Wankeler

If you sell yours back... does that mean I (we) can get it as a used vehicle? Dang.... tell us who you are and what dealers you're going to turn the keys into.

Maybe a spare 8 in a different color.... hmmmmm.


Thanks in advance!

myrx8

Sorry, Mazda will be telling me in about three weeks which dealer to drop the car off at and then the car will be shipped to Mazda.
I bought mine in St, Louis and live in Kansas City. They said it would be a Kansas City dealer for the return.


(Still have not pulled the trigger, just sent the information they requested, that's it)

Squidward

I read somewhere in another thread that the employees of mazda is probably going to get first dibs at the returns.

anyway the dealerships aren't buying the cars back, Mazda is... So I doubt there will be any of these available at any dealership, not immediately anyway.

Toadman

Yes, a perfectly good car is going to be branded as a lemon-law buy-back vehicle because of 9 missing hp. They will not be re-sold to consumers at the dealer. Mazda employees are getting first dibs on them, and I hear quite a few are excited and waiting for you to turn your car in.

carnut

Would the returned cars actually be branded as "lemons" if all other RX-8s are identical to them? Maybe it's a legal requirement of some sort.

Squidward

well for those who are turning in their cars, it's a very good thing because the cars will actually be owned by people who can look beyond a number on paper, and who can appreciate the RX-8 for all that it is... an outstanding car and a real value.

myrx8

I love my RX8, i just want to get one with Navigation.

TomsterRX8

My reasons go WELL beyond a missing 9 horses. For one, I'm quite certain that the rear wheel dynos tell the more accurate picture and those would show that either the engine hp is no where near 238 hp or for some reason the 8 is losing twice as much power from the engine to the rear wheels as it should.

Another reason is uncomfortable cabin heat. My friend rode along the other day, and without my saying a word, told me that his feet were getting really hot.

Another reason is an inadequate air conditioner that many others have experienced as well. Not acceptable in Texas summers.

Another reason is the dismal miles per gallon. Avgs of 16-17 mph for a relatively light car with only average power that is driven non-aggresively is disappointing to say the least.

But the biggest reason is that I own a pickup and a motorcycle. Because I have alternate transportation I can take advantage of driving the Hell out of this car for another 5 weeks or so and getting a FULL refund when I'm done. I can then drive what I already own for several weeks or months and see if there is something that suits me better. If not, I'm absolutely positive that I will be able to jump back into the RX8 market for thousands of dollars less than what I paid a month ago. Why? Because like a wrote in another thread, there were 26 sitting at one of three area dealerships as of last Friday. As they stack up the price will drop. With the negative press from the buyback and with a still weak economy I'm quite sure incentives will be offered on new RX8's by year-end.

Go to a Honda dealership and you might see one or two S2000s....at a Nissan dealership you might see 3 or 4 350Zs. Twenty six, only a month or so after introduction scares the Hell out of me.

If you have none of the above problems with your car and if you cannot drive something else for a few months were you to sell back to Mazda then you have every reason to be proud of your car and its wonderfully smooth engine, transmission and brakes. I, like many, have too many Gremlins in my 1st year car not to take advantage of this mulligan Mazda is offering.

Good luck with your choice.

Jump120MPH

Im keeping mine. 9hp who cares. It is still a bad *** car.

loco4rx8

If nothing drastic happens in the next few weeks, I will definitely be keeping my car.

But I wonder if those of you who plan to drive it until the end of September and then go for the buyback have thought of the possibility that you might get in an accident between now and then? That would suck. If I had made my decision to go for the buyback, I'd start that process right now. With my luck, I'd still get run into before Mazda took it back. :p

khoney

Just got back from 200 exhilarating miles of Texas hill country driving - lots of twisties and some long straight stretches of road. I'm sorry to disappoint everyone, but if you want MY car, you'll have to pry it from my COLD DEAD HANDS!!

I want to be buried in this car.

Seriously, I have zero complaints about this incredible automobile. 100mph feels like a leisurely Sunday drive, handling is great, and the car has a lot of passing power, which I used frequently today to get around the Sunday drivers doing only 65.

