RX 8 or G35 Coupe
 

So I got into college you see, and half the deal of me getting into college was being allowed to use 26,000 bucks on a car, and this is where I'm stuck. For starters, above all, I need a car that will last me 10 years... And looking at many of these posts, I'd be lucky to have an RX 8 run for a month... I'm aggravated at one point, cause I absolutely love the car, the sleek design, the amazing interior, and the such. But it's the one thing that I hate about it that I also love, the engine. I mean, do you guys think that this car will last me, lets say, 10 years without having me to jump into the hood and fix stuff? Right now It's either an RX 8, or a Infiniti G35 Coupe(used). However much i seem to love the car, love doesn't conquer reliability. I would expect that since the engine has less moving parts that it will last longer, but now it seems to have more problems than any car in history (except maybe a Yugo). Don't misunderstand me, I'm not trying to put the car down, I absolutely love every aspect of it, but no matter how much I love it, love doesn't fix problems, money does, and thats something I don't have...

Just post yalls opinion if it's a good investment for a first time driver, or if I should just stick to the conventional piston engines for now...

:lol:

More problems than a Yugo?

That's awesome.

Grab a clue buddy, this is an internet forum, every little problem is reported here, whether ONE person experiences it or one thousand.

Sounds like owning a car is a trifle above your intelligence level. Perhaps a bicyle is more your speed.

I have to agree with SA22C insofar as the posting of problems is concerned. The number of posts and problems does not equal what problems most people will experience. As for overall reliability, you can get 10 years out of almost anything if you baby it and are willing to work on it every now and again, but if you need a driving appliance, you should probably look elsewhere. I wouldn't rate Infinity too high on that particular issue either - I know a few Infinity owners who always have some ongoing issue with their cars (albeit none of them own G35s). If you need said bulletproof appliance, go for a Toyota or better yet, a Lexus. They're nice cars that are comfortable, extremely well built, and you might even get decent milage in one...

Or you could jump on some Korean car with a 10 year warranty. It might spend 1/3 of every year in the shop, but at least it'd be under warranty....

All that said, I love my 8, but I don't know I'd buy one if I had to count on 10 years of perfect reliability.

Dang -- don't go an read the G35 forum or you won't have anything to buy. Getting reliability info from a forum like this is like getting your news from the National Enquirer.

The 8 is a highly reliable and very new car. Anyone with an issue will post it here (and many who don't even have the car will post issues here as well). I, like most people here, have had my 8 for 8 months with zero problems and 100% enjoyment :D

Go take at look at the Honda Accord forum or any other car forum and you wouldn't buy any of them.

Either the 8 or G35 would be great -- I would never recommend either for a college freshman (ever see what happens to a car parked on campus :( ) My I took my RX-7 to college and it got beat to $hit. Get a good used car and save the extra $17,000 for soemthing really special -- when you really deserve it -- when you graduate from college.

EDIT: Here was the damage to my 7:
headlights bashed out
antenna broke twice
keyed 3 times
tires knifed once
spray painted once

Of course having a Nebraska plated car at the University of Colorado may have played somewhat of a role in this but my roommate from Hawaii didn't fair much better. College campuses are no place for a nice new car.

Good LORD, no need to be a jerk to the guy!

First off, you're a lucky bastard to be getting 26k on a car just for having the priviledge of going to college.

With that said, I'd suggest you get the G35.

Weren't expecting that, were you?

The reason is this: This is the first model year of the Renesis, and there are problems. The car CAN flood (hasn't happened to me yet, but plenty has been reported on it, use the Search function), it runs rich, gets crappy gas milage, and pumps exhaust like it's goin out of style (black soot all over the inside of the tail pipes). Very limited resources will be available to you in college for places to take the car if it brakes down unless you happen to have a Mazda dealership you trust nearby.

The G35 is faster, has a more standardized engine that can be readily worked on in other places, etc.

