Romancer

Good, this forum is doing its job. It exudes a strong enthusiast aura that may deter the everyday ricer. I'm all for that.

turbine

Once you go rotor everything else is all over! Linear power and balance are unreal on the RX8. I will race anyone. Its all the driver anyway. My weapon of choice is this car. I trust it. This car is not for everyone. You have to know how to drive it first. Everyone that drives my car does a shitty job. I hop over and tell them to hold on. When you drive this car you want to shift so that it lands on the RPM needed instead of shifting at redline everytime. Dr. Jeckle/Mr. Hyde is a good way to decribe it. On the HWY speeds, it comes alive. Just my input.

RoXanneBlack8

just to be clear with everyone who thinks this site is meaningless to mazda....

mazda literally has employees scanning this site constantly lookin at what ppl complain about the most and seeing what they can do to improve the problems, from obvious things like defloods to the stupid things like condensation in rear tailights and how the center console lid breaks, they read about it all....





"This car is not for everyone. You have to know how to drive it first. Everyone that drives my car does a shitty job. I hop over and tell them to hold on.... Dr. Jeckle/Mr. Hyde is a good way to decribe it. On the HWY speeds, it comes alive."

i totally agree with ALL that.



"My biggest complaint is the **** poor technicians that work on it"


thats so subjective its annoying. guess how many 350z owners bitch that their car isnt fixed right...like all 2 million of them!



"The average 8 owner knows a lot about their vehicle (thanks to this forum)..."


riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoXanneBlack8

....mazda literally has employees scanning this site constantly lookin at what ppl complain about the most and seeing what they can do to improve the problems, from obvious things like defloods to the stupid things like condensation in rear tailights and how the center console lid breaks, they read about it all....

What makes you think this?

S

Jaguar_MBA

QAPLA'

Paul_in_DC

Somebody put a gun to your head and made you read it?

YT1300

The original premise of the thread, however, is admirably short-sighted. Sure, maybe Mazda looks at the site, and maybe they take some consumer response information from it; but like a lot of unedited and unfounded content, print or Internet, you have to take it with a grain of salt.

Anyone who seriously thinks that customer satisfaction can be reliably determined from a forum is not doing their job well.

swiftnet

You want me to elaborate?

Early 2005 got a cel - code was evaporative leak- took it to dealer - repaired under warranty - three days later, cel - took it back - repaired under warranty - two days later another cel, took it back repaired under warranty - got another cel three days later - all the same code, evaporative leak. These **** poor techs were resetting the ecu and calling it fixed - yeah that is a good tech (sarcasm). Took the car to another dealer (40mile drive), told them I will lemon law the car unless they can fix the problem. Several days later they found the problem, a faulty sensor.

Early 2006, took the car in for 30k maintenance, got it back and the rear tires were put on backwards - damn fine technicians (sarcasm, if you don't understand the way the post is leaning).

Mid 2006, 5th gear synchro feeling "crunchy", rough idle. Told the techs at a third dealership (58 mile drive) that the motor mounts probably need to be replaced and that the 5th gear synchro seems to be an issue with july/august 03 builds. Tech verified the synchro is going, but motor mounts OK. Parts were ordered, a week later brought car in for tranny rebuild. Several days later got the car back (they replaced a cracked motor mount,even though the tech #1 said they were OK), took it home and found it was leaking transmission oil - brought it back - they didn't tighten the crush washer enough - a sign of a shitty tech in my book (ever hear of a torque wrench? Those little numbers mean something in the service manual). Took it home, next day got a cel - Now you may think the techs are good, but I say they suck **** - I'm a computer tech and do a damn fine job - the reason I do a good job is that I give a **** that my clients are up and running, including the crappy by design Windoze systems.

So do you think I have a reason to think the Mazda techs suck or am I just a whinny bitch? If you chose the latter then you must be a sucky Mazda tech or married to one.

tjbourgoyne

I didn't read this forum before I bought mine. I gathered info from owners, dealerships and reviews. I thought by not reading it I would eliminate bias opinions. 20/20 I should have read it b/c there is an arsenal of knowledge on here that I could have used. There is complaining here, but it's generally about trivial things that I could care less about.

