Hip

Hello, at my local dealership they are selling a 2004 red rx-8 with leather heated seats navigation and everything else that I bleieve comes with the gt package. Their asking price is 12.7 with 41k miles on the vehicle and a clean owner history. It's parked in the show room next to a gt-r, so from my standpoint it is in amazing condition. No scratches or dents. Crisp interior...etc.

The reason I'm hesitant is because of all the Internet flame wars and bad customer reviews about this year and model. So I wanted actual owners to give me there honest opinion. Right now I'm driving a manual 2010 scion xd.

From what I've heard there's flooding issues if the car isn't stRted and kept running for a while(seems troublesome) ontop of constantly having to check and maintain the oil yourself. I've read about many recalls from minor things to engine issues that Mazda will not back. A few people said they've had to replace the engine under 100k miles on the vehicle ontop of other misc parts that can cost a pretty penny.

Someone reviewing the car said that this car NEEDS to be driven hard And rough to avoid engine problems, which doesn't make muh sense to me considering that would promote engine problems.

At the bottom of it all I would like honest opinions from owners and Mazda consumers on this vehicle and if I might as well stick to my little scion. Hoping someone could convince me it's not as bad as people make it out to be of a vehicle.

lateralus

iTrader: (1)

It definitely isn't as bad as some people make it out to be!... I have an '04 and love that thing...

There are a good many Rx8s that need new engines before 100k miles... Mazda has a 8 year 100k mile warranty on the engine core because of this, but since the one you are looking at is an '04 the warranty would be running up pretty soon due to time... If you do wind up deciding you want to get it, have a compression test done on it. This will tell you if the engine is looking like it will need to be replaced in the very near future...

This link will tell you just about everything you need to know about 8s... https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-forum-197/new-potential-owners-start-here-202454/

$12.7k is a little high for an '04, even with pretty good mileage...

And one other important question... is it a manual or automatic transmission?

Hip

It's a manual. And if 12.7 is high what is considered a steal

lateralus

iTrader: (1)

1.) Manual is good... The autos were known to have a few more problems and not perform quite as well.

2.) Look in the Rx8s for sale section on here... That should give you a pretty good idea of what they go for...

Cause for almost $13k you could probably find one somewhere that is a couple years newer. Or for an '04 you could definitely find one that is 1 or $2,000 cheaper...

Given, since you are looking to get it from a dealer it will be slightly more than it would be just buying one from someone who is selling theirs, but if you look around you could still probably find one with a lower price than that

Hip

Well I know this was a dead thread but I talked them down from 14k to 12.2k. Going to pick it up tomorrow at noon after they wax and detail it!!! They had to put a New bttery in it cause the person who moved it out of the show room flooded it and it didn't have enough juice to start after they kept screwing with it -.-....WHY.

lateralus

iTrader: (1)

Get them to check and be sure that it didn't foul the plugs

Hip

Is fouling the plugs easy? I thought it was kinda common that people Accidently flood their 8s.

Speed_8

no one accidently floods their 8, unless they are drunk behind the wheel or high lol.... the car is not difficult to maintain, 1. no cold shutoff, 2. when cold, the car does not let you rev past 6k ( until warmed up ) 3. add oil every 400miles ( depends how hard you drive ) 4. yes you have to sometimes drive the car hard to burn off the carbon build up in your motor.. at the end if you do these 4 simple tasks they will eventually be second nature, you will love this car as much as we all do here. One day you will be one of us just waiting for someone to say " yo the next rx should have a piston engine " and we murder him with verbal diarriah lol

Silver6

You mean the rx8 doesn't have a piston engine!? I have been deceived! Lol

lateralus

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't really say it is really easy or anything, but it can happen when the engine floods. And flooding can be caused by bad plugs... So since they flooded it, they should be responsible for being sure the plugs are good before you get it from them IMO...

mkmike103

iTrader: (3)

Congrats on the purchase, and pics.

-WILL-

i have an 04. i can turn it off in 10 degree weather after just starting it and it doesnt flood. i check the oil like once a month and it has never gotten too low. i wanna say i use a quart every 3000-4000 miles maybe? if you drive one youll realize the positives outweigh the negatives

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

If the ignition system is working correctly, flooding should be a thing of the past. Mazda has issued several changes to the ecm programing since 2004 to cure this problem.
I have not once flooded the car. And, I do everything wrong that the people here say you shouldn't do. I shutdown cold.
I had an engine problem within the first 14 months of ownership. Mazda honored their warranty each time I had a problem. They also realized that it was their problem and latter extended the warranty to 100,000 miles or 8 yrs on the engine core.
If I had to do it all again, I wouldn't hesitate to get this car. It is the finest one I have driven in close to 40 yrs of driving.

Hip

Well I asked them to check the plugs. I also asked about snow tires considering it's bad out and were expecting a foot of snow. So they got back to me and said they called Mazda and they recommended the "all seasons" already on the car. Sounds like bs >.>

Speed_8

lol why would they have to call mazda, who does not know that winters have more traction then all seasons.

Hip

Lol I know. That was my concern. Currently sitting on the highway that's backed up for miles cause people are sliding off the road. No good.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Verify that all ECU reflashes have been done, there are a few updates that came out since 2004. I would say they should not have been able to flood it considering it was indoors (warm) if all recalls had been done.. call Mazda, give them then VIN, they'll tell what all has been performed and what is outstanding. MSP16 is the TSB you're really looking to have applied.

-WILL-

Also in regards to the "having to drive hard." Just redline every now and then to burn carbon and you should be fine. in my everyday driving i shift at about 3500 or 4000. any lower than that and it feels like im driving my sisters camry haha.