Now, with all that said, let me tell you that I adore my RX-8 and wouldn't trade it for a G35...EVER. Why? Because the uniqueness of the car, the engine, it's styling, interior, HANDLING (huge one for me there), smooth acceleration, all make it priceless to me. I'm willing to accept risk (though I mitigated some by getting the fattest warranty my dealership would sell me) in order to get these amazing and unique features.

G35s don't get attention like the RX8. The G35 doesn't pur like the RX-8, and it sure doesn't handle like the 8.

For you, though, going into college with obvious concerns about reliability, get the G35.

Good call Husker... Saving the car for after graduation was my plan, and it was nice not having to watch my car like a damn hawk while I was in Austin (the land of parallel parking - in Texas at least).

But think of the upside with the co-eds if you had an 8 in college...

10 years would be 40 times longer than mine lasted it is in shop for a new engine at 580 miles.

Funny that you mentioned Austin, hopefully your not going to that college, cause I'm going to Texas A&M. Oh ya, MPG doesn't matter, all I'm worrying about right now is reliability, and I figured that Texas won't be getting cold anytime soon, so I doubt that I'll have to worry about engine flooding. But thanks alot for yalls post, never got so many replys so fast. Back to the car business, I'm pretty sure I want an RX 8, why? Cause the Infiniti is boring, and businessy, you guys showed me the light! By telling me that a forum labeled "post your car problems here" isn't a good source to check for the reliabilty of the car. Anyway, I think I'm gonna buy a blue one...

RXhusker ~ Getting reliability info from a forum like this is like getting your news from the National Enquirer.

Hmmm... my avatar wasn't a giveaway? You ARE going to the right college... ;)

A&M is a fine school, but for me, I decided that I would rather go to one of the top 10 engineering schools in the nation, in arguably the best city in Texas... ...and it sure wasn't Collie Station. :D

Good luck with college and your pending RX-8!

Buy a used accord or civic, invest the remainder of the money and use that when you graduate. If you can't get a job you might need $10,000 spare laying about... plus the nice car will get abused so badly by other people that you'll want to cry. Husker is dead on.

That's just what I'd do.... unless I already had the 8. Then it would have to be taken away or sold over my dead body...

Bah! Plenty of time to be an adult later... just get the 8. You'll not regret it... just don't complain when it gets dinged and scratched to all hell.

Wow, again funny that you mentioned engineering, cause I'm going to become a Nuclear Engineer. And oh ya, even though its off topic, around how many miles are you supposed to change your oil?

Nuclear Engr... Cool. I almost got my technical specialization in nuclear engineering (4 credit hours away), but I went with general Mechanical Engineering instead - I liked being in the machine shop too much...

For the oil, the manual says 5K or 7.5K, but everytime I take mine to J. Haas, they change it at 3 and sticker it to be back in 3. Since I was a preorder before the HP hit the fan, all my oil changes are free until the warranty runs out.

I'd go with Husker on this one as well. Get a used car for college, you dont want such a nice car on campus. It will just get bashed and scratched and make you VERY angry seeing as you don't have EXTRA money. If ya got 26K for a car and enough $$$ to go to college im sure plenty of people would love to be in your position. Don't lose too much sleep over it, just know whatever car you get will last 10 years IF you take car of it but that sure doesnt include the bumps, dents, scratches that IT WILL collect on campus. Both nice cars, you cant lose.

Spend 12k on a used G35 coupe (I hear they have VERY poor resale value) and save the rest for a nice vacation after college.

Personally, I wanted the G35 Coupe before I bought my RX-8, but everytime I went to a dealer, they refused to help me. Being a young 21 y/o guy, they saw me as some punk kid. Little do they know I had lots of money to spend. Once I even worked out an entire deal with an Infiniti dealer and he then refused to let me test drive the car. Stating that they could sell the car to anyone else without a test drive and they didn't want to put miles on their supply of G35s. I spoke to the sales manager and he gave me the same excuse. I turned around and walked out of the dealership. When I went to Mazda, the first question asked to me was if I wanted to drive the RX. I was SOLD!

