Just a short intro first: I recently got a used a 2004 RX-8. I wasn't really a car enthusiast before, in fact I went in to the dealer with an approved loan to purchase this used honda civic hybrid I was looking at earlier. Unfortunately someone else grabbed it just before I went in, so the salesman showed me what I guess he thought someone my age (22) would be interested in, an RX-8. I didn't know much about the car and was planning on leaving and looking for another honda civic, but I thought it would be a good chance to practice my negotiation skills, which I spent a lot of time researching to perfect. Long story short, I was able to get the initial price of $12.5k down to $9k after about an hour, and based on a brief smartphone search on kbb and edmunds this seemed like a really great deal for a dealer price, and the carfax checked out. So I bought it. The car was in perfect condition and had 88k miles.

This RX-8 has the 4 speed transmission that can be switched between auto and "manual" paddle shifters. 4 gears seemed low to me, but what do I know.

Questions/issues:
-I've read that it's good to redline the engine about once a day, but does this hold true for the auto transmission as well? I noticed my redline is at 7.5k rpms instead of 9k, so I assume this being limited by the transmission, would it wear it out faster?
-I've noticed the low oil light come on, and have read about this car's oil consumption. I find it a bit hard to read my dipstick (noob I know), but it seems like the low oil light comes on after about 3,000 miles, which fits well with getting a new oil change, is safe just to wait until the oil change like that?
-Why would you put holes in a sun visor? I don't get that at all, the sun goes right through.
-The sunglass holder doesn't close with my sunglasses in it, seems kinda pointless since it blocks half my RVM when open.
-When cruising at 90-100 mph for about an hour (I often go on long drives equipped with my V1 RD), I notice the tire (!) light sometimes starts blinking. I think this means communications was lost with the pressure sensor. Is it bad for the tires, or the car in general to drive this fast?
-Now I'm at about 90k miles and I'm starting to notice a new issue: when driving at a steady 25 mph, the forward movement of the car kind of gently stutters, like when a new manual driver is letting out the clutch incorrectly.

 

Sounds like 9k was still too much.

2004 + auto is a very very bad combination. Rule of thumb is to not buy an automatic unless it is 2006 or later.

The 100k warranty is almost up, so if the engine hasn't been replaced and it dies after you hit 100,000 miles, guess who will foot the bill? Be sure to take it to a Mazda dealer if you're going to get the stuttering looked at.

My honest advice to you? Sell it, and sell it fast. And never wait to research a car until after you buy it. Sounds like you knew plenty about the civic but nothing about the RX8.

 

That "stutter" is most likely the transmission slipping.

Check to make sure the fluid is full, but auto transmissions are fragile, complex, and expensive.

Or it could just need coils, wires, and plugs.

 

- Yes, redline an auto as well as a manual. The auto rpm limit is based on the torque converter.
- Don't wait for the oil light to come on. When it does, the oil pump is close to sucking air instead of oil. You're also losing cooling capacity, which is one of the weak points of early auto 8s. The low mark on the dipstick is just under 2 quarts down. Learn to read the stick and top off when you're a quart down.
- Personally, I like the holes inthe sun visor, but that's a matter of taste. The middle is solid. The parts with the holes work like Eskimo sunglasses. I shift my head as needed to see or block.
- Get smaller sunglasses.
- Not bad for the car, but if the tire pressures really are out of range it's bad for the tires. It can also be bad for your driver's license.
- Could be lots of things. REDRX3RX8 gave you a good short list. If it does it consistently, take it to a good dealer for diagnosis.

Your opinion that 4 gears isn't enough is correct. Mazda reached the same conclusion, and beginning in '06 they switched to a 6 speed auto.

Ken

 

Welcome...

There are 2 threads in my sig. One is good, one I wrote. I would look hard at them.

++ the dealer for a car history, find out if the engine was replaced. If not, I would take some of your negotiated savings and ensure that the compression is tested before you hit 100K. The rest is cleanup. The $100 thread is easy stuff that will make a difference. Getting the service history is a big deal though. You can trust the dealer to do that. Check with other members in the area for what else you can trust that dealer to do. Some dealers, that is about all you can trust them to do.

On the auto, get the fluid checked and likely changed. Could make a difference.

Welcome. Give her a chance before selling, way better than a civic....

 

If this is a serious post, congrats, but sounds like you should have brushed up more on your research skills instead of your negotiation skills.

 

The sun visors are brilliant.

With ordinary sun visors, when you're stopped at a light and the sun is setting the visor blocks the sun – but it blocks your view of the red light, too. So you can't see when the light turns green without ducking your head real low to look under the visor or moving your head and body to the right or left to look around it.

With the RX-8 visor you simply line up the sun behind the center solid part. Then you just shift your head slightly left or right to take a quick peek at the light through the holes.

What's more, in general use you hardly ever see the holes; the visor is usually at an angle, which makes the holes opaque.

 

Dont they have a light also to the right on a pole further down where you live? I always just looked at that one instead of the one that was higher up. Dont have to duck your head or wiggle around to see it.

 

not all of them have those. the holes on the visors work pretty well.

 

People actually use sun visors? I thought that's what sunglasses were for. Sorry to crush your pride a little bit but if they were asking 12.5 for that car, they were just waiting for a sucker to come in and pay that or to come in and think they were getting a great deal by walking them down below 10k. I have an 05 with 52k miles on it. Love the car but will take 12.5k for it tomorrow if someone will pay me that. It books at retail for more than that but I wouldn't expect to get that for it.

Hope the car works out for you. It's not that I think you paid too much but I don't think you got the deal of the century because it was overpriced to begin with. With only 10k left on the engine warranty, I'd sugges investing a few bucks to get it checked out, especially if it is acting up on you. You can call Mazda customer service with the VIN number and they can make sure all recalls have been taken care of and when they were done. If they weren't, get them done if you can.

You have to check the oil often and top it off when needed. The 8 is designed to burn oil and the harder you drive it, the more it burns. If you wait for the light to come on, you are waiting too long. There are plenty of threads here to read up on for your 8. Spend some time looking around and reading up.