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I've owned my 2004 6sp since new 2004 , april 03 build, 50 k miles now, no problems to speak of except recent coil replacement. it's been a great car but My wife and I are retired. We no longer need 2 cars. Plan on selling it soon. Recent compression test when coils failed indicate engine is fine and it runs like new again after the coil replacement. Mpg is 17, to 22. It has been a blast owning this car. We love taking road trips in it.
My first was Jun 2004 to Nov 2004 (RIP): Wrecked in Nov and had a long insurance and rebuild battle.
Replaced with a new one in Mar 2005. Still driving today with the 3rd engine.
Yes, I still have mine. Ordered Jan 2003 and picked up July 17, 2003. Unbelievably I only have 38000 miles. It is my fair weather & light traffic driver. (DC traffic sucks!) The engine is running great and the body and interior still look new. It has been garaged or under a cover all of its life. Zaino'd twice a year.
I tend not to drive it much in winter. I noticed the chassis tends to stiffen up when below freezing (don't we all). I always make a point of driving it at least once a week to keep everything lubed and moving. Other than having all recalls done, I have only needed to replace the rear O2 sensor (easy) and the front sway bar arms (hard) and the brake light switch (easy).
I love driving it on a nice warm spring day when I can have the sunroof open and the windows down.
Have had my 2004 since Aug 2004, it's just about to turn 200,000 miles, on the original engine...besides usual wear items, (tires, belts, air and cabin filters) tune up stuff (coils, plugs, wires and 1 crankshaft position sensor), engine and transmission/differential oils...
I've only replaced the alternator, starter, one clutch job, (disc, pressure plate, T/O bearing, pilot bearing, slave cylinder) at 180,000 miles) and two motor mounts,...did all 4 brakes back in 2014, turned the original rotors...two coolant flush and change, still original water pump, thermostat, radiator and reservoir and hoses.......replaced the rear O2 sensor...still averages 20 mpg, no matter how I drive her, starts up hot or cold, revs right up to 9000 rpm with no stumbling...been a great, reliable and fun car...shifts as smoothly as the day I bought her...The only time she's been in a dealer service bay is for the factory recalls...they replaced the fuel pump, the lower front A-arms, and the air bag stuff...owner maintained....only used regular 5W20 and filter change every 3000 miles...have never had the compression checked...daily driver....
I got mine in July 2003, and she just died this week. No compression in the engine. It was running fine, then she was hard to start one day. No start the next morning. I kept it in great condition, too. 131,000 miles and was running good. It was my daily driver. It was having a rough low idle in recent years, and I had to have some things replaced, but overall, I loved that car. I'm a little sad this week. Like I am losing a part of myself.
I haven't been on the forums in forever. I came out here to see what I could do with the car now that's no longer running.
Have had my 2004 since Aug 2004, it's just about to turn 200,000 miles, on the original engine...besides usual wear items, (tires, belts, air and cabin filters) tune up stuff (coils, plugs, wires and 1 crankshaft position sensor), engine and transmission/differential oils...
I've only replaced the alternator, starter, one clutch job, (disc, pressure plate, T/O bearing, pilot bearing, slave cylinder) at 180,000 miles) and two motor mounts,...did all 4 brakes back in 2014, turned the original rotors...two coolant flush and change, still original water pump, thermostat, radiator and reservoir and hoses.......replaced the rear O2 sensor...still averages 20 mpg, no matter how I drive her, starts up hot or cold, revs right up to 9000 rpm with no stumbling...been a great, reliable and fun car...shifts as smoothly as the day I bought her...The only time she's been in a dealer service bay is for the factory recalls...they replaced the fuel pump, the lower front A-arms, and the air bag stuff...owner maintained....only used regular 5W20 and filter change every 3000 miles...have never had the compression checked...daily driver....
This is heartwarming. I have had my 04 since 2004. It has just under 45k miles on it, just a handful of standing sprints and of course I had to see if 147 was a real top speed, just once though. Besides that it's basically been driven for very easy cruising in the country or long distance freeway Trips. She has been asleep since 2011 and I just the other day got her started again. About to do a tune up and enjoy hopefully another 10 or 20 years.
