bashed and scratched and make you VERY angry seeing as you don't have EXTRA money. If ya got 26K for a car and enough $$$ to go to college im sure plenty of people would love to be in your position. Don't lose too much sleep over it, just know whatever car you get will last 10 years IF you take car of it but that sure doesnt include the bumps, dents, scratches that IT WILL collect on campus. Both nice cars, you cant lose.

stangmatt66

Spend 12k on a used G35 coupe (I hear they have VERY poor resale value) and save the rest for a nice vacation after college.

Personally, I wanted the G35 Coupe before I bought my RX-8, but everytime I went to a dealer, they refused to help me. Being a young 21 y/o guy, they saw me as some punk kid. Little do they know I had lots of money to spend. Once I even worked out an entire deal with an Infiniti dealer and he then refused to let me test drive the car. Stating that they could sell the car to anyone else without a test drive and they didn't want to put miles on their supply of G35s. I spoke to the sales manager and he gave me the same excuse. I turned around and walked out of the dealership. When I went to Mazda, the first question asked to me was if I wanted to drive the RX. I was SOLD!

BIMMER5&RX8

I don't know about what you are talking. Consumer Reports' long term data show that Mazda is one of the very few most reliable brands. I don't expect the RX8 to be any different. Mazda is the only manufacturer who knows how to make a really reliable rotary engine when everyone else had dropped out.

Chief

I think the rx8 is better for a younger person

RunnedAround

ya, my friends keep on screaming at my to get an Evo, but thats too much, and personally i think the car looks bad (very bad). And whats this RX 8 only getting some 200 WHP? How could Mazda let something go by? You would think that with bragging about how small their rotary engine is that they would take the extra space and get a bigger engine....

Oh ya, do these RX 8's see any upgrades in the future? I mean minor upgrades, like headers (somehow)? Or something, something just to look forward too

Rotary Nut

What I mean is every car is different. A car will last as long as YOU want it to. You take care of it and it will for the most part take care of you.

I have had my 8 for almost 6 months (acquisition date of 30 Oct 2003) And have had ZERO problems with it. It is the best car I have ever driven. All I needed was a wheel balance after I installed tires that will take me thru a full 365 days worth of what mother nature dishes out..

Rotaries have been around since WWII The principal has not changed in over 50 years. If it is cared for it will last thru many appreciated years of joyful driving.

Personaly I think you be doing yourself a disservice by getting the 8, Why? You are already forming a negative image of the car in you mind that will never go away. You will be looking to pick fault with every little thing that will pop up.

If It is a car that is light years ahead of the Nissan in terms of exclusivity, performance, comfort and downright sex appeal then get yourself an 8 and start forming a positive image of what a great car it can be!

RunnedAround

ya, rotary nut i think your right.
I'm trying to find some mistake with the car, because i find it so amazing. I shouldn't be developing such a negative attitude, cause as soon as a mistake comes out, I'll criticize it, when i should be enjoying it

Outlaws eXtreme

Buy a used car like they said.. I graduated already, and of course people will treat your car like a cheap ragdoll... and that was at UCI, not a poor neighborhood mind you.

Besides, for 26k, that's not much of a G35. You better fork over at least 35k for a decent G35. At the least, for 26k, you can get a pretty good RX-8 without GT package. Perhaps Sports package with the appearence stuff.

Also consider the 1500+ extra for the title and licensing...

RunnedAround

I figure that I could get a base model RX 8, with manual transmission. They i can put on whatever specific parts i want (ex. fog lights, xenon, and the such). Hopefully u can put on an mp3 player...

BIMMER5&RX8

The base madel does not come with manual transmission.

I don't think RX8 is the right car for you since you don't understand the benefit of having a small engine in a true sports car. It seems a Camaro will make you much happier.

RunnedAround

ya right, a Camaro? What so I can brag about what happens when you take a big engine and a car that you go faster? I'm pretty sure that this car is for me.

And when I said base i meant simple 18 inch rims, manual version. No automatics here

Ike

The engine is unproven and has had some issues, but it's still too early to tell how reliable it will be. I really think you need to consider another car, maybe a Honda, Acura, Toyota, non Turbo Subaru, or maybe even another Mazda car. If you really need a car to last you 10 years with minimal problems those are your best bets. The RX-8 is unproven on reliability and is more performance oriented, and performance cars are always a little more maintenance even if it's just because people tend to drive them a little harder.

Nordic RX-8

Wow! I cringe at what your insurance will be (young age and a car with high repair cost) - I am past 40 with a spotless profile, and I think my insurnance is high.