Hi guys, freshman here. I should start out by saying that I'm Australian.

I have joined this community because I have made up my mind and decided to purchase an RX8 in the near future. The best deal I could find was a 2003 Model (lowest KMs of the lot, far cheaper than average).

The reason for this thread is for me to find out the exterior differences between the 2003 and 2004 RX8s. I plan on purchasing the Mazdaspeed kit shortly after the car itself, but almost every site that sells them state that it's for the 04-08 models.

I'm trying to figure out whether it's the differences of the headlights (the 03's headlights look slightly larger for some reason), or if it's because the websites are American owned and that the US doesn't have the 2003 models there (assumption). To back up the latter claim is that I have found an Australian site that sells the MS kit "for 03-08" models.

I've made a Google search and that didn't help too much. I have differences internally, but not externally. So it would be great if you guys could help me out.

 

i dont think there is any difference, i would assume that most kits say 04-08 simply because there are barely any 03 Rx8's out there. Atleast in america there arent. but i would assume the 03 is a SE3P and is the same as all other SE3P's (04-08).

 

Yep. According to Wiki, the 2003 model is counted as the SE3P. Does that mean through 2003 to 2008, the complete front on the RX8 hasn't changed?

 

If it's far cheaper than average then I have bad news for you... At least have a compression test done on that engine before you commit to buy. It might look better on paper but once you get it you might have to end up replacing the engine.

 

Well, the early SE3Ps here average around 16k here. The one I'm looking at is 14, likely due to its mileage. 100,000kms.

There are other RX8s going for sub 13k but the mileage is at 160-180,000kms.

I'll probably try to get it all checked out before purchasing. The car is in another state, so I'll need to make sure the car is in great condition.

 

I'd rethink that Crazy. There was large pent up demand for the RX-8 at introduction. And introduction was ~July 2003 in the USA. So every car imported was quickly sold. But the thing is that there are NO 2003 RX-8s. Strange but true, ALL RX-8s are 2004, regardless of their manufacture date or sell date thru the release of the 2005 model. And there was no difference as far as I'm aware thu 2008 model year, aside from slipstreamed TSB fixes and a few internal mechanical changes, and certainly not to the front of the car.

 

As far as 2003 RX-8's go, they are available everywhere but the US and Canada. They were introduced in '03 immediately following the end of the RX-7 in'02. It was available until then in Japan. There may be a few countries that didn 't get the car until '04 but typically, it was just the North American market that had to wait.

 

Thanks guys. Makes me feel better about purchasing an 03. Hope all goes well!

 

Good luck finding a MS body kit thats authentic, the replicas are junk and you will be wasting money.

 

Body kits are not a priority for me at the moment. I'm still trying to purchase the car. Owner isn't replying to my enquiry.

Besides, Autoexe's front looks amazing, so that's probably the direction I'm going to.

 

Keep us updated with the outcome.

 

https://www.rx8club.com/purchasing-financing-insurance-56/year-year-changes-143280/

There is a sticky just for this subject.

 

Yeah, I came across that thread after searching, but couldn't find what I was looking for. I explained the reason in my first post. Though I guess I should have posted in that thread to begin with.

Anyway, I couldn't get in touch with the owner so I've decided to go with a black 03. Looks really clean, and averaged priced. Serviced pretty regularly. Hope things go well for this one.

 

Like others have said.... don't hope... get a compression test before purchasing. Unlike us yankees I do not believe down under got the extended engine warranty. The first 3 years were the hardest on the Renesis.