My Friend wants to get an RX-8
 

Okay, i personally don't own a RX-8. I own an 2006 Mazda Miata. The reason why i'm here in the first place is because our cars are basically brothers. and like brothers, our cars have alot in common (mostly interchangable parts)

But i want a friend of mine to get an RX-8 because its his first car, and i want him to start off with something good (he's 17). His father owns a shop and never works on mazda's, nor Rotary's. My friend and his father is afraid that the RX-8 will suffer severe engine malfunction within a years time.

Now i've heard ALOT about the Renesis Motor... alot of good... alot of bad. But just fill me in, cause we're both ignorant about it.

lotsa rumors out there in the world...

use the search function & you'll find a lot more good stuff & a lot less bad. the car/engine has querks & a few problems that have been or are being addressed, but thats part of every car.

Starting with an 8 is not starting off with something good.. starting off with a reliable civic or simular car is starting off with something good.

I agree. Get a Mazda 3. Great car.

mid-late 90's Civic... or Integra...

Yeah, you need to replace to rotors every 5000 miles. Don't bother.

can go for the MS 3 or 6 as well

The Rx-8 is as reliable as it's owner.

17 + 8 = one more smashed Mazda

the rx8 comes with a factory ejector seat.

If you don't understand how a rotary engine works, stay away from it. Get something simple and start from basics, like good driving technique. Rome wasn't built in a day.

I strongly second that comment. A Rotary Engine is only as reliable as the owner that takes care of it. Maintain it PROPERLY, and it'll be just as, if not *more* reliable than a Piston Engine.

When you buy your first remote control airplane you better not spend alot of money on something nice. Because you WILL crash it into the ground on your first or second flight. Get something cheaper, learn how to fly it. Then work your way up.

My 8 was my 3rd car.

Hmmmmmm I was thinkin' about getting an 8 for my first car :( I'll be careful guys, and I'll take alotta pictures. :D

Thats what hey all say... and when they crash it, they'll say "but i was being careful!".. *rolls eyes*

My first car was a sports car. That's what I had my heart set on, and that's what I got.

A bit exotic (Alfa Romeo - 8 years old, heavily used/abused) and I was a student with little or no money, so the result was that I learned a lot more about fixing cars than if I had bought something practical. Good outcome there. IMHO, a kid with a lust for a special car will be highly motivated to take care of it.

I didn't wreck the Alfa until I had it for almost three years. And that wreck was just rear-ending a car with no lights one dark rainy evening. Could have happened if I was driving a Falcon or a Dart.

IMHO, if someone is young and has the lust for a cool car, that's the time to do it. Kids today don't listen to sage "be dull" advice from us old timers any more than we did at their age. And wouldn't it be a shame if someone listened to the "be dull" advice, and by the time they were of a responsible age the lust was gone? And they missed out?

The only advice I'd give a youngster is to consider the lifetime of "I told you so"s he'll get from the old farts if he does something dumb.

Ken

the only cons i see with the 8s, well the first that coems to my mind is 1) you have to check oil level once in a while.....not a big deal IMO if your a car enthusiast. 2) it does burn gas pretty quickly but that could be due to high revving of the rotary! or the smallish gas tank at 15.9 gallons. 3) Don't turn it off when the temp is on cold, subject to engine flooding. Otherwise its a goood car. Altho i wouldn't recommend the car to someone as their first car. it's not your avg car that you can get in and turn off and never check fluids. I think RX-8 is a good 2nd or 3rd car after you got all the basics down with your first car and screwed around with ur first car. Screw around in an RX-8 in your first car and your going to end up in some ditch or worse. Get a FWD car or something to learn on and work on.

I think my second childhood motive for buying the 8 is working - more and more memories from my first are coming back.

Nowhere near as I had to on that Alfa...or anything of that era except maybe a Cadillac.

Try a beat up old car with a leaky gas line, carburetor or tank. I've had three cars like that.

Try getting an Alfa started at all in January in upstate New York.

Yes, I know I sound like an old fart talking about waist deep snow, uphill both ways, but the minor details of the RX-8 are nothing compared to the quirks that most cars had until the Japanese upped the quality game.

Ken

Start with an FC3S RX-7...buy one in good condition, and own it for a while. If you're still interested in Rotaries after that, then think about an RX-8.

And hey, if you wreck the FC, it's not as huge of a loss as some 30 grand RX-8.