HELLO!! Brand new member with questions. READ!!
 

Hello Everyone. On Friday 2/6, I went to dealership to test drive, fell in love like I knew I would and drove home in it. 2004 rx8 with just about every feature you can get. Just a few questions. MSRP on mine 35,844. I paid 32,454. Did I do well? Any mechanical or electrical flaow and quirks in this car yet I should be concerned about? I'm still in shock and looking out window wondering if this is a dream so forgive me for my ignorance and child like behavior. WHAT A MACHINE. I am simply stunned by this vehicle, and I would want no other car in the world then the one I now own. I just broke 100 miles, so I'm not testing out the performance just yet, but I cannot wait. I do know it handles like a dream, and the features are simply breathtaking.
I also added a few dealer add ons-installs soon to be put in such as the shock alarm sensor, mp3 player and all weather floormats. Unfortunately after making purchase, I realized when looking on this board that I cannot get an mp3 player unless I want to sacrifice the 6 disc changer it came with. The people there are clueless and said I can add it to what I have. Anyone know the truth? I assume that as a no. Guess it's time to head out there and get a refund. lol The idiots also told me I can play dvd movies on the navigation system, only for me to check and see it doesn't read disc. That makes me sad. I 'd love to have that ability.
Anyway, those are my questions. it would be reassuring to know I got a good deal on this car, and that made a smart move. This will be my full time daily driver that will have about 15k a year put on it. I look forward to interacting with people who are in absolute AWW of this incredible machine, and to make new friends. Thanks for reading. Below are the specs on my new beauty. Tell me what you think. I always appreciate any advice and answers to my questions cause I am brand spanking new to the rx8 world.

2004 rx8, 6 speed Brilliant black with black leather, cassette player, in dash 6 disc changer, cargo net, moonroof wind deflector, rear wing spoiler, spare tire kit, navigation, grand touring package, appearance package, rotary accent. Soon to be installed: shock alarm, all weather floor mats. UPSET I cannot add to my car Mp3 player.

welcome... im too lazy to read ur whole post.. but from the beingin seems like u got an RX congrats and enjoy the car ill read ur post tom morning when im sober.

Well, you did not get ripped a new one -- sounds like you paid a reasonable price.

With the stock set-up, you choose between the MP3 or CD changer, and no ability to watch DVD's on the stock Nav system.

But the good news is you found this forum:D

Why not the MP3 player! I sold mine to Omicorn after I install the MP3 ... yes that means you can play 6 disc at a time but 130 songs per disc @ 192 kps each!

You came to the right place! We feel the same way about our RX-8s. Prepare to spend many hours here learning more about your dream car and interacting with some good people.

We have the same car, but I took my wind deflector off. Certainly windier and noisier without, but I think it looks better, and opens up the moonroof more.

Congratulations on your new toy!!!

Just buy an iPod and get the Griffin iTrip - it transmits wirelessly to your FM radio. The 40GB iPod holds 10,000 songs!

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...More=T7194LL/A

iTrip will work, but if you'd like much better sound and convenience and don't mind waiting a bit longer, consider the Aux-In module being developed.

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...threadid=17396

Welcome and yes we do all feel the same way! Check out all the threads...loads of info here! It's a beautiful machine.....enjoy every minute. 3 1/2 months and I am still in awe of this car!!

The six disc player was a compromise I made because the dealer had no cars available with the MP3 player, and he would not take out the 6 disc player for me. It works well, but is disappointing in not being able to randomly move between discs; the load and unload take forever, as do changes between discs. It's ironic that I'm using a CD player at all... all my CDs are rips of MP3s, so my sound quality is no better than the MP3 player would provide.

Your price seems okay, but I would not ask too many questions about price... you are never likely to make yourself feel better as the 2004 RX-8 is likely only to get cheaper as the 2005 model year approaches (although there may be a boost in the northern areas, as the snow keeps falling). Which brings me to this important point:

GET WINTER TIRES! Your car will not work in the snow. You could be stranded on flat streets. Read Gordon's tire thread. Do it now.... it sucks to have to drop more money, but they are worth it.

Understand how not to flood your car... in a nutshell, let it warm up before shutting it down. No very short moves.

Your best bet... read this forum. There's a lot here, and its by far your best source of information... right along with your manual.

You may want to pass on the shock sensor too. There have been a fair number of complaints that it sets off the alarm randomly.

Matter of fact Mazda recalled it!

Thanks for all your input guys. I am def not going to buy snow tires for this car, and if it snows, I simply stay home. I have no plans of driving this baby in snow unless it's an absolute emergency. I also like the I Pod idea. I can get the fm modulator, and/or possibly just run it through my tape deck. That would be stupid for me to shell out $700 to have the changer removed and an mp3 player installed, when I can buy a 40gb I pod, and have more music then i ever thought possible. I'll have to get my refund, and cancel that install. I hope the alarm shock sensor problem is fixed. I will ask about that to see, and if it's defective I'll cancel that too. Thanks again for all your help. I am addicted to this site now.:)

There WAS a TSB to not sell the Shock Sensor until a redesigned unit is released. The updated unit has become available from Mazda, so it's possible your sensor is the updated one. I'm not sure how you can tell, though, unless it wires up differently or looks different...
Oh, and welcome to the forum. Yes, you got a great price. I paid sticker back in July (by choice), which was 31 something. I skipped NAV. As long as you didn't have any other junk tacked onto your purchase, such as expensive paint protection, excessive paperwork fees, loan insurance, health insurance, a lifetime supply of anything, etc.

Make sure you don't let your car sit. Why? The battery is a cheap one. I already had mine replaced. Some people are also complaining about the battery being drawn too much by certain components in the car. I think I saw a thread where someone had probs with the navigation system drawing too much from the battery. Just take care of her and she'll take care of you

I wonder if they have used more than one version of the battery.
The shop manual lists 3 variants and capacities.

Reason I mention this is due to the fact that I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and to say we sometimes see cold weather might be considered an understatement.
Recently it went down to well below -40.

My RX-8 did not want to start, but I tried several times, and the battery held up well in a LOT of cranking.