Re: RX 8 or G35 Coupe
 

I don't know about what you are talking. Consumer Reports' long term data show that Mazda is one of the very few most reliable brands. I don't expect the RX8 to be any different. Mazda is the only manufacturer who knows how to make a really reliable rotary engine when everyone else had dropped out.

I think the rx8 is better for a younger person

ya, my friends keep on screaming at my to get an Evo, but thats too much, and personally i think the car looks bad (very bad). And whats this RX 8 only getting some 200 WHP? How could Mazda let something go by? You would think that with bragging about how small their rotary engine is that they would take the extra space and get a bigger engine....

Oh ya, do these RX 8's see any upgrades in the future? I mean minor upgrades, like headers (somehow)? Or something, something just to look forward too

Reliability is relative!
 

What I mean is every car is different. A car will last as long as YOU want it to. You take care of it and it will for the most part take care of you.

I have had my 8 for almost 6 months (acquisition date of 30 Oct 2003) And have had ZERO problems with it. It is the best car I have ever driven. All I needed was a wheel balance after I installed tires that will take me thru a full 365 days worth of what mother nature dishes out..

Rotaries have been around since WWII The principal has not changed in over 50 years. If it is cared for it will last thru many appreciated years of joyful driving.

Personaly I think you be doing yourself a disservice by getting the 8, Why? You are already forming a negative image of the car in you mind that will never go away. You will be looking to pick fault with every little thing that will pop up.

If It is a car that is light years ahead of the Nissan in terms of exclusivity, performance, comfort and downright sex appeal then get yourself an 8 and start forming a positive image of what a great car it can be!

ya, rotary nut i think your right.
I'm trying to find some mistake with the car, because i find it so amazing. I shouldn't be developing such a negative attitude, cause as soon as a mistake comes out, I'll criticize it, when i should be enjoying it

Buy a used car like they said.. I graduated already, and of course people will treat your car like a cheap ragdoll... and that was at UCI, not a poor neighborhood mind you.

Besides, for 26k, that's not much of a G35. You better fork over at least 35k for a decent G35. At the least, for 26k, you can get a pretty good RX-8 without GT package. Perhaps Sports package with the appearence stuff.

Also consider the 1500+ extra for the title and licensing...

I figure that I could get a base model RX 8, with manual transmission. They i can put on whatever specific parts i want (ex. fog lights, xenon, and the such). Hopefully u can put on an mp3 player...

The base madel does not come with manual transmission. :)

I don't think RX8 is the right car for you since you don't understand the benefit of having a small engine in a true sports car. It seems a Camaro will make you much happier.

ya right, a Camaro? What so I can brag about what happens when you take a big engine and a car that you go faster? I'm pretty sure that this car is for me.

And when I said base i meant simple 18 inch rims, manual version. No automatics here

The engine is unproven and has had some issues, but it's still too early to tell how reliable it will be. I really think you need to consider another car, maybe a Honda, Acura, Toyota, non Turbo Subaru, or maybe even another Mazda car. If you really need a car to last you 10 years with minimal problems those are your best bets. The RX-8 is unproven on reliability and is more performance oriented, and performance cars are always a little more maintenance even if it's just because people tend to drive them a little harder.

Wow! I cringe at what your insurance will be (young age and a car with high repair cost) - I am past 40 with a spotless profile, and I think my insurnance is high.

if you plan to carry passenger that are over 5 foot 6, you HAVE to get the rx8.... I test drove the g35c and when I sit in the back my head was touching the rear windshield glass and I had to tilt my head down to sit back there! There's more leg room iin the back compared to the 8 though...
but yea.. like the others said, in the end it's what YOU like... (or in my case, mazda offered me $3000 more for my trade in so... :p )

Re: Re: RX 8 or G35 Coupe
 

HOLY CRAP!!! Consumer Reports!?! Well then, it's settled. We should all be driving volvos... Personally I don't think they know their a$$ from their elbow when it comes to cars. I'd rather go with JD Power's assessment of a car's reliability. But aside from just what other people say, my personal experience ranks Lexus and Toymotor ahead of Mazda. Ask anyone with a FD if they ever had any problems... My FB is still going, but to say Mazda's the top of reliability? That's a stretch.

