Well my lease is up in June/July and I think I have decided on purchasing a used RX8. I usually want a different car every other month but this is the only one that has held my interest. Before I start scheduling test drives and everything I just wanted to get a few questions answered:

1. Is there a year I should avoid? I'm looking for a 6 speed

2. Is it good for a daily driver?

3. Do the rear seats fold down?

4. I live in Michigan....so how will it be in the winter?

5. Is it a reliable car? I'm looking to keep it for quite a while and as it will be my daily driver, i don't want it having constant problems or breaking down at 90000 miles...if it gets there

I think is all I needed cleared up but will update the post if I come up with anything else. Thanks in advance!

 

1. Avoid 2004. I own one, haven't had a problem yet, however most problems are with the 2004. Especially the AT but that wont be a problem for you.

2. My 8 is my primary car and handles fine. If I/you could afford to have a second as a primary and your 8 as you 'Fun Car', I would do that.

3. No.

4. I've used mine throughout this past winter in MA. I don't recommend it but I didnt really have a choice. Thankfully the storms werent bad. Buy snow tires and drive carefully and you'll be fine. HOWEVER, read up on flooding the engine if you haven't yet.

5. It's reliable so long as you take care of. Meaning the basics ie. oil changes, checking fluid levels, etc. If you purchase it used, be sure to have a mechanic look at it. I'm at 56k miles, nothing wrong yet

Have fun! And dont be afraid to do some searching on the forums either

 

1, None so long as the recalls are up to date. 2004's get a bad rap just because there are more 04's on the road that 05+06+07 combined.
2, My 04 as 114,000 miles on it
3, No
4, Winter tires are a must. Plus using them extends the life of the summer tires.
5, Yes if you take care of it, but 90,000 miles on any car is alot so things will wear out.

 

mpg: 14 city/20 hwy

 

No problem with mine . If you can get a newer model , most bugs are worked out. That happens with any model . If you dont have snow tires don't drive it , it sucks without them. I don't drive mine during the winter , its a summer car for me , but I tried it and it was'nt fun.

 

1- Avoid 04 and early 05, best bet is a 06 and up. The only people who will tell you the 04 are OK are those who own them. Most engine failures occurred in 04's and before the fix was applied the damage was done so some of these 04 could be a ticking bomb. IMHO.

2 - I use mine as a daily driver and it is like any other car but more fun to drive. No problems but the MPG is the pits. City 12 to 13 MPG; Highway 18 to 20 MPG

3 - No, but you have a center pass through.

4- Not bad, I live in Chicago but in MI you will definitely need snow tires. I have High performance All Season and can just get around in the snow but my streets are pretty well plowed.

I have had a few small issues, Consumer report rated the car average. My only real concern is the engine failure issue. The fix that was applied in early 06 is still unproven in the long run, are the continuing engine failures the result of damage accumulated before the fix or dose the problem still exist. Not enough data to be sure but most failures are with the 04s.

 

1. If all recalls/maintenance has been performed than not really.

2. Yes. Mine has been daily driven for 2.5+ years, rain/sleet/snow

3. No, but there is a small pass-thru between the two rear seats

4. I'm sure Michigan winter is much worse than mine but it is drivable in snow/ice. I run all-seasons but I would recommend snow tires for Michigan.

5. Yes. Mine has never failed to start or has never left me stranded.

 

Additional comment to my post earlier in this thread:

Many people dont like drivin in the snow. NO it is not healthy at all but I did once or twice this past winter and it was great, though I'll still never do it again. Of course it all depends on how much snow you have too...

 

Thanks for all the replies so far, its been really helpful. I'm getting mixed reviews on the '04 though. I would hope they are OK to get just since 90% of the ones i find are 04 models. If the car is out of warranty and the engine fails...is it still covered since it is a problem that mazda knows about? I would prefer to get an 05+ but i've seen so many good deals on the 04 it would be hard to pass them up.

Also, is the center pass through in the rear seat big enough to fit a snowboard through? Thats really the only reason i asked about fold down seats.

Last thing, could i get snow tires for the stock 18's or would i need to/is it better to have a serperate set of rims?

Thanks again for all the helpful replies.

-Ty

 

I'd get the newest one you can afford. If it's gotta be an 04, there's tons of people here with that and good advice.

Snow? No problem with good snow tires. It's fun to some extent, not always super safe but definitely driveable.

Don't know about the snowboard thing.

Yeah you could use the stock 18's for now with winters and next summer, you'll want to get some cool rims. Save up for them and get something lighter than 20 lbs. ie. don't do what I did and go for something neat and then realize they're over 25 lbs, hehe.

 

I love driving in the snow now. If it's snowing on a weekend I will go out and cruise around in it if it's not terribly bad. The 8 performs fairly well on snow pack but ice is a different story.