Skythe

that's the problem. most humans are opposed to thinking intelligently.

Raptor2k

More like how they can void our warranties...

GulfCoast

Anecdotal evidence isn't statistically valid. That's the problem with a lot of this: people universalize every bad experience. Just because you had a bad experience doesn't mean everyone has; just because a dealership was incompetent doesn't mean every dealership is; and just because your car has had a lot of problems doesn't mean every car has had them. Certainly, enough is written here to observe tendencies (e.g., bad gas mileage), but most issues are more than likely statistically insignificant or within reasonable parameters.

bbtheory

I read a lot of information here before I bought my 8. This forum convinced me that I wanted a 6spd manual and provided me with a bunch of useful information about the RX-8 before I purchased. In the history of great sports cars, most of them have a few quirks. I find that the quirks in the 8 really add to the charm and appeal of the car overall, like having to add oil (it gives me an excuse to look at the engine).

On the flip side, I am sure there a lots of folks who want a sports car that is as user friendly as any modern piston engine car and the RX-8 is not that simply because you do have to add oil. There are people so incompetent they wouldn't get an oil change every 3000 miles and wait till oil starts burning and smoke is coming out of the exhaust before they do anything, the RX-8 is not a car for these people.

I also think that a lot of folks that do come around to complain are just bad consumers. The information about the RX8 is there for the taking... unless you bought the car less than a month or two after it came out. Thats why the whiners didn't really affect my buying decision. Most of the whining complaints were about things I knew would be the case before I bought the car, how come these people couldn't do the same research?

Also, you have to remember is that unsatisfied folks are a lot more likely to make noise on an internet forum like this, whereas I am sure there are hundreds of RX owners who arent so internet saavy and probably love the 8 and just never say anything online about it.

kartweb

Unfortunately thats about the most truthful statement I've read about the RX8 anywhere. But thats more of a retailer controlled factor then a Mazda controlled factor. Afetr a couple of dealer baffoons (at the dealer Mazda gave the highest rating in Texas) totally botched a simple task like an oil change I began investigating a bit. Even added a local Nissan dealer to use for gathering some info.

Shop Labor rates;
Mazda Dealer - $92.00/Hour
Nissan Dealer - $84.00/Hour

Starting Tech Pay
Mazda Dealer - $12.00/Hour
Nissan Dealer - $16.00/Hour

Entry Tech "Credentials"
Mazda Dealer - None
Nissan Dealer - ASE Certified - 2 test minimum

Top Tech Pay
Mazda Dealer - $18.00/Hour
Nissan Dealer - $34.00/Hour

Annual Factory Training Requirements
Mazda Dealer - None
Nissan Dealer - 2 weeks per year

Number of Specialist Vehicle Skilled Techs
Mazda Dealer - RX8 - NONE
Nissan Dealer - Murano (2), 350Z (1)

Workplace ammenities
Mazda - None
Nissan - Air Conditioned Shop, Parts Expediter, Peer Quality Reviews, Profit Sharing

I would bet that despite having higher labor and overhead rates with lower hourly rates, the Nissan dealer (with one less bay) has a substantially higher profit margin.

It isn't Nissan that requires this, it's the dealer who wants to make the most money. It appears that Mazda gets stuck with the dealers who are less motivated to make an honest buck. The one I refer to still has an OLDSMOBILE sign hoisted 50 feet in the air that blocks the view of the Mazda sign.

On the other hand when I lived in Raleigh NC we had a fabulous independent Mazda specialist one of the best in the southeast. Here in the Dallas area we have two of them that I know of, both former dealer wrenchs that got fed up with the dealership mediocrity and went off on their own.

Just as a sidenote; I had some scratches that the car was delivered with. The Mazda dealer didn't know how to fix them. The Nissan dealer fixed them for me by airbushing clearcoat over the scratches and hand buffing. Cost me $172. It was worth keeping the Mazda buffoons hands off my car.

I dearly hope Mazda does have some folks reading this site once in a while.

