Potential noob
 

I'm looking at trading my current car for an 04 RX-8 but before I do I have some questions that I would prefer to get answers from actual owners.

I've read and researched and have come across the engine failures in these cars especially early model years and common causes. I've also spoke to a former Mazda mechanic that has quote "replaced at least 10 engines"

I'm curious as to how frequent a prob is this? I live in a small Canadian city so I'm curious if the cold and improper maintenance and less than meticulous owners had more to do with these engine failures than the engine itself being the issue.

The car I'm looking at is a 2 owner, garage stored car that has had it's regular maintenance. It has 120,000 km and is a gt model.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Although I'm not new to cars or wrenching the rotary totally scares the crap out of me. I'm just wondering if I'm being over paranoid.

dont buy an 04, or 05 just dont if you arent emotionally and financially ready.

Find a 06 and enjoy.

improper maintainence has to do with many engine failures, but eventually these engines will die. Sometimes at 20k, sometimes at 60k sometimes at 100k, if you lucky maybe even more.. i dont feel like converting km to miles, but first of all an 04 - 05 is a danger zone. The car when it first came out didnt have adequate flashes and the damage has been done even after the flashes were done.

Thats generally why people tell people to stay away from them.

If you are worried about the engine going out on you, buy a newer rx8 with a warranty.

Theres no reason to be scared of the rotary engine, its going to die, just like you and me. They are very simple. A simple rule i personally use it to make a seperate bank account just for the engine rebuild WHEN it happens, not IF. I have money put aside so i dont have to panic and worry about where im going to get money from if i need a rebuild. I dont touch the money for anything at all and trust me thats incredibly difficult, i would love a set of wedsports and a mazdaspeed kit.

There is a 8 year / 160000km warranty on the engine. 04s are pretty much out of it now, and 05s will be next year, so get one as recent as you can. The one you're looking at could be in mint shape, or it could be already dead, you could get 20km out of it or 100,000. Just make sure you do a compression test (rotary, not your regular ole compression test), check the condition of the catalytic converter and replace the ignition coils, plus and wires. That goes for any RX8 of any year.

An engine replacement without warranty is $5-6k, so as long as you know that may happen and go into this with eyes open, you can decide if that's worth it for you. Read everything you can on this forum about ignition, oil and upgrades you can make to improve your odds.

i have had 2 Rx8's this year and i've found that these cars are not serviced properly, both cars i have had basically didn't get any maintenance that wasn't warranty work.

the engine failure thing is a little overblown, you actually want to start with a new engine, there is a substantial difference in power between high mileage and new.

the new engines are also relatively inexpensive, a Mazda reman is under $2000 US

or play it safe and get a compression test before you buy

Like what everyone else says, 04-05 is dangerous due to the engine problems and weak iginition etc. Look it up here on the stickies if not google is your best friend. Do your research before considering buying one. I have an 07 8 and I love it. Did the carfax history report and compression test which the car is very healthy and was owned by an owner who really cares about this car. Follow the advice of others here who been here for a while. I wish I did before buying my 8 but I was lucky to get a nice healthy one so it's all good for future problems I know where to turn to :)

Thanks for the responses guys. Looks like I'm gonna grab that 04. I'll give it a good going over when the car is actually in front of me and ifeverything seems fine it looks like I'll end up with it. Unfortunately I will only get the weekend to enjoy it then its straight into storage til late April.

Since I have a thread going where do people get there parts from? I don't know who to deal with when it comes to Mazda aftermarket. I usually dealt with Nissan or 240 specific dealers.

Thanks again all

Really recommend you get a compression test. These engines could drive fine on low compression, so there's really only one way to know for certain.

Already read, thanks. And plan on getting the compression test done before I sign anything

4 in depth posts and you ignore all 4.

why start the thread in the first place?

EDIT: you posted seconds before i did.

compression test is 40% of the concern, the bad flashes are 50%

Well if it's until Late April before you drive it again leaving your 8 in storage is not a good idea if you have gas or oil it in well depending on what others say. I just know that there is advice to how to store your 8 I'm sure someone can say a thing or two about that. Mazda is really good about things like that at least the mazda dealership I went to. Was nice and helpful just don't like to hear how much they charge for any service.

Any year rx8's, old and new, you should do that, good luck!