I'm thinking about buying an '05 or '06, but the salesman at the dealership said the following: "DONT BUY THIS CAR...unless you have someone who can fix it. Most places will not work on it."

Is it really that hard to find places (besides Mazda dealerships) to perform basic maintenance on it? ie a place that will not charge ridiculous amounts for basic things, such as spark plugs, wires, coils, belts.

Thanks!!

 

I only bring my RX-8 to the dealer for core engine related items and oil changes (to maintain the powertrain warranty). Anything else (brakes, transmission, etc) is just like any other car IMHO and can be handled by other shops just fine. I've had brake and transmission work done by independent shops with no issues.

Changing the coils, plugs and wires can be done by yourself as I learned from a couple of helpful local forum members who showed me how simple it is to do this. It's a lot cheaper as well, however if you are not comfortable doing it yourself most any shop should be able to handle it as it is a pretty straight forward job.

 

Unless the car has engine issues that are rotary specific, there's no reason why the average shop wouldn't work on it. Those type of issues fall outside my definitions of "basic maintenance", and if a shop refuses to change your oil because it's a rotary, you should just stay away from that shop because they clearly know nothing.