Rx-8 as a first daily car
 

I'm looking to get a car at the end of the year, and an RX-8 is one car that I'm thinking of getting, along with some other options. I just have a few questions:
1. Is it possible for a uni student with a 10hr part-time job to daily an RX-8? Like, will it be too costly for me to have one as a daily?
2. Are Series 2 RX-8's a must, or are there decent S1 models? I see quite a few people that daily S1 RX-8's.
3. If so, then which S1's are the most reliable, and what do you look for when buying a S1 RX-8? Are manuals more reliable than Auto/Tiptronic, because I don't have much experience with manual, so I'm taking my restricted in an automatic.
4. What are things you must remember to do if you daily an RX-8? (i.e. Things that need to be serviced on time, details about how you drive it etc.)
I've always wanted an RX-8, but I'm just concerned about the problems that S1 RX-8 have, so I'm quite reluctant to actually even search for them as I don't really want it to suddenly die on me, leaving me without a car to use.

I'm looking into them myself. It'd be my second daily (cause my 01 focus is a pos). I've been going back and forth in my head trying to convince myself to not want an rx8 but I keep coming back to it. They're beautiful cars but have problems. As a first daily on a 10hr a week job, I wouldn't recommend it. I work 40+ a week and still not sure if I'll be able to (but I'm damn well going to try). The S1 CAN be reliable to an extent. Just get a decat, swap the coils with LS Coils, upgrade the starter, premix it, red line it daily, and you should be okay. Make sure you service it VERY often. And yes, the manuals are more reliable to an extent. At least, I'm pretty sure they are. If not, they're the funner ones! Anyways, just use the search function, watch driven by madness or Japanda Tuning on YouTube. It'll help a little.

Personally, I don't recommend an RX-8 to be your first car. You will have to do some work before and right after purchase. If you don't have tools and aren't mechanically inclined, a bad dealer can drain your wallet fast.

I'd recommend a Miata(lighter but less practical) or a V6 Accord(more practical but not as good in corners) if you want something fairly fun and reliable as your first car.

If you are determined, read the links included in the bottom of my signature and that should answer all the common questions.

As for AT vs MT, trust me when I say this car is worth every single bit of frustration of learning a stick shift. The AfterThought version misses a lot of details that make the RX-8 good. I would only recommend an AT RX-8 if you are physically handicapped.

If you are worried about damaging the manual trans of a fancy car, get yourself a $1000 Corolla/Civic with a stick shift from the late 90s(assuming you are in North America) and learn on that. You just have to pay for the gas and insurance, maybe an oil change. When you are done with it, you can flip it for the same amount of money. If your car engine blows up or something(unlikely), you don't lose too much money.

I have a 2004 MT (original owner) and it is my daily driver. Right now this means 45 miles daily commute. The car has currently 116+ K miles. Never missed a beat.
I love the thing, except for the fuel mileage.
It needs twice the (premium) fuel compared to something like a civic or corolla. I get about 19-20 mpg with 50% freeway driving. In the city or in traffic jams, it will be worse.
Of course it is loads more fun than something more sensible and way more capable too, but under the circumstances you described, it is probably not a good fit to be your only car, because it costs more to operate and insure than a simple people mover.
I wouldn't recommend getting an AT. Also, you cannot skimp on maintenance of this car. It will avenge it if you do.

S2s are not necessarily more reliable than S1s, they're just younger. They're also more expensive as a result. A lot of the inherent reliability of a car you would buy is down to how the previous owner took care of it. You could get a mint 2004 with a known good engine, or a 2011 that hasn't been maintained. Which will be more reliable?

I think you're thinking about this wrong: it's not whether you can afford the car on 10h a week, it's whether you can afford the risk of having expensive engine repair if it does fail. It sounds like that would crater your bank account or force you to buy another car, neither of which sound awesome. Don't buy this car, or any used sports car unless you're comfortable with the risk that something expensive will break.

Plus, you can go about 400km on 50L of gas, which is like 40 bucks at US prices? 80 in Canada? If you drive that per week, you're spending 1/3 of your income on fuel. I assume you have other interests in life ;). I'm sure as a first driver, your insurance cost will also factor in. Something else to consider is whether you need winter tires where you are. The operating costs start to climb quite a bit as you add stuff. Don't take my opinion for it, calculate the $/mile or $/week for yourself, to know if you can afford it.

Lastly, don't buy an automatic. They're lower on power and less reliable, and more likely to have been owned by someone who doesn't understand how to take care of it.

What actually appeals to you in an RX8? You don't want the stick, so it's not driving excitement. Is it the looks? That's not a good reason to take risks.

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Read this thread in its entirety:

https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-f...t-here-202454/

If, after reading that thread, you still think you want and can afford an RX-8, be sure to insist on a rotary-specific compression test before making any purchase. Should you end up with a bad engine, which is commonplace in the used inventory, you are looking at around $5000 to replace it.

Here is a good summary of the costs of ownership from the thread referenced above:

Cost of Ownership.
The cost of owning this car isn't low. It's not as high as some people think, but it is alot higher than people expect that aren't actually thinking it through. DO NOT MAX OUT YOUR FINANCES purchasing this car. Any car really, it's stupid. But here are the costs you should have over the first 30,000 miles:
- 1,764 gallons of gas - $5,294 (using 17mpg and $3 per gallon)
- 40 quarts of oil for oil changes - $160
- 10 oil filters - $120
- 30 quarts of oil to top off with - $150
- 4 spark plugs - $80
- 4 coils - $140
- 4 plug wires - $60
- 4 tires - $800
- 2 quarts of transmission fluid - $20
- 2 quarts of rear diff fluid - $20
= $6,844

Plus any other failures that occur, such as:
- Cat failure - $1,400 (free if within 80,000 miles, but can cause other issues)
- O2 sensor failure - $285
- Steering rack failure - $2,000+
- Lower intake manifold or SSV failure - $2,000 (dealer, I don't know the parts cost to have a self cost)

Multiply any items by 2 if you purchase them from a dealer.
Multiply any items by 3 if you purchase them from a dealer and have the dealer do the labor.