Hey everyone, I am looking to purchase an RX8 fairly soon, and I was just wondering how these vehicles are, in terms of reliability. I don't wanna be stuck anywhere on the side of the road with my hazards flashing, or anything like that. I do a lot of driving between here and college, and I'm just wondering if these cars are long term-type cars, or the "seasonal" kind, that should only be driven in warm climates. I'm in the Chicago land area, and we get some pretty cold winters.

The RX 8 I am looking at has 54k on the odometer. Is that pretty much equal to 100k on a piston type engine? I know for a lot of piston engines, 100k is pretty much the time where you should be looking to get rid of it...

 

wow, 54k in one year??? that's lots of miles, regardless what type of engine it has!

personally i wouldn't get a 1 year old car with 54k miles on the meter regardless if it's rotary or not, unless you're getting the car at a ridiculous price :p

don't let the rumors fool you, rotary engines, with proper care, are just as reliable, if not more so, than a typical piston engine.

that said, how much snow/winter driving do you expect to do? if a lot, you *may* want to look for something else, as the RX-8 will REQUIRE winter tires if you want to drive it under those conditions.

 

I would buy winter tires upon delivery...I was just thinking about getting the stock Mazda3 wheels for the winters.

http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ca...dist=50#vdptop

There is the link to the car. What do you think?

 

54k miles on a rotary engine = 54k miles on a piston engine.

This can can be driven in all weathers however, you would want some tires capable for the snow. However, since the car has 54k miles, it should be on new tires as is.

Also, N/A rotary engines are as reliable if not more for the reason of less moving parts. However, you have to check the oil because is it designed to consume oil which is used to lubricate the apex seals. As long as regular oil change is done and oil level is kept constant, the car should be fine.

 

I see. I have no problem with checking the oil every other fill up or anything. I'll do my part in maintaining the car, but I just want the car to treat me the way I treat it....GOOD.

I am currently driving a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT, which has been good, but upon acquiring 112k on the odometer, little things are starting to show signs of normal wear. It needs a timing belt, radiator and trans flush. Just recently, the motor mounts went out, and it all seemed to happen at once. I would really much rather put the money I would spend on repairs towards the new car (RX8).

 

well i'll be damned, i can see why you're interested in a 54k 1 year old car, it sure is priced well!

is this car at a Mazda dealer or an independent dealer? If it's at a mazda dealer request them to run the VIN to verify that it has all the necessary recall/TSB work done already. this is a VERY EARLY build car, and as such, will probably need every single recall/TSB notices done to it!

 

another thing to consider: seeing you have put 112k on your 01 eclipse already, that means you drive quite a bit, so you may want to put fuel cost into consideration as well.

what octane fuel does the eclipse use? what is its average mpg up to this point?

 

it sounds too good to be true, theres gotta be a catch. did you call them yet? itd be nice if its true.. but i have a feeling if its too good to be tru, it probably isnt. sounds like a scam to me, so becareful. and good luck

 

$6000 for the car, make sure you check everything, might have a salvage title on it or something that might not check out on carfax .

 

I got a friend running the carfax now.
I called, but the number was out of service. I think I will pass this one up. You are right... When something sounds to good to be true, it is. Would have been a sweet buy, though...

 

contact the seller and get the correct VIN. that one is not correct.

 

The number is out of service, and the VIN is not correct. Something about that car just doesn't sound right...I think I'll look elsewhere. That sounds like something I DON'T want to get into...

 

could it be a *pre-production* RX-8 that somehow got leaked out of Irvine HDQ????

 

We could wish...