rotogirl

Just bought our first 8. She's an '04. She was a single owner, and the guy who traded her in got a new 8 in her stead. I fell in love with her first time I saw her. Being a mom who wanted a family friendly sports car, this was the car for me. I traded my Camry(very reliable car). I knew prior to trading that she was gonna be a totally different animal. I didn't care, I was prepared to do whatever I needed to do. Unfortunately I didn't read the reviews. While looking up info on how to care for and maintain her, I came across all this negative feedback. I am worried and heartbroken over what I read. Is there anyone out there who has enjoyed their RX8? Is there anyone who has found it to be a good car for them? I could really use some encouragement.

pussywillow1972

I've had mine for a while now and other than having a rock take out my A/C condenser, (not likely to happen again thanks to racing beat), I haven't had any issues, (knock on wood). I've had several RX-7s though so I was familiar with the engine's peculiarities. Just keep up on the scheduled maintenance, and especially check the oil regularly, and it'll be as reliable as any other car out there. Don't fret and enjoy the car. It's like any car: take care of it and it will take care of you.

RufusVonStorm

Is it an 04 automatic?

Uncivilizedracer

I got mine about 6 months ago and i love it got it for 18,5 an 04 with 33,000 miles on it 1 owner the person who had it before me didnt take very good care of it according to mazda oil changes maint, ect. I knowafter i got all that updated my baby ran like a champ. Just check everything over and have it checked out good thing mine was still under warranty for a full check up and get all the recalls done i know there are two for sure on our year model that needs it. After the recalls i have not had any issues since

Mendossa

Don't worry Rotogirl. I've been thru the same thing. Got frightened by all the negative feedback... let's face it: most people come over here on the forums when they have a problem of some kind and are looking for advice. It's negatively-biased to some extent (in the tech garage at least).

I've got a 2004 MT, so I'm supposed to be in the "danger zone". I spent countless nights worrying about some little noise the car made and imagining it was some major problem I read about on the forums. Worst thing that happened to me was a busted spark plug and that was covered under warranty.

Had the car 2 years, put about 15 000 miles on it and enjoyed every one of them. If you want to really have fun with your 8, take a look at the regional forum and go at a rotary even or ride... it's tons of fun and you'll meet other owners who'll give your firsthand feedback on their experience with the 8!

dynamho

1. Make sure all the recalls have been performed since it's an 04.
2. Check oil every 3 fill ups.
3. Enjoy!

I've been enjoying mine for more than a year and half now.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

People will never talk about how wonderful the car is, at least not on an internet forum.

People will only post bad thing(s) that has happened to them. and the funny thing is, most of the time these *issues* could be avoided if they read their god damn manual, or by simply having some freaking common sense.

I mean I have no problem with my 05, now 33K miles, bought it new since June 2005. couldnt be happier. Does that change your mind about the car ?

rotogirl

No she's not an AT. She's a 6 speed manual. She's got close to 57000 miles on her. We got them to give us the service agreement on the powertrain for 3 more years or 85000 miles from date of purchase. I put no lower than 91 octane in her and keep the oil checked regularly and topped off. I am currently looking for someone to do the 60000 mile maintenance on her as I don't trust the dealer. They couldn't even get the oil change right. They overfilled her and had to redo it, then overfilled her again. Had to bring her home and let my husband drain some out to proper level. Have smelled oil burning in cabin(like a lawn mower or 2 stroke engine smell). Hoping that will subside now that level is back to norm. I'm sure she needs to burn off the excess. I love driving her, and tach her to at least 8grand once every day that she's driven. I always warm her up before pulling out of driveway, and tach her up before shutting her off to clean her out some. I fear the flooding prob. Thanks for the replies. It helps to hear that there are happy owners out there.

delhi

welcome. ensure all recalls are done since yours an 04. Visit the redline periodically to bust out the carbob build-up. Enjoy the car.

TownDrunk

I've had my 04 for over 4 years now... Never left me stranded... Never caused me issues... It's been in for recalls, but other than a broken A/C **** which was covered under warranty, it's been very reliable, and very fun to drive.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

Well, the rule of thumb (for oil change) is that.