Ike makes a decent point about the renesis being unproven, but there are warranties for a reason. Even still, if you cop out of the mazda, don't go to the darkside of FWD. You might as well throw in an automatic and pilot your whirlpool down the road.

Doesn't it really come down to this: Chicks dig the 8.

You're focused too much on raw power. The RX-8 is about finesse, handling and being a sports car. You don't need a lot of power to make an amazing sports car. Look at the Miata as an example. It was introduced with only 118HP and now has only 170. Sports cars focus on handling, not raw power.

If you want brute power go with the 350Z, G35c, Mustang or used Camaro.

Have you driven an RX? You'll be addicted once you do...There's nothing like listening to a rotory engine scream at 9000 rpms while you carve a sweet turn on your favorite twisty road... ::droooooool::

BTW, We brag about our rotories, becuase it's the only new car powered by Wankel. There's something to be said for exclusivity...

And as for the RENESIS being unreliable or unproven...come on guys...this engine has been around for years...Mazda merely updated it for the RX-8. It's like Honda adding displacement or VTEC to one of their engines. No manufacturer would produce a car that wasn't reliable. The days of the Yugo are over.

Anybody can drop in an engine that will throw hp and torque, where's the victory there. My friend got a new Z06 about the same time I got my 8. I tell him he has a bull dyke (sp?) while I have a supermodel.

Driving the 350 was nice, but vastly different from the 8. The G35, to me, is just a watered down and bloated 350. If you want to feel like you're melting into turns then the 8 is the way to go.

Re: Re: Re: RX 8 or G35 Coupe
 

I did not say it is on the top. Just among the a few top ones. In fact it is top 4 or top 5 depending on the year. Consumer Reports doesn't really like Volvos because their reliability record. They like Toyota/Lexus and Honda/Acura the most. Personally, reliability is not my #1 criteria. I have two BMWs and two Mazdas (miata & RX8) in my household. None of them are on CR's very top. But all of them are RWD and fun. But the original thread raised doubt about RX8's reliability.

JDPower, you are kidding me right? Oh well. This is not what the thread about.

Base would be AT... consider adding another 1k for Manual. The headlights cannot be added unless you go with one of the other packages.. I believe at least Touring for the Xenon lights. No moonroof if you don't get GT. But once you get into the Touring package range, and with Tax+License you are looking at least 30k+

If your parents are forking over the 26k, maybe you can convince them to push it up to 30k+. Then maybe you can show them how much your insurance will go up because you are a new driver, to a new 30k+ car, with a manual transmission.

Re: Re: Re: Re: RX 8 or G35 Coupe
 

I'm not sure what consumer reports you're reading...

This was from the 02 MY, I haven't seen the 03 MY report though.

For 2002 models, the average was 18 problems per 100 vehicles, vs. 21 in 2001.
Brand Problems per
100 vehicles
Toyota 10
Honda 11
Hyundai 11
Subaru 13
Nissan 15
BMW 20
Chrysler 20
Mazda 20
Volkswagen 20
General Motors 21
Mercedes-Benz 22
Ford Motor 23
Source: Consumer Reports

Re: Re: Re: RX 8 or G35 Coupe
 

Actually, Mazda is generally only a notch or two below Honda and Toyota. And it's a darned sight better than Chevy or Ford. The FD is NOT a good example. You can't condemn a manufacturer's entire record on one car !!! The reliability of the FB's and FC's is notoriously GOOD !!! I won't get into the detailed explanation of why the FD's reputation is worse than it should have been.

