So I just got the phone call that I was approved for a 2004 RX8 with 77k miles. The car does have the 100k warranty on it also and im getting a carfax etc.

I know it might be biases here maybe but its out of this car and a SRT4 2004. I like things about both cars and I have a 7 year old and having a baby in the future. Which one pending carfax etc would be more fun and economical in the future.?

All opinions welcome!

 

More fun is the rx8, more economical is the neon. It depends what your looking for though. I know this has been said a million times on here but if your wanting a fast car in a straight line dont get the rx8. Not thats its slow(not to me anyway) but its a much better handling car than it is fast.

The neon is actually right in line with the rx8 in 0-60 and 1/4 mile times, the neon is just a bit faster but only by .3 seconds or so. I dont really know much about neons but I would think they would be MUCH cheaper to upgrade and make faster than the rx8 is because the only real option for a good deal more power is getting a turbo/supercharger for us. For the neon you might only need to upgrade your turbo to a better model or something easy like that, read their forums and find out.

A quick google search turned up this thread http://www.srtforums.com/forums/f70/...de-path-27550/ and for your first $600 it says it can put you into the 13's at about 108 mph, I would really like to see $600 put the rx8 into the 13's but I really doubt that can happen. Its not a drag car anyway, but just as an example.

 

I'll try to be even handed here.

RX-8
Plus:
Looks like a real sports car.
One of the best handling cars on the road.
Quality is very good.
Can hold 4 adults comfortably.
Very fun to drive.

Cons:
Poor MPG
Not as fast as the STR4
Not as roomy as STR4
Engine has a higher failure rate then normal but does have warranty to cover.

STR4
Pros:
Inexpensive
Fast
Better MPG then RX-8
More passenger and truck space then RX-8

Cons:
Cheap car (Cheap look and feel)
Poor built quality
It's a Neon
Inferior handling and breaking to RX-8

 

Thanks for all that info! It looks like it will be the RX8 because the people wanted more down for the srt4. I havent owned a car since my 2000 Si and had a escape after that so anything will be fast to me. Ill take the chances and hopeful ill get something that lasts.

The salesman when I asked about the engine told me to keep the revs up because people who baby it and shift early and keep it in low rpms are the ones he sees having issues :/ ..... true or not .. j don't need it to be a race car full time lol

 

The salesman is right, "a redline a day keeps the carbon away" but honestly most people do quite a bit more than 1 per day lol.

The only thing you need to think about is that the car has 77k miles on it that you have no clue about. If it had 2 owners in that time one could have treated it poorly or even both of them. Before you buy the car you really should ask them to have a compression test done on it, if they wont pay for it then pay for it yourself. It will be somewhere between $150-200 to get it done, but its worth it. I think buying one with 77k on it is really borderline on good idea/bad idea but you might get a well maintained car.

Even though the engine does have a 100k warranty on it its only for 8 years so your coming up on that sooner than 23k miles from now. Also its not a 100% warranty, you still have to come out of pocket for about $1000-1500 if I remember correctly from all the threads I have seen.

 

Ok, thanks for that information for sure. Im rebuilding my credit so I was happy I got approved for it. But then again dnt want to rush into it either so I have until saturdsay to make that decision. Ill ask them about the compression test on it for sure also.

 

I would not buy an 04 being that your warranty will run out in 4 to 6 months.

 

Get or buy a warranty from the dealer your buying from, if not, your screwed.

 

O man y'all are discouraging me! Lol

 

Buy an 06 so you have two years engine warranty left.

 

I would but I made bad credit decisions in the past that is haunting me now lol I was lucky to get approved for this. I wanted a mazdaspeed3 but they were too much. I did inquire about the SRT4 however and waiting on an email back from them

 

I ended up getting the RX8 people! and so far I love the car. I have some minor gripes about it but it runs and gets me to where I need to be..... Funny Story is today I was on the road here in Austin, and a white RX8 was next to me. I wasnt gonna pay any attn but it pulled up next to me ... I thought he wanted to race but he was telling me to make sure "I get the warranty on the car because they break alot I mean alot, they break get the warranty!" It was an older gentlemen and I told him I did I even got a 3 year 36,000 mile warranty on top of what was left for the 100K 8 year one remaining on it. If the guy is on this site I appreciate it!

 

Congrats on getting the 8. Enjoy it.

I typically baby mine until hit operating temps, then all bets are off after that. So long as you keep in mind a few things the 8 is a managable car and engine failure can be prevented .

 

Perform your maintanance and maybe use premix and you should be fine. I know an 04 owner that rapes his car and performs his maintanance on the dot to try and get a new series motor before the warranty ends but it wont break.

 

You mean like mine? Still passing compression at 83K original motor with 65K on the coils and still not getting any more sluggish. I only have 3 months left and I am using the 5-20oil at this point they recommend to no avail lol.

 

Sorry but what exactly is Premix?

 

A certain type of oil that you add to your gas to provide extra lubrication in the engine. Search the forum, tons of info on it here. Don't use ordinary engine oil, it's more like two-stroke oil, there are special premix oils made for rotaries.

 

Thanks

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again... no matter how fast you go in an srt4, it's still a neon and nothing can change that. In my personal book, neons rate lower then civics by a long shot. (for the record i do have an older style neon and it gets great gas mileage.. only reason i bought it was because my mom bought it brand new in 97 and I got a good deal on it)