Potential Owner Here...
 

Hi All,

Just wanted an opinion on if I would be making a right choice...

I have owner all sorts of "fun cars"...This would not be a daily driver.

I have never driven one of these...Always liked them. Also having two small kids the rear seats are a bonus.

Some of my previous "fun" cars:

1997 Cobra Mustang, 2000 Vette, 2003 G35 Coupe, 2002 M3 SMG, 2005 M3 AA Supercharged, 1999 Viper GTS, 2004 Mini Cooper S, 2003 Mustang Cobra (turbo - 650 WHP)...Note the rear seats in the last ones...

The Mini was quite a change...Very fun car but missed the HP.

I know the RX8 will not win any drag races...That is not what it is intended for. But is the "fun factor" enough? The cars really seem to be a lot of bang for the buck. $12K can get a mint one with hardly any miles on it.

Thanks for any opinions!!

What exactly is your question?

Largely, the people we steer away from the RX-8 are people that rely on the car for transportation and might have trouble with the maintenance and/or cost of having someone else keep it maintained, or people that expect a drag car, or people that expect solid reliability, or people that aren't willing to deal with the range and scale of problems.

If you are just asking "is this car fun", then yes, it certainly is. Have you test driven one yet?

During the test drive, make sure to use the engine over 5,000 rpm. That is where the fun starts....

Thanks for the replies...I guess a test drive is in order prior to buying one sight unseen! That was really my question...To find out how much fun it is compared to some of the others I have owned, etc.

I'll read up some more...They seem to be a bargain for the money. And this will not be a daily car for me...Nice weather, when the time permits, etc.

Great fun car.

Just remember that if you need lotsa torque or low quarter-mile times to have "fun," the 8 ain't for you.

Like the Mini, This car is fun, but you will be missing the HP again. If you get out of a turbo Cobra to test drive a RX8, You're going to feel like just got into a go-cart. The fun factor is there but you wont get the kick-in-the-pants torque you are accustomed to from those muscle cars.

Thanks for the comments again...I did a bit of auto X with my AA M3...That was a handful...Too much HP for me / my experience...

I think this could be the perfect balance.

That's a good comparison, but not the new heavier M3s, the older ones. Just be sure to read up on ignition and engine maintenance, common problems and get a compression test before you start signing checks.

It's really a fun car... ;)

I think I have decided to get one...Looking at a couple...I will make sure to do my homework!

Thanks and I will report back once I have one in hand.