BlueSky

Not brand new though. It was used with 3658 miles on it. It's got the Sport package and my total came out to $21850 OTD.

Car is pretty much flawless except for a little half a cm knick/indent on one of the sides and a tiny half inch scratch near the rear. Probably from little rocks on the highway.

Anyhow, do you guys recommend I take it to a Rotary/RX/Mazda specialized shop to have it thoroughly checked out? I bought it from a Mazda dealer but they are kinda new to Mazda and their technicians aren't yet trained to Certify the cars. Are there any parts on the car that I should go right now and check like the suspension, brakes, oil, transmission?

The car has, again, 3658 miles on it and it was owned for 5 mos. The Carfax report was clean.

For any of you who live in Orange County, CA, can you recommend me a specialist shop to check out my car?

Thanks, and I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

BlueSky

Also, is there any way to make sure they used the right oil for the engine? I mean can I pull the dipstick and immediately tell what kind of oil they used or no.

Winfree

Price sounds OK, but why did it get sold? Wish you were closer, we have some good Rotar heads down here in San Louis Obispo at Valley Mazda - who not only repair but own 7s and 8s - Hope you got a good warrenty and good comprehensive insurance...

I have a blue 05, am taking it in for first servicing this week. LIke the man falling from the Empire State Building at each window I am saying "so far, so good"! - but we took it on a run to San Francisco for the Car Rally, got better milage and oil use than expected, and mom is getting little blue cars for her great grand babys so that when my sister visits the grandkids she'll be reminded that Mom got her sports car!
Mom is becoming a car enthusiast and is taking pictures of it at random places like beach trips and Harley Davidson gatherings. She was explaining rotary engines to her hairdresser, and the gate guard at Vandenberg AFB.
You are going to have fun with this car!!! Good Luck and keep us posted!

BlueSky

Yeah I wanted to know why it got sold as well. The sales guy said that it was a trade-in for a Ford Focus...go figure. I thought the price was pretty damn good. In my area the best price for a brand new '05 with Sport Package I could get was $23750 out the door. That's more than $1850 more than what I paid for my used one. The best price I could get for a new '05 base model was $22680 out the door.

BlueSky

Winfree, you won't believe this. I looked in my glove compartment and found a body shop estimate. I guess the previous owner had the front spoiler replaced. So there was a contact information on the estimate and I called. So a man, who sounded very old responds and I introduce myself and my situation. I ask him why he got rid of the car and he says "I'm in the hostpital, I've got Parkinson's Disease and I couldn't shift." At this point I apologized and thanked him and hung up. Wow....

Winfree

OK, this is good - it was not sold because of bad car troubles but because of necessity and health of owner (bet he had fun while it lasted) , and your buy, in the long run, helps the old man in the hospital. It may be paying for his treatment even now. If you love the car, send him a card and tell him - it may cheer him up to know it has a good home. You might even send some copies of these silly threads - even the pin up pictures and the dirty joke one - a man with parkinson is paralysed but his brain keeps working - he will be able to hear some one read them
If you hate the car, no need to drop bad news on him. As it is it looks like you got a real nice price because of the deal - you need to find out what kind of packages you got - there are some threads on that- they have to do with appearance, electronics, etc.

What is a 'front spoiler?' does it have a 'back one?" - I had to have mine installed by the dealer, so that may mean your original owner loved it enough to add modifications. Does it have a silver rotary symbol in the front or back - these cost extra as does little silver rocket things on the grill over the "gill opening" - those are also costly added jewelry? Moonroof also is an added extra....

Sometimes things are ment to be - it looks like you really lucked out - Parkinsons especially in old age seems to be #1 hereditary #2. Occupational toxicity (paper mills especially)#3. Bad drugs back when you were young #4. Long term pesticide exposure - it does not seem to be contagious so prior owners health will not effect yours...

Again - keep us posted!!!

BlueSky

Great post Winfree.

Yeah, there is a front silver rotory trochoid under the front bumper. That's extra you say? Cool.

Anyhow, I went for my maiden voyage tonight. Since I'm not yet smooth enough with stick shift my father drove the car home. So tonight (when no one was looking) I went out for a drive:

After overcoming the confusion of getting the thing in reverse and after hearing a few alarming "SCREEEEAARRRCH!" from not having the shifter all the way into reverse, I finally got her going. I had alot of fun going up and down the street in 1st and 2nd. But I did notice that going from first to second felt a little rough, and when I downshifted from 2nd to 1st I heard this *ringdingdingding* kind like when a power drill when you let off the power. Decellerating electric motors. Third felt really smooth, but at 35mph, there isnt' much passing power in third.