If there's horsepower missing from this car, I sure as hell don't miss it. While I respect others' decisions to take the buyback option, I will never understand it. I wish they would go back and test drive another car, because if they say there's no power above 6K, something is wrong. Maybe I got lucky and have the world's best-performing RX-8, but I doubt it. I pray that if there is indeed a systemic problem, that Mazda finds out what it is, so that everyone else can enjoy driving this gem as much as I do.

Good luck to all the buyback folks - I hope you find what you're looking for. I also hope to see you back next year with a 2005 model

neomicro

Got my letter two days ago from Mazda. Spoke to a customer service representative to see if there was any hope of getting a fix for the decreased horsepower and was told no, only the buy back offer or the $500 and service.
I am returning the car for these reasons.
1. Mazda does not intend to fix the problem.
2. I had to pay $3,185 over the MSRP (because it was such a hot sports car, and so much in demand)
This car is just not what it was advertised to be. I ended up paying $36,285 before tax title and licence for a car that had a msrp of $33,100. I did this at the time thinking that I was getting a 247hp car that at the time I calculated would be putting down around 200 to the rear wheels. The $500 and free maintenance does not add up to the price I had to pay over msrp.
I think I will be looking for another FD with low miles, 1995 R2 hopefully. I bought the RX8 to be a daily driver so I could keep my modified FD for just occasional use. After spending time with the RX8, I think I would be better off with a stock FD as a daily driver. That car truly delivers as a sports car.
During this decision making process, I looked at and test drove a Nissan 350Z. At the end of a long test drive with the Z, I got back to the dealership and looked at the RX-8 next to the Z. Looks wise IMO the RX8 wins hands down. As I left the Nissan dealer in the RX-8 I have to say, overall in driving experience, the RX-8 wins again (not in terms of raw power, but it was a much smoother delivery of that power) and it felt better on the road. Maybe that is just my preference for those high reving rotary engines.
Too bad Mazda can't produce the numbers the originally advertised with the car. I like the car enough that if the dealer had not charged a markup, I would probably be keeping it even with the reduced numbers, but the combination of the over charge, and the lack of ability or willingness by Mazda to fix the problem was enough to make my decision.
I still think this car is going to do good for Mazda and I know from my research on these forums that alot of people love the car. I am one of those who does still love the car, but not enough to keep it at the price I had to pay.

texian

I BOUGHT mine after the announcement. Even though I could give it back, I shall not.

While some people may disagree with my choice, vive le difference.

And I wouldn't spend my days sniffing around a message board dedicated to a car I didn't want. But hey, that's just me...

brothervoodoo

Stop, go no further, good enough reason for me, send it back..

TomsterRX8

The thought HAS crossed my mind that I could wreck this car before the chance to give it back. The conspiracy nut side of me says that Mazda is giving so much time to sell back with the expectation that some of the cars will be wrecked, thus making it the insurance company's problem. In reality I'm sure it's more a matter of time required to set this thing up logistically and the hope that we will all fall in love with this car the longer we own it.

TomsterRX8

No brainer......back it goes. And I'd never buy from that crooked dealership again. I went to Mississippi to buy my S2000 when it first came out because the dealers in Austin wanted $5,000 over MSRP. Got it for MSRP and, over 4 years later, would never think of buying anything from those greedy bastards.

Hayseed

In another thread I read that Mazda will not allow those who sell back their cars to buy another within some time frame (6 months?). Is this true? I bought mine with 144 miles on it (a demo for sure, but I couldn't wait for my pre-ordered titanium and I was taken with the nordic green). Who knows how it was broken in (though it runs great). I had a CEL problem (though it has not recurred) and a premature oil light (it's an early VIN -- improperly baffled oil pan?). I'm getting 20 mph plus or minus. Still, was thinking of selling it back, turning right around and buying another with a later VIN and a handful of miles. Does anyone know about restrictions on how soon you can buy another? (I love this car and am not considering anything else.)

hal8

Is this the only thread on this topic?? This is a HUGE issue. I, too, LOVE this car, but it is EXTREMELY tempting to send it back because certainly the next model year or sooner will improve on the HP and MPG and I am willing to wait (haven't sold my "other" car yet). My RX-8 resale is almost certainly going to stink especially if improvements are made just down the road. Getting this same car later--even if over 6 months from now--with better performance, better mileage, better resale and other minor fixes (A/C, for example) is too tempting. Are there any hidden conditions on the buyback???