I have put 23,000 miles on my 8 since 8/6/03 with no problems whatsoever. The only glitch was a false CEL. I have had all service done free of charge.

I swear. Getting on this forum is quickly becoming annoying with all these people saying: " I hear this car is a piece of shit !!" This is the best car I've owned (and I've had several reliable cars over the last 10 years).

I'm going to turn blue in the face defending this car's rep.......

AMEN BROTHER...AMEN!!!

used civic, pocket $20,000 and use it toward tuition. Student loans are a witch, believe me I know......

Re: RX 8 or G35 Coupe
 

I say, get a Civic, spend the rest on dating, fake ID, beer, books and savings, and don't let your parents spoil you even though they love you and want to do this for you, because otherwise you'll do the same for your children, and you won't value your education as much. Part of the fun of being in college is living frugally, even if it's on your parents money. you'll feel like an odd-one-out being flush with cash and having a fancy car. remember, once these 4 years are over, you'll never have them back. Better to have fun on the cheap get the kind of education that will give you the ambition to make enough money to buy yourself your very own nuclear-powered RX-9 in 10 years.

Re: Re: Re: Re: RX 8 or G35 Coupe
 

Did you even read my post? That report has nothing to do with the FDs reliability, and I have never seen Mazda up there with Honda or Toyota. It's usually the lowest rated in terms of reliability of all the Japanese automakers, that's not a bad thing they're still quite reliable... But even the most reliable car makers can make less than reliable cars, and the least reliable can make very reliable cars. The freaking Buick Regal was picked as the most reliable mid size car in 2003 by CR, topping the Maxima, Camry, and Accord... Defend the reliability of the RX-8 all you like, you have no freaking clue how reliable it's going to be and neither does anyone else on this or any other forum, the same goes for the people that are coming on here and calling it unreliable.

Ike

I don't blame this kid. If I had the opportunity to blow $26k on a car going into college I would have done it in a heartbeat! Who among us wouldn't have?

Out of curiosity, why do you need it to last 10 yrs?

You need it to last 4-6 years, rx8 will do that without a problem if you take care of it, so live it up. I can speak for many of us older folks in saying if we had oppurtunity to get a brand new rx8 right out of HS we'd jump on it. You are one spoiled lucky ass M'fer, so give yourself oppurtunity very few people your age get. Now if parents are handing you that sum of money and saying " HERE GO BUY YOURSELF A CAR", then I suggest being smart and buying a certified preowned honda, and putting rest of money in a money market account. If they are offering to buy you a new car, then DO NOT HESITATE. GET WHAT YOU WANT YOU SPOILED RICH KID. hehe. Just kidding.You get my point. Enjoy your new rx8, it's the only way to go here.

well guys don't worry, my mom is now willing to use up too 28k on a car, and I know exactly which one i want, manual, cloth, top of the line one, the package that comes with a sunroof. And my insurance record is completly clean (although i got caught going 82 on a 40, and got it dismissed :P). Oh ya, quick question, would it be too hard to put in a subwoofer? even though the pack comes with a Bose Audio system, I'm still a bass fiend.

Oh hell ya I'm spoiled, I acknolewdge that, but it's better to acknolewdge the fact that I am, then ignore it and think I'm not. I'm so lucky it scares me...

Oh ya! another reason to get an RX 8. Because no other car gains such hard core enthusiasts! I mean in a day I got some odd 20 replies over a subject that I'm sure none of you guys cared about. All I can say is thanks alot for all of yalls opinion, and you guys can expect me to be joining yall as a strong avid member of this forum (with my own RX 8)! (of course I'll change the name)

Well You realy have $20000 to spend... Did you forget about Insurance?? The RX-8 won't be the cheapest to insure if you are 18 years old. That is one reason I am glad that I am older...

