Ok, I read about blown motors, engines that flood and need a mechanic to fix, maybe problems with cars in hot areas (and cold areas) and terrible dealer service. And, a car that people love. So, I live in the tropics on a warm island. There's one and only one dealer that sees few rotaries. I want a car that's a blast to drive but starts when I turn the key and isn't aggravation. What do you think? There's a lot of 2005's in FL lots so besides from the MT what options do you like. Is there a dealer in FL that is giving great deals? THANKS.

 

I have had my 8 for over a year now and it has run flawlessly the entire time. The reason you hear so much about the negative features is that the people with problems are the ones who complain the most. When is the last time you read a post where someone titled it "no problems"? As for a dealer that is giving good deals we would need more information like what area you are thinking of going to to buy it or where you are located more specifically. It is a fun car as long as you follow a few simple rules it will be worry free dont turn it off when the motor is cold, redline it every once in awhile, and check the oil.

 

People with problems are the first to vent, seems like you and most of the forum aren't having problems. I'm concerned about driving on jittery roads. Do you get beat up (like a vette I drove a few years ago), or is it pretty forgiving? Is it your everyday car? Thanks

 

It's an every day car for most people here....

I'm in Texas, the engine is fine in hot weather.

 

I can't tell you all the problems I've had with my RX-8!!!!

I can't tell you, because I haven't had any.

 

I had an RX-7 (93) for 8 years; probs, yes, but they were manageable. I've replaced engines, modded, and repainted, but loved every minute of it.

I had an RX-7 (87) for a year; it had 197k on it, non turbo.....ran great.

Now I have an '04 RX-8 and still love it. Will i have problems? yes, but will the thrill of the drive exceed the probs,......you bet!

 

If you've read about all those things, then you must have also read that blown engines are a rarity, the Las Vegas issue is a little fishey, flooding is easily prevented, and the car only takes a minimum of extra attention when compared with a "regular" car.

It's not just Mazda service people that can be idiots, jackasses, lazy, etc. It's any service people. Blown engines have been occuring since the internal combustion engines were invented. Take care of it, and barring random defect, yours will be fine. Last summer, it hit 110+ on the streets here fairly regularly. I never had a single issue with the engine because of it.

50400 miles, redlined 2-10 times per day, oil changed every 3-5000miles, 17city/23-24hwy. Zero warranty claims.

 

I do not think the ride is anything like the ride of the corvette. I think of it more like a touring car and has a good ride for a daily driver. I do not regret this car at all, it is my favorite car I have had.

 

Thanks for the comments, reading about the problems made me think most of them had to be towed a lot. Just need to find the deal now.

 

If your already starting to doubt your purchase, don't purchase it.

 

Reliability is nearly impossible to gauge from people's comments. I've read overly 1000+ professional and consumer reviews combined. Edmunds, Yahoo, Kelly Blue Book, Consumer Guide, Car and Driver, Motor Trend, Road and Track, Automobile etc. Most reviews people aren't too happy with the annoyances but always say that the high revs keep them happy. Go with the Car and Driver long term test review. Its a fair assessment of the fact that you will probably have a few problems early, and once they're fixed, it'll be a jewel. From what I've read, Gas Mileage and Oil problems are pretty much a given. I'm thinking of purchasing one soon myself and can tell you from a personal level that reliability is always a flip of the coin. I drive an 04 S4 and it gets a poor reliability rating in a few reviews. I have 25k miles and haven't had any mechanical problems to date. It really comes down to sometimes you get a lemon and sometimes you don't. Just go into the dealership with good karma .

 

I have an '05 AT and it's the first car I've ever owned that, from new, had NO problems whatsoever. Nothing to even take it back to the dealer to complain about or adjust. Just ran 100% from day one. Starts fine, runs fine, revs fine.

 

So you haven't had bad gas mileage Eriock?

 

I don't see bad gas mileage as a problem. Just one of the few cons of owning an rx8.

 

My car has been running great. The only deal is the gas mileage, but it doesn't really bother me. I mean, we bought a performance car. Can't hope to get civic status mileage. Some people do get the stated mileage, and some don't. Concerning the maintenence issue, I think most people think that a rotary needs a lot more maintenence which draws their interest away from the car. However, it isn't really different than pistons. And don't let the rarity of those problems draw you away from a good car.

 

What annoyances? A little bit of oil every two weeks…and….?

For cruzan…

The passenger side window does not have a one press down feature. Interior plastic, footwell mainly, is too easy to scratch, AC can be initially weak in VERY HOT weather (95% of the time it does a perfect job), doors don’t auto lock once the wheels are spinning, trunk opening is small (the trunk itself holds a good amount of stuff)…and…..and……that’s about all of my complaints that I can remember.

What does all of that come to in the overall ownership experience of the car? It takes up about 5% of the driving experience with the RX8 and the rest of the 95% is dang near flawless.

Maybe it’s because my base 6spd is a bit lighter and I’m not hitting 9K at every other stop light, but once again I’m about to report yet another fully city fuel economy record. I can get 19mpg city easy and I’ve pushed it to 20.49mpg city as my pervious record so track your history in previous cars (what you got compared to the EPA) and the 8 will follow the same formula.

I can tell you that power and fuel economy seems to get better with the age of the Renesis as I and another members have reported.

My Probe GT (before my 8) was rated at 22-26mpg yet I always got 24. My 8 is rated at 18/24 but my lifetime (6.3K or so and almost a year of ownership) average is 19.3+mpg (counting the last few fill up's after getting past 5K miles it's been 3 20's and one 19+ mpg).

Trust me, don’t trust us (lol)…each driver and car is slightly different and your experience will probably be slightly better, worse, or the same (obvious right…not always let me tell you). It’s up to you and the car…don’t blame the car alone, it does not drive itself.

I think pretty much all cars might have a few minor issues (clogged windshield washer nozzle, squeaky drivers door hinge, once it almost turned off on me “that’s my few problems list”) but my 8 has been 100% reliable so far.

Like most people said, you will hear more complaints here than praise so don’t put too much stock on what you read here in regards to issues. Go to the gas mileage and problems threads in the “Polls” section and the truth will be a little better expressed.

I hope the best just keep reading up on the 8 before you buy one!

 

IDK if this is a repost...but if you want the best deal I would wait till late jan-early feb to buy one. I bought my 6sp 04' new in MD for $23,900. I belive the msrp was about $29,000 as it has navi and the sport package. Basically i went to edmunds and got online quotes on the car i wanted in blk with a little flexibility on options. Then went in a negoited for about a day and a half and financied it through browns mazda which give you another $2000 off with no prepayment penalty. Granted you'll get an 05' in early 06' and take the first year depreciation of the bat but i did alot of calculations(i'm in econ,finance,and accounting) and overall with a price reduction like that you still save alot of money. Hope this helps.

 

It does thanks!

 

Yes.

 

I've averaged between 16.7 and 19.4 (40/60 hwy/city) but I chalk it up to: you don't get 200 horses for free.