Grivera543

Hi, my name is Gilbert Rivera, you guys can call me Gil, or whatever you wish, haha.
I have always been a huge fan of the Mazda rx-8 since I was a little kid. I am currently a freshman in high school, and I am looking to get one of these gorgeous cars for my first car once I am a junior and I am eligible to drive without a permit.
I have a few simple questions to ask, because these questions might go into different categories of this website.
First off, this car was rated five out of five on cars.com. Which is really good. I heard the safety features are very good as well, which is important.
Here is an idea of what I want.

A good car to race (legally, at drag tracks)
A good car to trick out the intierior, along with the hood and spoiler.
Manual, for drifting purposes.
The questions I have are:

Is it worth it getting it used, since it is a first car, if I plan on saving up now, up until junior year?

How much would a carbon fiber hood for this model car cost?

How reliable is it, as in, any known problems with it, or complaints about the car?

So far these are the only questions I have. But I'll edit the post if I come up with any others. If anyone can help me out, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

jasonrxeight

being a young man driving a sports car, the insurance is gonna rape you massively. you looking at $200+ per month.

its not a good drag car with that tiny torque.
and please dont trick it out like a ricer, we get enough messed up RX8's enough already. if you dont have money to get good kits and wheels, leave it stock.

is it worth depending on your budget, if you can save up $25k for a 09+, Id say go for it but I doubt you will be able to because there arent many out there and they've decided stop selling them. the best is to get a 06+, but if a 04-05 with a replaced engine and newest PCM flash is still a choice. but you gonna be getting it two years later so I think the engine warranty for 04-05 will be out by then.

go to mod forum and find out yourself.

how reliable depends on how you maintain it. its not an easy car to take care unlike those Civics. 30k new plugs and 60k new coils. add oil every two fill-up's. even that you might still have a crapped out engine or a very reliable one. its a hit or miss.
mind you Mazda engine warranty is 8 years or 100k miles.

but honestly, who knows what Mazda gonna make 2 years later. maybe they will have a better looking car you might be interested in by then.

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

Wow.
Those are really simple and easy questions!

I wonder why no one ever thought to ask - or answer - those very questions over the decade that this forum has existed?
Strange.
I wonder what people have been talking about here for all that time?

Twiztog43

iTrader: (15)

dont forget, insurance will be EXPENSIVE!

Cole33

Trust me. Being a male at 18 driving a VR 8', insurance will be EXPENSIVE. I somehow manage to pay my car payments and my insurance at the same time. And my car payment is around $230 a month and my insurance is around $190 a month. And since I just got a bullcrap speeding ticket, my insurance is going to rape my butthole when they find out.

So be prepared to pay up if you decide to buy one. Especially if something goes wrong with your engine.

2kwik4u

Nice to meet you Whatever you wish :D :D

Glad you found the site. Here's my thoughts. Take them with a grain of salt, or whatever spice you like. They might not be the most accurate, or exactly what you want to hear, but hey, you asked! :DAutocross - Yes, Drift - Maybe, Drag Race - No

If you want a good drag car, go find something turbocharged and AWD. They tend to pull down the lower ET's with the least work. Or something you can put slicks on thats RWD with a big V8. This car handles REALLY REALLY well, but doesn't have the torque to give out the impressive acceleration you want at the drag strip. Any car is good for this IMO. Creativity and depth of pocket book are all that hold you back.

No questions, No answers :D

YES. Don't buy your first car brand new. You are VERY new to driving, and you're going to hit something. Be it the curb, a pole, one of the other cars on the road, etc. IMO everyone should spend thier first year behind the wheel alone in something that isn't worth a ton of cash.

Google is your friend here. I have no idea.

I've found the car pretty reliable. I bought mine with 58k on it, and it now has ~62k on it. Dealership changes the oil, I keep an eye on it between changes. It's gotten an air filter, and a couple of tires due to road hazards (a nail and a pothole both into the sidewalls ). I think it's a crapshoot though after all the reading I've done here. I think I managed to get one of the "good" ones, and others have had 2-3 engines replaced under warranty.

To add a few more things. Insurance is expensive. They said that above, and it's true. ESPECIALLY if you have a heavy right foot. Save it for the track, and you'll save yourself some cash. Replacement parts are somewhat expensive as compared to other more mainstream cars. Nature of the beast, and as a high school student being strapped for cash to have a really nice car isn't the best idea IMO.

At any rate, good luck with your search for the right car. Keep us posted with how it shakes out eh?

Grivera543

Thank all of you guys for such a quick response. So far they really help. I understand the insurance situation. That's something I would be able to handle very well by the time I am a senior. But I would like to point out that racing is not my main goal, as I've said, I've always been a huge fan of this car. This seems like a very good, helpful, and reliable website. Although I do not yet own a car myself, I'd love to stick around here for a while. I might learn a thing or two.

Cole33

Sticking around would be a good plan. From what I have learned, when you get ready to buy one, keep your eye on the For Sale section. Some people will put up cars for around the same price that you would buy them from a dealer except they sometimes have full aftermarket set ups on them.
If you buy a car from a guy on here, you can be pretty safe to know that they took very good care of it. But there are much better deals on here than any stealership would give you.

Grivera543

I would absolutely hope so. Haha. To be honest, I don't know much about cars. Inside or out. But I am slowly learning. I feel as if this site would help me out a lot in that area. And I just took a look in that section actually. I'll keep my eye out as I rack up some cash. How, i have no idea, but I am officially starting to save up for a nice, good first car.

RXLogic

Why is the world round?

Why is there air?

Why does the world spin in circles?

Why are there so many questions with so few answers?

Cole33

The answer is 42.

lateralus

iTrader: (1)

Check out this thread..... It has a whole lot of info that anyone looking into getting an 8 should know. And gives some answers to your questions on reliability and known problems... https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-forum-197/new-potential-owners-start-here-202454/

DocBeech

iTrader: (1)

this car is better for road racing, and auto cross like the others have said. Drag racing this car is not your best choice, but drifting is well within reach. You will need to get one either without DSC or learn how to permanently turn it off when you are at the track.

With that being said I want you to learn from my mistakes. Listen to me very carefully here. Do not, and you will have many urges to do so, but do not do anything on the road to jeopardize your license. Under the new laws you will loose your license and pay incredibly high insurance rates until your 25. I was fortunate that when I made my mistakes they were more lenient and did not have the point system. Keep your reckless driving on the track, and do not risk thousands of dollars of your future money.

Tiler02

You will definatly pay for the insurance, In some cases and states it is cheaper to buy a beater car, List it as your primary driver and then list the 8 as a pleasure vehicle. I do that and my insurance is quite a bit cheaper. I have a Chevy astro with just liability and full coverage, $500 deductible on the 8 and my insurance only runs me about $110 a month. But I am older with a clean driving record and perfect credit score.

jasonrxeight

very interesting, I have a Jeep which has ridiculously cheap insurance. Insurance agency tomorrow morning I guess.

SuperCereal90

an rx8 as a first car would be cool, but probably not the best idea. but if your gonna get an rx8 get a stick shift, none of that automatic transmission crap. and trust me, once you start driving it your gonna feel the need to go around corners at ridiculous speeds and redline it all the time. which for the rx8 redlining is healthy for it. the answer to your carbon fiber hood question, they go for about $500 - $800+ depending on what you want. i got mine for $50 but only because i was lucky......and dont be surprised when you gas light turns on and you've only gone 200miles. your only gonna get about 21mpg at the most. and as far as modifiying your car to make it look cool, dont worry about what anyone says as long as you like it, it's your car. ummmm, dont turn it off when it's cold, expect alot of cars to want to race you...(everytime i go out, i race at least one person. it's pretty fun though.) also canyon roads is where the rx8 is best suited, seening an rx8 at a drag strip is like seeing your teacher at a store, it's just weird.....other then that all i have left to tell you is, just take care of your car and your car will take care of you.