Anyhow, I really how those instances when I grinded the reverse gear didn't screw up my transmission. This is what happened, I pushed down on the stick and pull back, but didn't pull back all the way. So when I slowly let off the clutch I heard this heartstopping sound and quickly jumped on the clutch. Happened twice.

Oh and one other thing. While sitting with the engine off at a standstill. I turned the ignition until the vents, windows and radio came on. However, I noticed this electronic tone that wouldn't go away. I don't know where it's coming from. Anyhow, when I turn the ignition one step back to turn the windows and vents off I hear a whirring of motors and some parts moving and then the tone goes away.

Winfree, I'm pretty sure I got the Sport package. I got fog lights, HIDs, 6-disc changer, DSC and Traction control, and a little black box tied up in my trunk.

BlueSky

Ok I figured out the little tone when I turned the ignition to ON. It's the autolevelers.

But could anyone still help me out other issues I experienced mentioned in the post above?

Thankyou.

otherside

Bluesky, congradulations on your rx8 purchase. 1to 2 shift is a little rough, nature of the beast. Is this your first rotary? 35mph in third is too low. The rotary engine is not known for torque so you have to let rpms make up for it. You have an 8500 rpm redline, dont be afraid to use it. Example: take your car to 6000 rpm in third and stomp on it, it will pull strong. try to take every gear to at least 5000 rpm and shift for normal driving. Have fun!!!

ndtechie09

When I bought my 04 used I asked my dealer to print me out a sheet of warranty work that had been done to it. Make sure you get all the crucial recalls done. They can be found at http://www.finishlineperformance.com...ins_index.html Good luck with her!


...you need clear corners, LED postion lights and xeonmatch fog lights too

BlueSky

I'm gonna schedule an appointment on Monday with one of the 2 Rotary shops "near" me. Either Mazdatrix or Reliable Rotary. I wonder how much they'll charge for a complete inspection...hopefully free.


This car is just plain breathtaking. Everytime I step into the garage and see her my knees get all weak and I still can't believe I own her. It feels more like she owns me. Honestly, I get more joy out of seeing her than when I see a F430 on the road (I see one practially everyday, I'm not kidding).

CosmosMpower

Congrats, not a bad price. I also paid 22 out the door on my 05 winning blue sport 6spd with appearance package and rotary accents except mine was brand new with 23 miles on it.

BlueSky

That's because you live in Texas and I live in Orange County California. Everything is cheaper in Texas.

saturn

Winning blue -- not a bad choice. I'm sad to see it go (supposedly) for 2007.

GulfCoast

Congratulations on your 2006 Winning Blue! I just bought a 2004 Winning Blue and it's absolutely beautiful. Like you, I'm learning the car.

The post above says that 35 mph is too low for third, but the manual recommends for the manual transmission 22 mph to shift from 2nd to 3rd for "normal acceleration" and 21 mph for "cruising." In fact, for cruising, the manual recommends a shift from 1st to 2nd at 14 mph with each subsequent shift 7 mph later (21, 28, 35, and 42).

I agree with the above poster that this sounds incredibly slow for these gears; but, I'm just repeating the manual.

What I've noticed is that the bands are very broad, so that you can do well in high gears at fairly low speeds if you aren't trying to push hard, but that you can push the bands very high with the engine. After all, look at the extremely high redline!

I'm not pushing my car hard right now simply so that I can gauge gas mileage. I want to see if I can get relatively decent mileage by easing the car; then I'll push it harder to see if there is a significant degradation of efficiency.

I *do* think the car needs to be driven at high RPM at least occasionally. Metaphorically, cruising all the time would be like letting a Kentucky Derby horse do nothing but trot around the pasture. She's made to race.

BlueSky

Well I took a friend on a ride today. While pulling away from a stoplight I rev'd up quickly, heard the beep, then shifted into 2nd and actually heard a bit of wheelspin. Wow...

Winfree

Your car is new enough that if you can find the original dealer, there may be some warrenty left on it! If your prior owner added jewelry he may have paid for an extended warrenty- the worst that can happen is they say no - and at best its free oil changes for a while.