RoXanneBlack8

swiftnet, sounds like youve had a bad experience with the techs. i am very sorry for that but.

1- youve gone to like 3-4 diff places, out of the 500 mazda dealers, come on man. thats like seein the first 5 minutes of any movie and sayin it sux.

2- my comments are gunned towards those who say "mazda needs to train better rotary techs" all of your problems had nothing to do with the rotary itself. evap leaks, tranny drain plug....like come on man. blame mazda for a tech who screwed up? mazda doesnt personally walk into every shop and makre sure each tech knows the fix for each little thing. no company does its impossible.

im very sorry for the poor service you have gotten and it would put more than a bad taste in my mouth as well. it could be worse, they could blame you for all of it and not warranty anything! just tryin to show the lighter side....

RedSheDevil

Bannable offense!!!! Ban him!!!!

BOB219

The RX8 can't be to bad, or the whiners would of sold their car. If the whiners are on the net to complain, then they should of been on the net to research the car prior to purchase.

Their are some valid complaints. Not all cars off the assembly line are perfect, but count me as one of the owners who has never had a complaint. It's the car I wanted after using the internnet to measure it against the competition.

For instance, I knew the battery was weak making the car turn over slowly on start-up. Day after I bought my car, I put in a redtop battery. Car has never taken over one second to start in my 18 months of ownership. Also knew what the original exhaust would sound like, so I purschased a Mazdaspeed exhaust. People at work listen to me drive in the parking lot and think I have some kind of major horsepower under the hood, and I don't tell them different.

Paul_in_DC

Yeah, no doubt they spend a lot of time doing that. (Chicken Little was right Chicken Little was right Chicken Little was right Chicken Little was right ...)

I agree with what DallasBob said. From doing a little bit of reading on this site before buying my 8, I knew:

• I'd probably get about 17 mpg around town.
• I'd need snow tires.
• The car has plenty of horsepower.
• It handles like a dream.
• It's a very strong autox car.

On the other hand, I was not expecting:

• Mileage like a Corolla.
• Horsepower like a Corvette.

I'm not sure why some people had skewed expectations. I doubt that's Mazda's fault.

saturn

This is by far the worst thread in the history of the Internet. I must have heard dozens of people tell me the RX-8 was a slow, oil/gas guzzling, chick car before coming here. Once I did I started to get real information that wasn't thrown around by morons.

But anyone who wants a kills section is a worthless person. Go get a Honda and put some stickers on it and leave us to our terrible forum.

Raptor2k

/sarcasm?

Wait, I'm busy blowing up my transmission

valpac

iTrader: (2)

I lurked this forum for several months before I purchased my 8. I also have lots of previous experience with RX-7's so I know a fair amount about rotaries. There is lots of info here, some good, mostly opinion and lotsa bs.

If you do your own homework and rectify the "problems" (in your own mind) this car has BEFORE you buy one, then the whining should be kept to a minimum.

It is ridiculous to speculate that the ramblings of some unhappy owners dictate corporate decision making or negatively affect the aftermarket. The driving force is ALWAYS economics .

late8

I think the "whiners" that I've read comments from on this forum have helped in my decision to purchased the 8. Some complain about small stuff but there are others who have major problems. All have prepared me for what "could" happen to my 8.

As an small example: I usually search the tech threads to see what's up and I found an issue with the cheap sunvisors we all have. My '06 8 has only 3200 miles on it and the sunvisor split in half as I tried to lower it. If I didn't know that many others have "whined" about it, I would of been pissed but instead, I went to the dealer and they ordered one (back ordered) for me.

Yeah it's a pain, but this forum has taught me that I'm not alone on many issues.

BlueEyes

Good call. It's also worthy to note that the 928 had about a 100 hp more than the 8. I haven't looked to hard into it, but I'd say for a sports car, the 8 has one of the worst MPG/power ratios.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

hello Pandora's box...

Sure we have TONS of little whiners running around this forum but overall it does serve its purpose.

Hmm, that gives me an idea for a thread....brb.

agoodcave

Damn! I was hoping they fixed the visors for 06 models. My 04 visor broke a month ago. Oops, I'm whining again....