buying an rx-8 ASAP and have few questions!!
 

Hello everyone, there is a strong possibility that I might buy an RX-8 as soon as tomorrow or early next week and I have questions. . . I am currently looking at a black '06 6 speed which was the first 8 i drove and i was completely blown away. it only has 19,400 miles which seems like its still a baby. the other one i am looking at is an '04 with 53,000 miles. but the thing i like about this one is it has leather seats and the other ones don't but i can deal with out them. and another one is an '07 with 17,000 miles this one "hit a guard rail and right front primarily damaged" according to carfax. . another 06 and an 07 with 32,000 miles... what i am basically asking is which year is the best to get this car? 04,06,07?

1. which is best year? 04,06,07?
2. i heard '04 has oil consumption issues?
3. would you recommend a car that has been in an accident?
4. is 30,000~~ considered low or average for the rx8?
5. any issues i should look out when test driving this car?

anything i should look at in general about this car? what issues are with each of the years? thanks a lot in advance everyone

Don't.

1. '06
2. Nope.
3. No.
4. Depends on how much it's been driven.
5. See how much you like driving it.

No particular issues. Those years are all essentially the same...just different ages now,

Ken

I would stay away from 04, first year tends to have more problems. Also age and mileage

Get the 07. Newer, less miles. You don't want an 8 that has been abused.. She tends to have little fits later on..
Mine's an 07, 21k miles. No problems. I did put all those miles on the car though.

Get a Shinka (Black Cherry) :yumyum:

honestly, your best bet is post '06 as the updates are done and i would bet '07s already are updated at the lot by the techs before it gets sold.

looking under the hood for the PCM update tag(blue sticker) isn't always the case if it gets flagged by a tech looking to log in extra hours, which does happen. if that is the case, there won't be any tags, but the car is up to the most current flash being MSP-16 i assume.

either way, thats my case for my '07 rx8. i've also called MNAO(mazda no. amer. op) to verify.

had zero mechanical problems resulting from engine tune during my ~25k miles of use.

not trying to hurt 04/05 model yrs reputation, but those cars are only good if you know WHO you're buying it from. but in general, people stay away from first production year models if they want to keep the car.

GL

I have an 07 that I bought new and it now has 40K miles on it. No problems whatsoever with this car (other than short life on the rear OEM tires and prone to pick up nails in tires due to the low profile).

I just changed my spark plugs too. It's a bit of a quirkier and higher maintenance car than typical but if you know that going in and can deal with that, you'll be pleased. I love this car.

BTW, I have the low end sport model. You don't need leather and a moon roof. Although nice to have, it doesn't detract from the car having cloth seats. Plus a big wing doesn't make it go any faster either.

1. which is best year? 04,06,07?
the newer the better since upgrades were done when the car was newer

2. i heard '04 has oil consumption issues?
I dont know there has never been a rotary engine that doesnt comsume oil.:naughty:

3. would you recommend a car that has been in an accident?
no, or depending how bad it was. fender benders if not hit wheels, no biggie.

4. is 30,000~~ considered low or average for the rx8?
depending how it was maitained

5. any issues i should look out when test driving this car?
weird noises, anything thats not smooth

I think most of your questions have been answered well. More fundamentally, what's the rush? If you have the luxury to take your time, you're much more likely to be happy and satisfied with your purchase over the long term.

There are no real differences in these model years, but some changes were made to the earlier models. If a lot of miles were put on an '04 or '05 or '06 before the better PCM flashes were developed, there's more of a chance that your engine, if it's original, might have low compression. If an engine was replaced early on, it may be a substandard rebuild by a 3rd party, before Mazda started doing the rebuilds themselves.

At this point, you're safest course is to find a low-mileage '06 or '07. If you buy from someone who is very knowledgable about rotaries (like a member here), ask if they premix. If they do, chances are you're getting a rotary that has been well maintained. Also ask how frequently they checked the level of the oil. They should say something like every other fill-up or every couple of weeks. These engines are very reliable if they are well maintained but they can fail early and often if they are abused by people who are not 'into' the mystique and eccentricities of a rotary engine. You don't have to be a geek or rotorhead but it sure helps.

Good luck! And report back.

did you post the price of each and i missed it? obviously the newer the better but budget also comes into play.

All 8s should burn oil. If it isn't burning any oil, something has failed, and the engine won't last much longer.

There isn't any "oil consumption" problem inherent for any of the years, unless you mean that the 04s and 05s spent part of their lives not burning enough oil.


Take your time and research on here. You don't sound ready to buy an 8. Once you are, take your time to find the exact one you want.

04s are fine as long as the latest tsbs and recalls were done. Compression tests don't lie. Lots of 04s have been trouble free (like mine). Many have in excess of 100k miles on them and still running strong.

thanks a lot everyone! i really appreciate it. i am 98% sure I want this car. it was either this or an srt-4 but i can't find a decent one so they are out of the question. and since i drove an 8 yesterday i fell in love again. I think I will go for an '07 that i found. or the '06. thanks everyone i will keep you updated

I didn't know that they made a decent SRT-4. :dunno:

The Newer the better :)
Show us pics when you get the car!

the above is quote for truth.

i hope this reach you in time.

Are you ready to own an 8?

- you have to let it warm up a bit before taking off
- you cannot shut it off while the engine is cold
- you have to change oil regularly
- you have to check oil and top off every two fill ups
- you have to redline and abuse that baby when she's warm, redline a day keeps the car in good shape


some question that needs to be answered.
- is the rear light water proofed (a trip through automatic car wash or after a rain will tell)
- was the car properly maintained (oil change, spark plug change, clean brake fluid, topped off coolant)
- are you getting manual or automatic, if auto, stay away from 04-06.
- are you able to turn your own wrench, if not, this car will get expensive
- are you ready to face the realistic 17mpg in city and 19mpg mixed
- have you ever driven a rwd before? if not, go out to an autocross event and save yourself from doing stupid things.
- are you prepare to lose to a lightly modded civic si (i do not promote street racing, but it's the truth)

finally, i am the owner of a manual 2004 silver rx8-gt with close to 75k miles, i've had no problem beside a clogged fuel pump that was replaced under warranty.
oil change: 3-5k (10w-30 in Texas)
spark plug change, once at 41k, once at 73k
differential oil/transmission oil change: 73l
used to run racing beat single exhaust, just took it off recently
premix idemitsu
run 87 winter time; early summer i run 91; when very hot, i run 93
if you are young driver, invest in a Valentine one radar, it will pay for itself quickly.

3. would you recommend a car that has been in an accident?

Never!

I would sincerely like to thank everyone who took their time to help me out but unfortunately today on my way to pick up the '06 rx-8 i fell in love with friday i found the car i originally was looking for. it was a truly last minute find as I was already set to get the 8. i was very amazed by these cars and have never felt such a good ride but my heart now belongs to another car, at least 10% of it since its being repaired a bit. by the way, that car is a dodge srt-4. nothing against the 8's, they are great pieces of machinery. i am sorry. thanks a million!!

And here ladies and gentlemen we have...

A real forum member of genius.

[EMBED]<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EyrsSI5wfRg&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EyrsSI5wfRg&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>[/EMBED]

Which is being repaired - your heart or your car? ;)

Either way, enjoy your new ride.

Ken