If you drain and change your filter, you just gotta put maybe around 3.5-4 quarts of oil back in.

If you want a more *cleaner* drain, open the bottom drain valve, then jack the driver side (left side) of the car as high as you can, in that case, you might want to add at least 4 quarts of oil into the system.

In terms of maintenance, I dont trust anybody, cuz they will always try to cut corners, or maybe Im the kind of *Do it myself* guy, the whole process takes about 2-3 hours.

No need to fear about the flooding problem, I live in NYC and I had like 12 degrees outside temp. couple of times, it never flood. Just make sure your coils and plugs are in good condition.

Uncivilizedracer

Now thats real .........!

Shini

Congrats on the buy, don't worry about the negative feedback on the car, that's a small percentage of the people that have 8's, the ones that don't have problems are too busy to post because they're out and about in their cars have a good time :D

I wouldn't worry, I have an 04 too, they were the year with the most quirks but that doesn't mean yours is going to have problems, best thing to do is not worry about it because most of the ones that did have the problems were the AT's.

Sorry to hear about the oil thing, Mazda isn't known worldwide because of it's excellent technicians/customer serivce unfortunately

Good luck with the new car and don't be a stranger to the forums

eug

iTrader: (2)

Nope. No one here likes the car. We hate it.


jk!

Relax, enjoy the purchase. As long as she was maintained properly and you do the same, she'll reward you in spades.

Spinning Sushi

iTrader: (21)

The Renesis motor is the most reliable rotary out there to date in my opinion. Just check your oil and redline regularly, that'll keep your car nice and healthy for years to come.

Woodie

I have a 2004 AT, no problems at all. Great to drive. Take care of the oil changes and use a high octane fuel and you should be ok. Enjoy...........

Brettus

iTrader: (2)

rotogirl , this is without doubt the best car I've ever owned .

check out this thread :

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/little-things-67045/

ninco

I have an 2004 6-speed MT and I have about 64000...

I was smitten by the looks and the drive is exceptional. Especially around corners.
As long as you keep the basic maintenance up you will that the car will continue to perform well! If you do not trust the dealership you bought it from, maybe there is another one not to far away, that a fellow RX-8 owner could recommend.

I did have an issue "once" and I had to have the CPU reflashed. The car got a CEL and would not go any faster than 30 mph. After the flash, I never had a problem.

I agree with nycgps, I have always been a "do it myself" kind of person.

VRZOOMZOOM

No problems here. Coming up on 16K after a year of driving it everyday. Only problems i had was check engine lights for gas cap (faulty) + PCM reflash, other than that, it is just oil changes and periodic topping off of the oil. Very reliable compared to VWs i've had. I'm only in service for maintainance.

Jethro Tull

iTrader: (6)

Rotogirl, be sure to train the kids (and spousal unit) to close the back doors first, and not to push open the front door with a foot on the speaker grille.

Give them one warning, second offense they walk home. That's usually sufficient to make it stick.

skhmund

2 yrs of ownership, 45k miles, no problems whatsoever, just keep with the maintenance and u should be fine

mdw1000

Don't shut the engine down before it warms up, and you shouldn't have to worry about the flooding problem.

YaXMaNGTO

Sorry, can't sugarcoat it... I had to lemon my first RX8. It wasn't that bad an experience. I was just concerned that the long term reliability and resale would suffer on a car that had been in the shop absolutely countless times. I got another RX8 (hows that for dedication, haters?!?! ), but a while after, I was having "trip to the dealership" flashbacks, and decided to trade in my fairly low mileage (and trouble free, mind you) second RX8 back in. I wish you much luck. I sure learned a lot about the car from all the problems it had!!!!

Cody Red

just make sure recalls are done and you check on the oil and coolant more than you did with any previous vehicle and you'll be fine.

congrats on purchase. any pics?

lone_wolf025

There's a thread floating around somewhere about how his 8 has over 100k miles on it and the things he did with it during that time.