Kas

wait till next year for impromements, but no, wait another 6 months and see what happens..keep waiting, of course its going to get better, naturally.

Better fuel consumption? I doubt it. Its a rotary, not a pissy 4 cil. Rotary's must run rich, running lean kills them.

RX-8 Zoomster

To answer the question "R U Bringing your 8 back to Mazda? Tell us!!! PLEASE!", I am not returning it. I'm keeping it and taking the $500 and free schedule maintenance.

My car is performing as advertised. The stated HP number may have slipped, but not the performance times as evident from RotaryNews.com: Exclusive: Mazda's RX-8 1/4 mile Time Slips.

I also have not experienced the problems such as performance lag, AC problems, excessive heat, nor low MPG's. I have no reason to return the car.

Master Phu

I second that. My car started out only getting 16 MPG but as it is getting broken in, my MPGs keep climbing after every tank. I just broke 20 MPG with the AC on and 70/30 city/highway driving. I'm redlining the hell out of the thing too(at least once or twice everytime I'm driving and I'm in and out of the thing 4 times a day).

hal8

My immediate reaction to the buyback is to return the car and buy a new one again in 6 months to a year (seems like a no brainer since I haven't sold my other car yet). In an effort to convince myself not to return the 8 for purely financial reasons, I threw together a crude spreadsheet (by financial analysis and statistical standards it's weak, but better than gut feel estimates). The "inputs" are below. It tells me that the financial incentives are a wash (a "loss" of less than $200 when selling the original RX-8 after 5 years compared to a newer version). So it really comes down to the "emotional" risk of keeping this version and then seeing a faster RX-8 6 months or so from now and regretting having kept this one. Still leaning toward return.

$30,000.00 -- Price paid (including TTT)
$800.00 -- Value of Mazda incentives to keep
7% -- Immediate percentage depreciation resulting from driving off lot (either version)
11% -- Immediate percentage depreciation resulting from driving off lot and buyback news
5 -- Years plan to keep
$29,500.00 -- Price paid for next RX-8 (assume 6 months from now)
5% -- Anticipated annual depreciation (both versions)
20% -- Odds that Mazda, within 1 year, will release a significantly better performing/improved MPG RX-8
5% -- Immediate percentage depreciation resulting from news of improved version
10% -- Odds that Mazda will discontinue the RX-8 in its first year
5% -- Immediate percentage appreciation resulting from news of discontinuation (collector car)
70% -- Odds that Mazda will continue production beyond 04 but make only minor changes
$500.00 -- Prep and advertising costs for sale

Superbone

I'm trying to decide whether I should keep my RX-8 or not. To be honest, I'm not too concerned about the hp rating difference. I really enjoy the power it has and I love the handling. My biggest concern is the gas mileage I'm getting.


I commute 100 miles a day to work and back most of it freeway driving. But, I'm only getting about 18 MPG. Now, I do drive fast and like to push it when in the city but I expected better mileage because of all the freeway driving.


So, I'm not too happy with having to fill up every 2.5 days at $30 a pop. Is this consistent with what others are getting? BTW, I have about 1100 miles so far.

RX-Nut

So are you selling back? I'm curious, did Mazda say the process will take three weeks or something?

myrx8

I am just sending the paperwork in - I have yet to decide to keep it or not. This is the reason I want to turn it in:

1) When I got my car, I didn't get the Navigation. Now I want it.
2) I paid sticker for the car and I want to see if I can get a new RX8 at a discount (some poster have stated they have been able to)

The reason not to get rid of it:

1) I love the car. The speed and horsepower issues are not issues to me.

And Mazda did say the whole process takes about three weeks. I thought I could just take it back to the dealer I purchased it from, but that was wrong.

I will keep everyone updated.

By the way, the guy I talked to a Mazda said they have had a lot of owners want to turn in the car. No numbers yet.