Technomarine

I'm considering ordering a RX8 automatic with GT package and will eventually export that puppy to Taiwan when I graduate. I'm pretty concerned about the potential liabilities of breakdowns since warranties won't be honored in Taiwan. Do you think this will become a risk if I bring the car back? What are the chances of the RX8 totally #@$@% beyond fixable by above-average mechanics?

rx8daniel

My opinion is this: the normally aspirated RX-7s were champs at bullet-proof reliability. The RX-8 is destined to follow in those foot steps. one thing to keep in mind: in Japan, the RX-7 has been produced and on sale through late 2002 - the rotary as a production engine has not been dead for a decade. On top of that, most Mazda models have been on the more reliable than average side. My 1990 Miata only realized a couple problems common that were later solved as production continued into 1991 and later years - in other words, they get most things right the first time. The only real new techy thing I can foresee having problems is not the engine, but the power steering. But I'm sure they've tested this a lot and have full confidence it'll be still going 200,000 miles or beyond. Stick around for results!

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

dude your RX-8 is gonna get stolen in Taiwan within weeks of arriving....

plus there are practically no open roads that you can really let her rip.....

eccles

Because he's going home to Taiwan when he graduates, if I understand him correctly.

DonG35Miata

I remember reading in an early-1980s Road and Track that among readers polled, the 12A in the RX-7 had the fewest incidence of problems or breakdowns of ANY engine! Quite remarkable in light of the fact that it was put into duty in a sports car, one that invited hard driving.

It was not an RX article, either... it was a poll of all makes and models for problem areas, cars owned, etc- general demograohics.

RX7 Guy

True & the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) conducted a scientifically correct study not long after which found the Mercedes Benz, five liter diesel engine to achieve the highest mileage before failure of any passenger car sold in the world & the Mazda Wankel to come in a close second.

I find this to be incredibly impressive given the validity of the study & the fact that the only engine in the world to beat the Mazda Wankel (as pointed out earlier) was in a low stress environment. Additionally, the power to weight ratio of the diesel probably isn’t even a third that of the Wankel. We’d all be dead long before a 700 Lb. 3,000 RPM Wankel would wear out wouldn’t we.

BTW, I’m the original owner of a ’87 RX-7 which has over 260,000 miles on it’s un-rebuilt, un-patched up, never a problem Wankel.

Keep the oil clean & full & stay away from turbo’s; that’s all you need to know.

RarestRX

Yo,



Amen brother. Turbo + Rotary = Problems.

NA all the way!

Kevin
1989 GTUs "200K to go!"

Technomarine

Cause I'm graduating... ^_^
In addition, we pay tags by the engine size...
1300cc = $200 a year
my current Bimmer 330ci (3000cc) would be like $1000 a year just to keep on the road...
But then I still need to clarify custom issues... If Taiwan wants me to pay a Environmental Emissions Fee (value of the car), then it is just cheaper to get a Benz E230. >_< A car most rich women, nightclub ******, and single women dating rich married men drive...

Regarding auto thief, Taiwan has a "lo-jack" type that costs around US$15/mo to keep the car on watch (Lo-jack is a one-time charge in the US as I remembered). Supposely, the company will keep a tab on your activities and inform you (on cell) whether you are in the car or not.

I would be more worried about being scratched... haha...

Skyline Maniac

Don't be crazy, forget about exporting the RX8 to Taiwan. If you like the car, then have fun drive it and sell it before you leave. Think about this: How many mechanics in Taiwan will know how to operate on the rotary engine? They'll probably call a regional conference to check out the Renesis engine that nobody knows how to work on. When was the last time a rotary engine vehicle was sold in Taiwan? (Never?) Mazda of Taiwan will probably not service your car even if it's still under warranty. I don't think it's worth the trouble.

retrodog

Well the life expectancy of the seal is supposed to be 150,000 miles, as opposed to the last RX-7 being rated at about half that.

Technomarine

Yes, you are right... buy and re-sell is a pain in the as*. I remember when I was selling my CLK... all the buyers could not get "enough" loan from a bank... dude, if they can't afford an used BMW/Benz, they shouldn't be thinking fo driving it. So it is pointless of enjoying the car for 1 year, and lose 5 grand since buyers can't get a loan for it. That's one thing I don't get about people. They can put a downpayment on a new car since banks loan up to 90%, but they can't put a down on an used car and want banks to finance 100%.

Another concern is the 18" rims... have to drive so careful to not bent those beauties... -_-" of all of the opinions and advice, maybe I will have sit this one out. Too bad in today's world, we can't put the money we were going to spend on stocks and watch it grow. hahaha...

wakeech

*rolleyes*

chenpin

Where r u gonna stay in Taiwan?