Since the original owner probably never got on here I can speak on his behalf that he had the 04 for 20 years! It is surreal driving a 2004 with 13k miles on it. I appreciated his commitment that allows me to enjoy it now
Who still is the original owner since 2004? I wounder how many are you out there that still owns the 8 since purchased in 2004. So post up, let us know.
I took delivery of my winning blue GT on 28 October, 2004, originally leasing it with the option to purchase because the straight financing terms had larger monthly payments and a larger balloon payment at the end than leasing and buying at the end. Technically, I guess you could argue the bank was the first owner; but it's been mine this whole time. It's on its second engine after a catastrophic coolant expansion tank failure killed the original engine. It was my daily most of the time since then; but is now in the process of being refurbished for my first child, who agreed that if she learned to drive a manual transmission car, I would give it to her.
I took delivery of my winning blue GT on 28 October, 2004, originally leasing it with the option to purchase because the straight financing terms had larger monthly payments and a larger balloon payment at the end than leasing and buying at the end. Technically, I guess you could argue the bank was the first owner; but it's been mine this whole time. It's on its second engine after a catastrophic coolant expansion tank failure killed the original engine. It was my daily most of the time since then; but is now in the process of being refurbished for my first child, who agreed that if she learned to drive a manual transmission car, I would give it to her.
Awesome. how did the expansion tank failure kill the engine? Overheat? How long did it take to kill it after it failed?
Awesome. how did the expansion tank failure kill the engine? Overheat? How long did it take to kill it after it failed?
The failure was due to overheating. Unfortunately, while the sensor normally displayed a false positive, at this point, it was giving a false negative. I suspect the engine was overheated for multiple minutes due to the failure and the duration of the trip to my parents' home where I was headed to work on my car's coil-overs (I'd initially set the preload too low, and it was smacking the bump stops at the end of travel when my wife and daughter were riding in the back, which is a long story for another time). I would say that the best plan is to replace the tank once a decade, or sooner if you start getting false positives.
Had mine since July 2003.
Borla exhaust, custom front bumper, Greddy turbo, Sohne adapter injecting Lucas UCL instead of oil.
Unfortunately the Greddy turbo proved that I can't tune an '8 - blew the engine up real good.
Got a new (Japanese) replacement engine in 2009 and resisted putting the turbo on, though it is SO tempting!
I had expected the power to just be at the top end of the revs, but it was a solid grunt through all the gears.
Engine still perfect, so far.
Soon qualifies for Collector plates!
I'm an original owner since Feb of 2004. About 83k miles on it. All original engine, fenders & glass. Like everyone else, I got to replace brake pads, tires, plugs coils, and all those other wearable items. Updated starter, but still using original SSV. It is still the most fun car I've ever driven.
OlatheRX8: that's incredible.
what's your daily driver? The 83k on the odometer leads me to believe this isn't what you drive every day, or you just have a really really short commute to work.
Ohhhh, i want to play! I've had mine since July of 04. Was a daily driver, spent a lot of time on the track and now hitting slightly over 100k miles. On its 2nd engine, unfortunately oil starved on the 2nd engine so the main bearing may be on its way out, was in an accident last year and just haven't had the time to get things back together but this year, planning on getting it back on the road. Need to change out brake pads and rotors, needs a new passenger fender and hood (which i already have), radiator support needs to be straightened out and needs new head lights (will be revamping using clearcorners.com). I have a spare Mazdaspeed bumper for the car and got a jdm bumper support, looking for another set of mazdaspeed sideskirts too but the car will hopefully be back on the road soon till i need to rebuild.
Flew down to CHCH in March 2005 to buy Red (I had hit 'buy now' in a TM auction), imported from Japan with 18,000kms on the clock. Was an expensive car for me at the time ($36000NZD) and the newest car I'd ever purchased. They were selling at $62,000 new at the time so in my mind it was a bargain. Now has 315,000 on the clock - 215,000 of those with a turbo. Don't even ask how many engines it's had!
Still here as original owner since November 2003. 161K miles on the original engine, daily driver three days a week, about 50 miles a day. Compression is low, will see how long it lasts. Occasional little hesitation when starting hot but it still starts without failure every time. Probably living on borrowed time. No major things to fix so far.
