idonotmatch

Hey, how are you guys doing, this is my first post here and to be honest I am just looking for some opinions and help, I've read the FAQ's and read as much as I could, but it's always useful to get some more helpful input.

Well here's my situation. I currently have a 95 M3 that I would look at selling in order to pick up a used '05 or '04 rx-8. So what do you guys think, what are the pros and cons of the 8? I probably will be paying more for insurance on the 8, but by how much? It's a vague question, but hopefully someone has done it before. Also the 60K Mile warranty is fully transferable correct? I don't plan on modding the rx-8, just mostly a DD, but I still tend to drive hard once in a while. I am tired of electrical problems with my M3, so hopefully the rx-8 won't have problems like that, and how reliable is the car? I know everyone has their own opinion, but if you take proper care of the car it should last correct?

Also what price range am I looking at for a used 04 with sub 25K Miles? and how about a used 05 and a new 05? How much of a price difference would I be looking at?

Well thanks for all that read this babble lol, and any input would be great.

Winfree

Be careful about buying a used 04, or any early 05s - some had engine troubles and the owner may have had serious problems because most 8 owners are very reluctant to give up their cars. Make sure the dealer will honor the recall, if so ,and make sure the warrenty is intact and it did come from a flood area like New Orleans - you might do better to buy a new, late production 05 from a dealer.
The insurance will be lower if you call it a 4 door coupe. If there is a lot of oil use or very low gas milage make sure they replace the engine!

I have an 05 8 with no problems so far (except a troublesome mouse! It is not using much oil and gas milage is in the mid 20s, better if I drive like grannys (I am one) are supposed to drive, less if I really let her out on a short run, but good milage at speed on a long run - this is a car that really likes a long open road with curves (twisties) and sweet spots (places where you can let her roll)!

Do some test drives - I think, compared to your 95 (which was an excellent car for it's time) you will find this car has a lot of comforts that you have been missing!

NoTears316

Good advice, except for the fact that the recall involves 2004-2006 models. On the bright side, less then 1% will actually need engines. In my case, all I needed was a PCM reprogram.

ken-x8

Will insurance companies really take your word for the description? When I bought my 8, my insurance company just wanted to know make, model and VIN. They filled everything in from their actuarial/political database.

The warranty is transferrable. In fact, the letter that announced the extension asked for the new owner's info if you had sold the car. Any recalls convey with the car.

For price and dealing attitude, comb through the "Purchasing, Financing & Insurance" forum here. Lots of good threads asking your question. Look for the "What was your closing price?" thread. I found that to be a real eye-opener on what you can do when you find a leftover car at a dealer.

Ken

idonotmatch

Yup, saw the pricing thread as well. Only thing is I'm looking at used probably, new might be out of my price range It's crazy how prices differ, I guess eBay is not too great of a price guage.

ken-x8

E-bay pricing on everythng is all over the map. Part of its charm, I guess. :-)

The Kelly Blue Book site is a good place to get a feel for prices. Browsing Carmax is also good for retail used car price checking.

Good luck on your quest. I've had my RX-8 less than two months, but that's long enough to realize it's every bit as much fun to drive as I thought it would be.

Ken

RX26b

Mid 20s? As in 24 to 27 mpg?! Are you using cruise control....set at 55? Running downhill....with a sail?

Razz1

I wouldn't do it..... BMW are natorious for repairs and big bills.

Plus nothing is designed to common with other vehicles............. like the wheel lug nuts.

Need a special tire iron.

idonotmatch

huh?

New Yorker

Automobile Magazine compared an 8 to a 330i and a 350z…
http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews...304_mazda_rx8/

NgoRX8

iTrader: (1)

haha, i think he read it thinking you wanted to sell the 8 and move to a BMW. lol

afgcfan

In New Yorker's article

http://www.automobilemag.com/review...0304_mazda_rx8/

It said that the Rx-8 had 250hp with a 6spd tranny? I thought the hp was less than that or am I dumb?

NoTears316

Your link doesn't exactly work...

The page cannot be found
The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporariliy unavailable.

kartweb

Good news;

Insurance on the 8 is much less then an M3.

The 8 is much better handling, about the same on ride quality. It feels much more like a formula car then a sedan.