Nat

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: RX 8 or G35 Coupe
 

Um........ dude......... I wasn't aiming those comments at you !!!!! As far as reliability, I've owned 10 Mazdas and aside from the 2 FD's they were all exceptionally reliable cars. One of my MX-6 V6's in owned by a co-worker and it now has 292,000 miles on the clock. My 3 FC's were bulletproof. So, I have no reason to believe that this one will not be reliable. If it had turbos - then I might be a bit concerned. I have maintained a love/hate relationship with my FD's. They are a pain in my ass. And yes, I agree with the Buick issue. I also drove a few of those for work as beater cars and they are generally unstoppable. The 3800 series V6 is a damned fine engine.

so, chill .........

Go drive a G and the 8 back to back....you'll know for sure ;)

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: RX 8 or G35 Coupe
 

I guess I did go off a little lol. Sorry about that, I guess it just bugs me when people talk about the reliability of new cars like they know one way or another, whether it's saying it's reliable or unreliable. Didn't mean to make it seem like a rant aimed towards just you, it was more a general rant with some of your comments interjected :)

Ike

Either you are mistaken or I don't have the package I think I have but I have a MT sport and mine came with Xenon and the TSC/DSC.

If the mom is willing to spend 28k+ on this car for him, they must be pretty well off... considering the insurance and GAS prices will just scare the bejesus off of the average middle income family. 40k each person/2 adults... 80k with 1 kid to manage, mortgage, car payments, etc...

So his mom probably drives a nice BMW or Benz. Good luck on the car, and ask your mom for a gas card... you'll need it. I fill up at least every other day since I drive to work Monday through Saturday. About $33-35 each fillup. Oh joy. At this rate, I expect to spend about $4000-4800 this year on gas alone.

The "sport" 6MT (1SP) package came with Xenon lights, TSC/DSC & foglights and all the standard 6MT goodies.

12K? LOL! What planet are you from? Err, maybe you can get a G35 major damage and salvage title for that amount. Hell, my 02 Maxima is worth more than that!

I did a quick lookup for a used 03 G35 coupe w/no options and 12K miles on edmunds.com (their car values tend to be low) and dealer trade in value is $26.5K and private party is $27.8K.

Back to the reliability note, Mazda as a brand does have pretty decent reliability overall according to the April 04 auto issue of Consumer Reports. However, as I've stated many times on here before, the engine problems are troubling given the small # of RX-8s that have been sold. I've counted 11 people on here now that have needed new engines: ectomort, rx gr8t, miata2rx8, Kas, canzoomer, ShawnC, Judge Ito, JaChTsai, JeFfUcF (ended up receiving a replacement car), Chef Rx-8, Topgun

Did I miss or mis-characterize anyone? I don't think one can conclude that the RX-8's engine is incredibly reliable from the above. For comparison, I've counted 1 guy (there could be more, if there are others, feel free to post URLs to their engine replacement stories) on my 350z.com who's needed a new engine who was unmodded or lightly modded (running NOS, bolting on superchargers and turbochargers isn't light modding in my book). 350Zs have been on the road longer and there are more of them. Sorry to stray OT a bit on this, as I have a Z and don't follow G35 forums.

Anyhow, since this is an RX-8 forum, I'm sure most people will tell the original poster to get an 8.

Newbie starts a thread and it explodes. Nice.

About all the reliability stuff - Mazda's are by and large pretty reliable, but to say it's the top is a bit too much. I personally would never buy a car based on CRs recommendations, unless said car was a minivan... But yeah - my whole point earlier was just to go along with Ike - Mazda's fairly reliable, but this is a ground up NEW car and no-one knows how it's gonna do in 10 years. As for the FDs, I think they were exceptions, but in 1993 I'll bet people had this same discussion about how reliable Mazdas were, and how it applied to the new RX-7. (Happily there are no turbos to replace :))

Regardless of all the bantering, even if the RX-8 comes in slightly below Mazda's standards of reliability, the warranty period should allow you to address the major concerns before you start incurring any major costs to yourself.