I would assume Taipei. In that case u were smart to go with auto. Stealing....not really a prob from my experience. Just worry about it get scratched. All in all, find a nice place to park the car! A structure or underground place will do nicely.

rotarota

Well, I refer to this:

True & the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) conducted a scientifically correct study not long after which found the Mercedes Benz, five liter diesel engine to achieve the highest mileage before failure of any passenger car sold in the world & the Mazda Wankel to come in a close second

posted by RX 7guy

This is very good news to me. The rotary still has a poor reputation of unreliability and being prone to mechanical failures in Germany. I fight this wherever I can but John Average claims to know it better. I continiounsly asked myself where the bias comes from. Some weeks before I read that NSU (predecessor of AUDI) burned the image of the rotary by bad policy way back in the early '70s. They just changed the engine if anything was wrong. The engine was deliverd to the company for overhauling it. Many of this engines did not have any failure at all and needed nothing but cleaning or adjusting the carburator or adjusting the timing of the ignition. The car owner however thought he needes a new engine. It was meant as an extra (and probably cost free) service and turned out to be the worst they could do.

By the way the car I drive now is the old five liter Mercedes mentioned by the ASME. Though it is a gas engine rather than diesel. The largest passenger diesel merc has is a 4 liter V8 and it is brandnew. They never had a five liter passenger diesel. The 5 liter Merc is very sturdy indeed but it pumps out merely 243 HP. My RX 8 (black wit black/red leather) will have roughly the same power coming from 1.3. And I am very positive that it will be as reliable as my current car is.

Chuck Clifford

The RX-8 would be a perfect car for Taiwan. I lived there for three years and in my experience, the RX-8's manueverability, stopping power, size and agility would be great for the crowded roads around the bigger cities. There are some of the best twisties on earth along some of the coast roads, and going through the mountainous interier of the island. I recommend Toroko Gorge (its been a while, don't know about the spelling), it is winding and breathtaking. You can use it for the time your there, then sell it for a hefty profit before you leave.

JitzKing

I've been reading about a lot of problems regarding the Rx8 (on this board and others). what's that all about? I want an rx8 so bad (maybe a year later) but i'm reading about all these problems!!! my current car is a 2000 alero and i have problems to hell with it!! it's not fun at all, even if it's covered under warranty and the problem persists...go figure...

Chuck Clifford

There isn't a ton of problems with this car. An overwhelming majority of the owner (of which this forum has a good cross section of) have experienced no problem. Many more are experiencing problem that they wouldn't even mention in association with any other vehicle purchase. The reason I say that is because this car was so widely anticipated and pre oredered by many knowledgeable car buffs and rotor heads, that there expectation were almost unachievable. And yet in a vast majority of post this car met all of these high expectation and then some. I expected a lot, and got more than I expected. I am thouroughly satisfied with my purchase. There appears to be a few cars that took a lot worse hit than I can imagine with my so favorable of situation and prospective with this car. The vast majority of actual owners I think expected a lot of satifaction, and indeed got it.

sferrett

Oh but don't forget that Turbo + Rotaty = FUN!! is true also...

rabinabo

One thing I found interesting about the history of the Wankel was that it was so close to becoming more mainstream, like being produced by a major American car maker. They all had done research into the rotary. As far as I can remember Ford and GM at least paid for the rights to work on the design, and they had several options. They could pay more and obtain rights to all the work done thus far on the engine (by NSU I think).

GM made the idiotic mistake of thinking that they could figure it all out on their own, so they went for the basic contract. They invested a ton of money on research, basically duplicating all of NSU's previous research. It took them much longer than they thought to get some workable concept, so they cut their losses and dumped the project. If they had used the NSU research, they may have been able to actually sell some rotary engine cars. A lot of the other American car companies were just waiting for someone to take the first step, so it's conceivable that others would have followed.

There was even work done on a diesel rotary (by either Mercedes or Rolls Royce, can't remember). I do know that MB had a concept car with a rotary at one point. There were also a few companies that used them on motorcycles.

mikeb

its a first year car
there is always gonna be some problems

check out the z,sti, mini threads and you will see

RodsterinFL

yea MikeB the sti is ruining the reliability rating of Subaru from what I understand. - scary


BTW When did teh 350Z become available for purchase in the US?

Winning

No use, he is getting a four speed automatic!!:D :D :D :p :p :p

rabinabo

mikeb, you forgot the mitsubishi evolution. At one point or another, I've absolutely decided that my next car would be in order sti, evo, and now the rx-8

Edit: Oh, yeah, the first two are only available in manual BTW, so maybe those aren't too helpful then.

Haris

Are you crazy? 4-speed auto (RX8) is not a truck. It has exact same handling as 6 speed so I dont know why twisties wouldnt be fun in auto RX8??