Valpac...welcome back to show and shine mate! Guess we should relegate this thread back to that column...happy to oblige, can get your car gleaming.

 

I couldn't attest to the quality of the leather seats, as I only have the touring package. But, rumour has it that these seats are made with real Italian leather, if that means anything. I don't know about the seat heaters, but seat coolers are probably heavy, rare, and expensive if they are to be driven by some sort of Peltier-effect cooling system or, even worse, liquid coolant.

Rust will appear on brake rotors simply because they are made of stuff like cast iron. It's simply not possible to prevent rust unless you live in an area with zero humidity and no rain. Perhaps if they were made of aluminum or carbon fiber you could prevent this. Brembos are no different. A friend of mine has 16" Brembo rotors on his E46 M3, and they turn vomit brown a few minutes after every car wash. The calipers and hub don't rust, as they are normally painted. The braking performance of the stock Mazda system is still comparable if not superior to those vehicles in which Brembos were installed at the factory.

The navigation software can probably be upgraded if you buy a new DVD from NavTech. I have the 7/03 version of the software, and it works just fine. What other features would you be looking for in order for it to be not so "crappy"?

The Bose audio system in the car is only the amplifier and speakers - the head unit is still a factory Mazda stereo (FMS - Ford/Mazda/Sanyo) and yes, it's a tad shabby. Perhaps if you put in a different head unit then the whole package might sound a lot better.

Sunroof: ??? What's wrong with the sunroof? The inner lining can be closed when the sunroof is closed. At that point, the sunroof IS the cover.

The self-destructing buttons in the dash are covered under warranty:
http://www.finishlineperformance.com...cs/07-003.html

Canadian vehicles came with daytime running lights which turn on when the ignition key is on and hand brake is off.

Side mirrors on the Grand Touring model should be defog-capable, and turn on whenever you activate the rear window defroster.

 

Hey, just sell your car and we will all be happier.


as for the brakes, our car out brakes many Porsches. If you don't like the rust, spend $15 on come capiler paint and paint the hub. The leather seats seem fine to me...all my switches work perfectly.....no defog for mirrors? Nice to see that you have a firm grasp of what a sports car is. Sounds to me like you would be happier driving some bid SUV. Hey go buy a Chevy Trailblazer, they have the warmest seat heaters I've ever sat on. MY 8 has daytime running lights. (manditory in Canada)..not that it should be that big a deal.

Instead of complaining about all the lux features you think our car is lacking, how about concentrate on why most people buy the car...the engine, the handling, the style...did I mention the handling?

 

Did I mention my previous post? What if your car sucked...and what would you do, post your grievances? Do you think you'll get flamed for that? Duh. Too many happy 8 owners. Instead of condeming others for posting their bad experience with the 8, why not embrace their experience and learn from it should you have a simiar experience down the road...cripes.

 

i had my engine replaced and i didn't bitch like that!

I posted that it had died...what the problem ended up being and then what good service I got from my dealer. What I didn't do was to pick the car apart and complain about every flaw. Maybe if he had done it over a couple of posts it might not have had the same impact. Maybe if he hadn't started comparing the RX to all the other ususal suspects myself and others might not have gotten our back hair up.

...too me it just sounded like complaining.

 

Oh..and the title of the tread was probably what pissed people off.

 

Understood. But rotten, that's exactly what I'm saying...some of the 8's are dead when you get 'em. Fair? not! But no different than buying GM, Mitsu or Ford ****. Your "usual suspects" statement is right on! Many cars mentioned in this thread have issues...would make a great poll, but it's not an 8 vs. them issue.

 

You actually have some of the same grievances I have mentioned before (i.e., daytime running lamps, etc.) : https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...244#post511244

I agree with most people here that the brakes peform well (even the TSB ones), even if they don't look good at all compared to Brembos. As far as the rusty rotors are concerned, you can get your dealer to paint them for free. My dealer painted mine and they look great.

I do agree with you that the sound system is pretty lacking. I had a Chevy Blazer that sounded much better than my 8's. But you can do a search and see that this grievance has been discussed before.

Also consider that adding more options = adding more weight which, unfortunately, would make the car even slower.

 

Right...... its not so much what he said but how he said it.

Its like saying to a women, "You look fat" instead of "You look Phat". :p

 

I stay away from the stock market other than my retirement plan....I don't like dealing with something I can't control. I put my money inot my own businesses.

 

So you can give in and buy Mazda Speed ones.

 

Put him in your 'ignore list'. I did (along with a few others) and now can browse the forums with less stress.

 

man ,got alot of great mileage out of this thread--kept me laughing for 20 minutes!

 

I think they are Corinthian Leather
:D

 

The core problem seems to be the dealer..or the lack of visits addressing these issues.

Nice work Abbid..that took some time.

 

Okay, go spend $6 on a can of high temp ceramic paint and you can paint your rotor hubs and calipers. Rust problem solved. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out.

 

Did you buy this car new? I don't think I would go any longer without talking very seriously to my dealer. With Navi costing around $2K, I know I'd be in their face until it was right. I understand your concern but I would do something about it if I were you. I'd like to here a good positive response later that all's well.

 

How do we know he has addressed any issues in the TSB thread with dealer..

 

Boy, that's a mighty fine "whine" you've got there Equus ...

Sorry you're dissatisfied with your car. I love mine. I don't need to see "Brembo" through the wheels to enjoy my car.

 

Sometimes you really have to go.
Sometimes you really have to STOP!

****(tm) Brand Brakes
Accept No Substitutes

 

i don't mind **** brand brakes.

if mazda used **** poor brand brakes, then i'd complain.

 

LoL,

I have gone to the dealer 3 times, they gave me an excuse about how their prvious staff was not doing something right and was laid off. I bought the car as the showroom car, I paid brand new price for it, then they called me back into sign up the forms again to attest that in fact it was a used model because of the milage, I asked for a discount in price for the trouble but they said no, I was pretty much stuck since I already had paid and all.

Appearently getting in their face does not work as I have written to Mazda USA, and they just noted in their "files" that the dealer sucks. I also written to the BBB, and talked to the Service manager at the dealership in detail of the problems, in all this span of 5 months with the mentioned problems all they managed to do was install a fuse box cover that the car did not come with.

So please don't ever ever ever ever buy or service your car at Mazda Newark, aka Magnnesuns Fremont Ford. They can not do anything right, they keep my car like 5 days over from promised delivery date for basically doing NOTHING.

 

That's what i did and it looks fine now. Some people just can't be pleased. Bitch, Bitch, Bitch.

 

I don't know but you have only complained about this car. You sound like a troll but I hope I'm wrong. I have no complaints or problems, just like most of us on here.

 

In defense of Equis, I would have to agree with him on a couple of those points, but at the same time, nobody likes a complainer. There, am I sitting on the fence, or what??!!?? Actually, the 8 is cheaper than the g35/350z in our market. So I would have to agree that even if they had to charge me an extra $500 to give me some gee-whiz parts straight from factory, Mazda would still be under the competition's price points. But then again, they probably wanted to leave room for MS upgrades.

The brakes look like parts bin brakes. I think I read somewhere that they were used on some Volvos as well. Can anyone verify? It doesn't diminsh the performance of the system, but it would be nice not to have rust nor so much brake dust.

Stereo is adequate for it's intended purpose. You're supposed to be enjoying the engine sounds......

No need for seat memory, just don't let anyone else drive your car. Now you have the perfect excuse...

Is it true that some dealers will paint the brakes for free??