ismegamanthere

I posted a topic on the gen. discussion boards about purchasing a used RX8. I'm seriously considering one right now as I've seen used ones with 30,000 miles and under sell within the range 0f $20-$22k. I'm currently in CT so I'm sure many of you know what winter is like around these parts. This WILL be my only car for at least 4 or so years. Has anyone had theirs for a few years now that can report on its long term reliabilty and overall daily livability?

snipaz2420

i live in ny so i feel you pain. you will need to buy a set of snow tires for the winter. i changed my tires the other day back to the summers and then we had the storm. it was an interesting drive or more like slide home. i have owned 2 rx8s in the past three years and have only had 1 major problem. somehow a fuse box came loose and pulled out a wiring harness which made the car not start. other than that no problems. ive used both the cars as my daily drivers. its just such a fun car to drive and i have no regrets. by the way where in ct are you looking to get the car. i traded my first rx8 to a dealership in ct.

llzjayarzll

being that the avg is 15k driving miles a year, and that i am doing well over 20+ in mine im gonna estimate that you are gonna spend 60+ or 80+ miles on that time. NE winter lately been pretty deadly so i would have to tell you to not drive in any winter condition. so many incident reports where a perfect driver just slips and falls of the top of a damn overpass(anyone read LI newsday today? lol car falls and rolls over off overpass and lives )

chizzer337

that storm sucked

dillsrotary

just search for the best deal, especially now in the spring. I got my 8 in dec of 2005 with 16,000 miles for 21grand.

toxin440

heh well im well above avg driving - im sitting at almost 40K miles in 1.5 years of ownership.

I'm down here in texas so we dont have anything like you have. Here in DFW (north texas) it has iced over and snowed several times. Trying to go to work one morning I slid off the road into a small ditch/yard around a SUPER gentle curve (i was only going 3mph so no damage/mess/accidents)

It was only my shitty Potenza summer tires (my winters were in Houston) so i realize it was 100% my own mistake and blame no one but myself. Other then that ive never had a problem with cold cranks, salt deposits, etc etc.

VarneyMazda

with snowtires you shouldnt have much of a problem driving

dillsrotary

have you guys been getting crazy hail this winter?? i'd rather have tons of snow than a bunch of little dents all over the car.

ismegamanthere

Hmmm, once again, seems like as long you have a great set of snow tires with studs there should be no real issue. My friend has a Merc. C230 from 2002 and he's driven it in 3 winters now. He said as long as hes had snow tires on it, he's never really had an issue other than going up really big hills.

I'm located in Avon. I've been currently looking all over CT for one to find the best deal and honestly, I'd be willing to go into NY/NJ/MA for the best deal on one. I just can't get the damn car out of my head. I don't care that it doesn't have 1,000,000lb-ft of torque and can't go 0-60 in 1 second flat, there's something about the RX8 that I just haven't been able to get out of my head since it came out and I haven't even driven the car yet.

j67345

Sounds like if you have good snow tires, you're all good. I'm in Granby...just moved from CA, and mine sat in the garage all winter, until I busted it out in the 70 degree warmth last week! I've been going back and forth whether or not I want to sell it..my wife has been trying to talk me into selling it for months now!

TomAssBender

I am in PA and cant speak to the winter driveability (I dropped $1200 on snow tires/wheels only to have it sit at my house whenever it snows cause I can walk to campus!), but I would say that you can get a better deal than 30,000 miles for $22k. There is a thread on here about "what did you pay out the door" that you should check out, but I got mine new off the lot (93 miles) a model year late and paid 23k (before taxes, titles, fees). Not sure if the '07s have changed the current rx-8 situation in the northeast, but 6 months ago dealers were dying to get rid of these things in the northeast.

ismegamanthere

Was it with the GT package + Appearance package though? Mine HAS to be with both, I'm pretty picky

RoXanneBlack8

coilovers......i ddint do well with those on. it aint good drivin in 5 inches of snow down i-95 when ur 3 inches off the ground


i got so much snow in my front bumper the car nearly overheated but i shut it off in time....

ismegamanthere

So in other words, stay away from coilovers when winter time rolls around?

LiL BenNy

****, stuck outside my house 2 nights ago for and hour 130am-230 am trying to get your car to move by yourself is not fun.

and i have winter tires.

j67345

Heck, my wife got our Pathfinder stuck the other day in the driveway! But I guess 18 inches of snow can do that to ya

chrism

i made it back from DE to NJ with summers on in a snow storm....if you lucky and a good driver dsc can/will keep you pretty safe

snipaz2420

yo megaman my old 8 is at the milford dealership. its brilliant black but it an auto so i dont know if youd be interested. just letting you know. o yea and it has aftermarket wheels on it unless the dealership took them off.

chizzer337

yea ive been good with summers on this entire winter but put on like only 150 miles a week

ismegamanthere

Eh, sorry, It's honestly manual or bust for me. Ever since I started driving stick a couple months ago, I haven't been able to go back to autos without feeling somewhat "unhappy."

Astral

My RX-8 did great this winter with snow tires. If there's more than 5-6 inches of snow, then you'll have problems due to ground clearance and tire size/width. Also, if it's really slushy, then you won't make it up a steep street (I had to turn around with 4-5" of slushy snow). So don't expect it to be a traction monster. Modulate throttle slowly to let the LSD do its job, don't spin tires wildly.

Make sure to get DSC (stability control). The stability control is amazing in keeping your car in check.

Braking is great in snow due to ABS and 50/50 weigh distribution. My old FWD car used to lock up and have the rear end kicking out under heavy braking in the snow (well, as heavy as you can actually brake in the snow).



Last winter I got caught in a pretty nasty snow storm. Whiteout conditions, etc. I was moving fine, wasn't getting stuck (unlike many others, who were stuck on shitty tires and blocking offramps). The rear defroster didn't keep up with the amount of snow, so I kept getting out and brushing off the snow. Watch out for snow buildup under the wipers--I had too much snow pack in there, so the wipers couldn't go down all the way. This gradually loosened up the screws holding them down to the motor, causing my left wiper to start limping and then stop operating. Not fun to have a non-working left wiper in the middle of a snow storm, but it cleared up just then, so I was OK.

Snow tires are a must.

ismegamanthere

Is the DSC an option on the RX8?

Astral

Yes. If you have a sport package or higher (touring, grand touring), then you have DSC. Only the base version doesn't have DSC. You can check by the presence of fog lights and xenon headlights. If the car has regular lights (not HIDs), then it's a base package and has no DSC. I would imagine it would also be missing a "DSC OFF" button.

Clavius

Psh.. you ***** driver.. I dont need no stinking DSC or any of that b.s.!! Base Model FTW Bitch!!

Drove from DE to MA through a major snow storm and didnt spin out once!! Mind you that was the same one Chrism here drove through! Man that was a fun *** experince.

Seriously though I realized our 50/50 weight is a major bonus in correcting the car if it ever gets outa hand. I had a Chevy half ton work truck and that thing when it went side ways I didnt stop till I was completly spun around no matter what I did (but usualy when this happened I did wish to get sideways and spin out regardless haha). Car is great just the low clearance can and will be a issue at times check this out... last weeks storm here in MA caused my car to be a snow plow.

This is it up close and with no snow underneath.

Astral

Yeah, I plowed a little snow the other day, it was soft though, so all's well: