Some thoughts on my 8.
 

Well, I've had the 8 since May of this year, but I'm becoming weary of keeping it. I really haven't had any problems with it since I bought it. After the 1k of break-in period I changed the oil had the dealer do the "blanket" recall. After 5k, I flushed the tranny/diff oil and replaced it with Redline. I've been "babying" this vehicle since I got it - checking the oil every other fill-up, warming it up every morning before I go to work, checking for leaks (everytime I get home from work) and making sure things are where they are suppose to be-- I'm real anal about things like this.

So far I've spent a little over 1500.00 bucks on mods, details and air fresheners (my shaldan). I live out in L.A. so no flodding issues or winter tires needed. The thing that concerns me is, I go to this forum to check out everyone's rides, pros, cons and especially issues/problems relating to the ride. I think I'm becomming a real pessimist when thinking about reliability issues with this car--- I don't want to get blasted for being so anal about the ride but - I'm sure there are others out there that feel the same way. Am I setting myself up for a bad experience?

I have about 7k on the 8 and I feel, I should be expecting the worse soon. How the hell do I get rid of this feeling, how the hell do I comfort mysef and justify that it was worth it? I'm no mechanic or expert on rotary engines, let alone piston engines. However, I have a basic concept on how a rotary works and how combustion engines work. I've had my share of oil changes, brake pads and small things that I can accomplish within my scope, granted I have 1 two-year old, a pregnant wife, and her Tahoe (thant's another story) so time is precious to me--I don't want to be spending my afternoon working under my car on a Sunday, when I can spend it with my family. Once my warranty is up, that means I'm SOL when ish goes wrong with the car, unless I make tons of money or my "Mummy" and "Daddy" pay for it--which neither will ever happen.

Alasssssss--I'm at a loss. Do I just suck it up and go on or a trade-in? I f I were to trade in- I wouldn't know where to start? Just some thoughts.

the only afternoon i have spent with this car is when i pu tmy intake on. stop worrying.

I have nearly 3 times the miles on my 8 than you do and nothing has gone wrong. I used to concern myself with what could go wrong and I soon realized it was a waste of time. Things can go wrong with any new car and just because ours has a rotary doesn't make it more likely to mess up. Just have fun with it.

your car has been pretty much PERFECT (from what you described), WHY ARE YOU SO WORRIED... sheesh

there are A WHOLE LOT MORE very satisfied owners driving their 8s than the vocal few that has had problems with their cars, a car forum WILL exaggerate anything that anyone encounters, it's the nature of an internet forum, only the bad stuff will get noticed, because if it's running fine, why bother mentioning it???

I don't think reliability should be an issue. Espeically since you're in LA, you dont' have the flooding issue which would be the hardest to avoid.. everything else isn't much of a problem. You don't really need to check your oil every other fill up either. Just depending on how often you redline, just check it about every 2000 miles and most likely top it off and you'll be fine.

People are treating this car like it's made out of glass or something, just drive it like a normal car and maintain it properly as you would any other car and you shouldn't have any problems.

There you go.

Just remember that people make their own luck with cars. You admit to babying the car and caring for it. You are not going to have problems.

In additon to my own cars through the years, I have driven fleet cars for nearly twenty years (always Fords and mostly Taurus/Sable). I have always taken care of the fleet cars the same as if they were my own and I have never had any repairs other than normal maintenance and 1 water pump. Yet, my co-workers who believe that fleet means abuse are constantly at the dealer for repairs.

18000 miles and nothing wrong other than a creaking driver's seat. Goes like a damn rocket, looks like a space ship. doesn't get any better than that.

Go find a shrink - it's in your head, not in the car.

Ya, that's one goofy-looking spaceship Stew :wink2:

Ever heard of OCD? You got it. So get some help. :Freak_ani

The RX-8 is an enthusiasts' sports car. And, the joy of owning & driving it should always feel worthwhile. If you're losing sleep worrying about it being a possible lemon and/or money drain, then maybe you should trade it for something more worry-free, like a honda accord or toyota camry. (If you can't stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen- sorta say.)

Likewise, you should make decisions based on logic & facts. Worrying if this or that could happen is an endless and futile battle, at best. If you are having problems with your car, then have it checked out and make an informed decision based on the findings. Cuz, who knows... You may never have any problems with your car, and still have a full head of hair by learning to relax a bit... ;)

A whole lotta of very valid opinions.... I think that's all I needed ...all right, all right -- I'll suck it up and enjoy.

Stop reading the need to fix posts on this site. Enjoy the things that are great about this car and celebrate them with others. Look at the pics of peeps that are proud of their ride. read the stories about the gatherings that everybody enjoyed the time spent. If you want to be an Eeyore you can do that with anything you choose, choose not to do it here. Stop being down on your baby. If something breakes, take care of it and move on. If something breakes time and time again then you have something to be concerned about, then read how others solved the problem. Put a smile on your face and feel warm and fuzzy that you have a great car. Stop bitching that something might need service or a little extra attention. Love it for what it is. My brother in law bought a boxter. he was afraid to drive it anywhere. He spent all his time washing it and hiding it the garage. He ended up selling it and buying amini van for the wife. (would have killed me to do that) Anyway, he never got to enjoy it, now its gone. He bought a mini cooper and drives the shit outta it. It's the most fun he's ever had in a car. I wish he could have learned to get that outta the boxter all it wanted is to be driven. Stop missing out on the fun the rest of us are having. You might just wake up one day and find out you don't have it anymore. In fact, turn off the computer and go for a ride. Just drive. No destination, just do it. :stickpoke

and don't think about lightning, meteors, serial killers, carjackers, bubonic plague, Spanish inquisitions, or any other random mishap that could possibly befall you. You're not a hypochondriac are you?

I've had my 8 since May 2004 and have only had one problem with it: the brake squeal TSB. I consider that one very minor, and I still love my car. It's the funnest vehicle I've ever owned, and I drive it year-round (with applicable tires in winter, of course).

When I'm on this site, I deliberately steer clear of the need-to-fix threads and the accident threads. That keeps my optimism going!

Bought my 8 in Feb. of this year. 18.2K miles on it. I check the oil weekly, done some mods and take it on spirited drives. I was and Zaino the car weekly. I pay attention to maintainance. How many problems have I had? ZERO.

Drive the damn car man and shake the feeling off. I bought this car to drive and drive I do. Don't listen to the nah sayers this car IS reliable and of high quality.

Problems.....
 

By it's very nature, any forum like this will be filled with people needing help with problems....

Did your Tahoe perform flawlessly for the last couple of years?...probably not, yet you would keep that (big piece of doo-doo) and sell your '8?

Did I mention that I hate whiners?

S

Fascinating. I have also had my 8 since May. My experience couldn't be more opposite. I have no worries at all, I am full of confidence in this car. That's probably in part because of the excellent experience I had with my previous Mazda (MX-6), but also greatly influenced by all the positive things I've heard from people at this site who have longer experience with the 8. I will frankly be surprised if I have any serious problems. Perhaps I'm just naive, but that is how I feel.

Listen....
 

Krankor, your not getting his point - he has had ZERO problems, too!

He's just complaining that it takes all his time to check for leaks after every trip ( why, I don't know, he's never found any!)

...and he hates the fact that he's spent over $1000 on air fresheners. :Eyecrazy:

Maybe I'm not getting his point either.....

S

I think some people come here and read all the negativity from some members and quickly get a case of buyers remorse. Even if they've had nothing less than a perfect running car from day one. It's as if their waiting and worrying that it will inevitably happen to them. They just need to chill and just go with the flow. There are far more important things to worry about.

Allow me to paraphrase what you're saying:

"My name is Monk, and I have OCD."

Us ----> Hello, Monk.

I've had my 8 for a little over 2 years now. I have broken 40,000 miles. I have also driven it across country (Northern VA to Northern CA to be more specific). Honestly this is my second NA rotary and the comfort level that the 1st rotary gave me made it easier to be secure with this one. Honestly, I wouldn't worry about the 8 as long as you keep up with at least your regular maintenance (oil, tires, brakes, etc.). I made sure to get my 30,000 mile stuff done. If the 8 wasn't reliable I couldn't have made the trip across country in 4 days (a little over 3000 miles in less than a week with no problems related to the car whatsoever). Overall, I wouldn't worry about it too much if I were you! Depending on your mods your warranty should still be intact so you don't really have to be a mechanic. Make sure you redline it every once in a while so it can clean itself. Last but not least avoid using just any old side of the road gas. One of the very few problems I have had is rough starts but it only seems to happen when I don't use gas from the more established places like Exxon, Shell, etc.! You should be fine!

No, no, no ... You are totally missing the point. Taking the time to care for this ride is not the issue, nor spending money on mods and air fresheners. My point was-- I take care of this car, like all my past cars, because I do not mind--warming it up and checking for leaks or whatever--as long as it's in my scope. Why did I buy this car if I didn't want to spend the money and "fix it up?" My feeling was simply-- being attentive to the issues and problems other folks were posting. And it's been said here before that forums like this exaggerate the negative things. So, with that said--I'll be sitting tight and going with the flow. Nuff said.

I don't think you have anything to worry about... like any other car, if you care for it properly.. it will last you.

I think you're just being overly paro but if it really bugs you perhaps this wasnt the car meant for you