Service is less expensive on the 8.

Bad news;

It's not the best on gas; 17-18 around town, 22 on the road.

Dealers seem to hire the illiterate mechanics - there is no such thing as an "automotive technician" at a Mazda dealer, especially in Irving Texas.

The 8 reminds me of a Porsche 928 with the nimbleness of a 911 built by Volkswagen.

New Yorker

When the 8 came out Mazda said the 6spd had 250hp. Turns out that was wrong, it was only 238 (they failed to take US emissions something or other into account when calculating the hp). Mazda ended up offering 8 owners a choice of a buyback or extended service/warranty deal (don't know the details—this was before I got mine). So you're not dumb.

Skinless

I'd second everything here. Insurance is very cheap on my 8. The dealer told me it would be, because they take the engine displacement and number of seats as two of the main factors. For me gas mileage was the biggest downside. I get around 18mpg on almost every tank, with mixed city and highway driving, and only a few trips to redline. The best I've ever gotten was 22 and that was on cruise control at 70 for the entire tank. Some people are able to get more, but I think most of us are in the range kartweb posted above.

If you can still find new 05's I would go that route. I looked for a couple of months and finally found it was cheaper to buy new than used because of Mazda incentives. In April there was $4,000 cash back on 05 RX-8's. I paid $22,250 ($4700 less than dealer invoice) for a red sport package with the spoiler and spare tire kit (Which I'm looking to sell). The cheapest used one I found was a 2004 with 48,000 miles for $18,000. In my case it made much more sense to go with the new 2005. Good luck on your search!

New Yorker

This should work:

http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews...304_mazda_rx8/

CosmosMpower

I came from a 97 M3 sedan 5spd to a 05 RX8 6spd sport. I can honestly say that the only thing the RX8 has going for it is that it's a newer car with a warranty and handles a bit better stock since the M3 really needs a bit of front camber to turn in well as you probably know if you track/autocross the car. I wouldn't say that modded the RX8 handles better though and the steering feel/feedback for the M3 is definetely better.

You will be disappointed with the lack of low/mid range grunt. I just got rid of my M3 because I got tired of maintaining it every month and I wanted a car with a warranty that seated 4 that I could autocross.

That being said, it's hard to compare a 11 year old car with a 2 year old car. If you don't care about quality and the bad gas mileage and aren't scared about the engine recall then the RX8 is decent, but it's nothing like the M3. My insurance coming from the M3/4 to the RX8 is about 50 bucks cheaper over 6 months, pretty negligible.

CosmosMpower

You sir are retarded. My M3 had a basic 17mm lug nut that you could take off with a socket/breaker bar. Don't speak to things you don't understand. If you want to talk about big bills go ask the RX8 owners that had transmissions or other driveline parts die and not get covered under warranty.

E36 parts are actually fairly inexpensive now that the car has been around for so long. I actually had 0 interior problems for the 3 years I owned my 10 year old M3 and already had 3 in the 3 MONTHS I've owned my new RX8.

If you keep up with maintenance than BMW's are actually cheap to run and you shouldn't have any big unexpected repair bills. The main thing on the E36 are rear strut mounts, rear trailing arm bushings, cooling system and shocks/struts which are pretty much all wear items you can expect to replace on any 10 year old car.

Shinka-Dono

I love M3s,https://www.rx8club.com/polls-70/i-like-rx-8s-98148/ but there is no question; they are more expensive to own.

idonotmatch

Yeah thing is my M3 has the camber, and all the necessary parts replaced, so it hasn't been too much of a hassle, I guess the best way to test this out is to go out and drive an 8. Thanks for the input guys!

saturn

If you wait until the end of the year or even the end of the right month you can probably swing a really good deal on a new 8. People were getting $6k-$8k off MSRP on '05s towards the end of the year. It's at least worth a look see.

idonotmatch

I'm in no rush at the moment, so I guess I can keep on working and making money while trying to swing a deal with a dealership.

saturn

Might be a good idea. Check back here throughout the rest of the year to hear what deals people are getting on left-over 06's once the 07's start coming out in higher quantities.

idonotmatch

Thanks, I'll probably stop by the dealership today and see what kinda quantity they have on '06 and see if they have any '05s left as well.