The car will make you a little crazy for a while - odd sounds, locking itself, alarms going off because you pulled out the key before you played with your window locks ( if it does you have to use the key to unlock the door from the outside) but you will get used to these quirks...

Then you will go through a finding small flaws phase - and finding polish scratches - this will pass but never completely - somehow you will do better maintainance on her because people really do notice.

You will be tempted to play with other drivers who may be very provocative at stops and freeways - it will be hard but don't let them control your behavior as much fun as it may be at the moment. Keep thing Samari self-control!

Don't get too much water under the hood and watch overwashing your wheels -

You are going to love this car! But it will make you a little crazy and try to find a group meet or rally - read everything you can about Wankel and his engine - and you will also gain an appreciation for other cars as well, but the oddest thing is a sort of contentment that comes from knowing your car really does look the best!

CosmosMpower

Not property tax, and yes WB is gone for 2007 replaced by the puke seaweed blue/green

BlueSky

I'm still not quite smooth with launching this car from a standstill. I did however, find that getting up to 2k rpm and then pulling back to where the clutch just starts to catch and then you start to move and then gassing and completely releasing the clutch is smoothest. I've already embarassed myself with bucking and shuddering away from a stop. Also stalled twice at a stop sign.

Only 40miles on the car and alright 1/4 empty in fuel!!!!! I have been revving the car up to 9k rpm a few times and I have been shifting up in the 6k RPM range. But still, I just hope I get at least 220miles to the tank.

ndtechie09

youll get it. when i got my 8 i couldnt even drive stick. took me a few days, guess im a slow learner

dmc27

Congrats to Gulfcoast & Bluesky.

Bluesky - the 2nd gear issue seems to be universal. Takes some time to get used to, especially for a virgin to the MT. I've got 10+ years of MT and it took a few weeks to "clean up" my 2nd shift. I still will jump a little if I space out a bit going into 2nd. Also, there really is no reason to ever downshift into first gear. I doubt it would actually hurt the tranny in the 8, but, in most cars it's frowned upon. I use the gears to slow the car most often, and consider the (sometimes hard) braking from ~25mph to stop a good workout for the brakes.

Doen't really seem necessary to have someone look it over. You were extremely lucky to speak to the previous owner, so I'm not quite sure why you're so concerned. Warranty is on the car, not the owner. You should still have full warranty unless the previous owner somehow blew it (very doubtful). I'm not sure, but I believe a clean carfax means the shouldn't be any reason for warranty void. If the dealer you bought it from says otherwise, I would find another place for service.

"Front spoiler" refers to the underside of the car. The spoiler that runs along the bottom of the nose of the car (and probably up on a parking curb - requiring replacement in yours Bluesky). It's also called the front airdam. Guess you decided it was not too "chick car" to get one, eh? lol.

Gotta go wash & stare!!!

CosmosMpower

40-50 miles on the first 1/4 tank is fairly normal, the car has a very strange gas gauge pattern. The first 1/4 goes by really fast and then right after the halfway point it stays there forever then plummets. When the yellow light comes on it seems like you still have a little less than a 1/4 tank but it drops to the bottom within 20 miles.

BTW, I found the RX8 very easy to drive smoothly but the DBW might be tricking you a little. Overall the controls are very light and crisp, much less effort than an E36 M3 and even a S2000 for sure.

GulfCoast

So far, most everything has gone well. I've slipped into the wrong gear on occasion, but haven't stalled. I've read the forum a lot, so I'm accumulating tactics for starting, stopping, etc.

The one thing about a new car -- at least for me -- is that I listen for everything and wonder about everything. Yesterday, I heard a noise while driving with the moonroof open. I thought it might be the tires or, possibly, the brakes. What I finally figured out is that it was the tinny-sounding stereo of the guy behind me!

I also noticed the flashing immobilizer icon for the first time. I was concerned, not realizing that it stays on if working properly when the car is turned off. The manual isn't explicit. Fortunately, someone addressed this issue on the forum, so my fears were alleviated.

The car is a blast to drive, even conservatively as I'm doing now (to gauge gas mileage, as I mentioned above). I washed it this weekend. I was going to wax it, but it looks very good (probably recently waxed to make the sale), so decided to wait. I may claybar it first.