DHK

Hello, I am looking into new cars and the RX8 has come up towards the top of my list of cars I want to check out further.

I live in Estonia, a small country in Europe, but I am from New York City. The number of RX8's out here is fairly minimal and there is only 1 Mazda dealership in the entire country.

I have read the "start here" thread as well as a number of threads much like this one and through that I am sort of convinced that I should buy one through that Mazda dealership or not at all.

There are 2 main worries I have that may rule out the RX8 as an option.

First it can get brutally cold, icy and nasty during the winter here I have read the RX8's can get quite finicky in the cold. I understand and can live with making sure its hot before I cut the ignition but are there any long term adverse affect to leaving an RX8 out overnight in weather that could regularly approach -10 Fahrenheit?

My second concern is how the RX8 will handle driving in the nasty winter conditions. Roads are not regularly plowed and it is not uncommon to be driving in 2-3 inches of snow. Will this car be safe enough in those conditions to get be to work and back in 1 piece?

So basically I want to know if it can make it through the winter so that I can enjoy it in the summers where we have sunlight 22 hours a day, weather to die for and winding country roads that make even my little 98 BMW 316i feel sporty.

mrl84

1. being left out in the cold should really be any different than any other car in the same situation, as far as i know.

2. snow tires help a lot and if your country allows you may want to get some studded tires, but ground clearance is going to be your biggest problem with driving through the snow. i daily drove my 8 thru chicago winters for 3 years with snow tires, and i take it now when the roads are bad cause it handels it better than my celica on all season tires.

RX8Soldier

iTrader: (24)

1. fixed

2. Agree. With snow/ice tires, the only issue should be ground clearance

DHK

Currently I drive a BMW 316i Compact with no stability control, no traction control nada nothing just RWD and its a bit of a drift fest but it works if the RX8 can do a little better that is sufficient for me.

OK so their are 3 cars available from reputable dealers here in Estonia.

The 2 better options are around 11 thousand Euros, one is a 2006 and one is a 2007. Both have around 50k KM (31-32k miles) on em. The other option is a 2004 and it is of the variety not found in america with 141kw or 189HP, this one has 124K KM (~82k Miles) however the asking price is only 4100 euros. It has some rust in the wheel wells but for 4100 euros that would leave me with plenty to get 1000 euros of body work done.

Both are within my budget however the 4100 euro car fits my budget much nicer obviously, I guess my question is if everything with that car were to check out, the engine is good, the maintenance has been done correctly, the oil has been changed regularly ect. ect. would their be any real downside (besides 50hp) to getting the cheaper option? I know 2004 isn't exactly the best year to buy...

RX8Soldier

iTrader: (24)

2-3 inches of snow is VERY doable, if you have the right tires. There are plenty of posts/threads to back this up

DHK

Snow tires are not only allowed but mandatory in Estonia. So with what Ive been told I think it would be Serviceable.

RX8Soldier

iTrader: (24)

For piece of mind, get the 06+. Most of the issues in the earlier models were addressed by then.
You will probably regret getting a low power sports car...

DHK

The performance difference does not concern me too much, it actually has more torque just a lot less high end power. But from what i've seen under about 90 mph the difference is quite negligible.

My only concern is with engine failure. I think this car is at least worth looking into. It doesnt have a lot of curb appeal with some paint chips and rust spots but if that is the only thing dragging the price down then Id be ok with that. Assuming it passes inspection by a mazda tech.

Bladecutter

I'm going to repeat what RX8Soldier said, because you obviously didn't fully comprehend what he wrote:

For PEACE OF MIND, get the '06.
The vast majority of the issues that people complain about with their '04 and '05 cars on here were taken care of for the '06 and later years.

Better starters.
Better Battery.
Better oil injection rate.
Better engine reliability rate.

Its worth the extra money to pay for all of that, and more that I didn't mention.

But, if you want to hear what I think you want us to say, then here you go:

Get the '04 if that's what you want, but don't complain to us if the engine fizzles out, or you are stuck on the side of the road because you car won't restart for 20 + minutes.

BC.

DHK

I know and your right its just hard to see something that hits all your check boxes at less then half the budget and not take a look.

Im not set on an RX8 just yet either. There are too few cars of any given type in this country for me to get my heart too much set on one car. My short list is something like

BMW 330Ci(04-05), Lexus IS 250(06-07), RX8(06-07), Impreza WRX STI(02-04)

The Lexus is a luxury car with a big enough engine to have a bit of fun, the BMW is sporty without being impractical or expensive to insure, the RX8 is a pure sports car and Impreza is fun in the summer and awesome in the winter.

In my heart I think the RX8 is the most fun of the bunch on good tarmac but the reality is if I'm lucky I see good clean tarmac 6-7 months out of the year. I do appreciate the info though If I end with an RX8 im sure youll be seeing a lot more of me.