I'm looking at an '04 rx8 with 40k miles on it. carfax is clean, and the pcm problem was taken care of.

What I'm needing to know is this - If I take care of the car properly (oil changes, adding oil, tuneups, etc), how reliable will it be? I will especially appreciate any info from '04 owners out there. I'm buying this car to be my daily driver (although not far. probably about 24 miles a day tops), and I don't want to get myself into a financial hole.

Any advice is appreciated,

Daniel Taylor

 

search for 100k, or 100 thousand miles. Lots of guys are going past that mark. Take care of the car and it will take car of you.

 

i have an 04 with 50k miles no problems yet except i flooded it once and my 2nd gear syncro is going out

 

I guess my real question is this. I have seen a lot of people complaining about problems with the rx8 online. It seems to me most of these are user problems - not letting the car warm up, ignoring the fact that you have to check oil, etc.

In your experience are the claims of spontaneous issues really true, or is is a pebwac issue?

 

I bought my '04 with 40K miles. To date it has NEVER been to the dealer. I have had zero problems *knock on wood* and she runs like a champ. Good luck to you sir

The key was I absolutely HAD to know who the previous owner was. He happened to be a rotor head and also owned an FD

Dont make the mistake of buying an RX-8 from the little old lady

 

the one I'm looking at is at a dealer - I'll be taking it to a mechanic to inspect it before I buy it though.

 

Does your mechanic know anything about rotary's?

 

I'll be taking it to a mazda dealership - not a private mechanic

 

O ok right on...well good luck with the car if you do decide to get it

 

congrats on your buying decision.

 

I have a 04 with 95,000 Miles, Just recently the engine went out at 92,000 But Mazda replaced it free of charge under warrenty You will love the car

 

04 with 75K miles here, Im still on motor #1.

Only normal wear and tear will cost you money. Ie plugs, coils, wires, tire, brakes, etc etc. That is normal, if you learn to work on your own car, it's actually not that costly....

 

Did they give you a reason why you're engine went out?

 

Yea, Its actually a known issue on the 04's It was the Apex seal, But with every 04 Rx8 you have a 10 year 100,000 Miles warrenty!

 

oh i think i heard about that - supposedly once they replace it, it won't give any more problems - correct?

 

Yuppers

 

sweet thanks for the info you all. just one more question. does the 100,000 mile warranty automagically transfer if I purchase this vehicle from a used car dealer? or do I have to pay for it to transfer?

 

^its free, and its only for your engine core, 100k\8yr, whatever comes first

 

Whoops yea ment 8 year haha! But yea it automatically transfers

 

 

Allright thanks guys. now to just decide whether or not it's worth potentially having to have it worked on to get that problem fixed.

will they fix it on warranty before your motor blows up perhaps?

 

Transferable warranties ftw.

*EDIT* No, they will wait until you are below the compression threshold.

 

It's not like every Renesis fails. Just a minority. I don't think anyone here really knows the percentage of failures, nor how it compares with major issues for other cars. Browse the reliability ratings at Consumer Reports to see how things stack up.

If you're worried about a financial hole, and you want to buy a used sports car, you need to think things through. Which matters more: passion or security?

Ken

 

maintenance is a must on this car check oil, plugs, coils etc etc and redline it often.....as for helping keep ur engine healthy i recommend premix to help with the lubrication of the Apex seals 8oz Pennzoil Marine synthetic every oil change and ur good to go!

 

own a 04 for 5years now. miles 65k no problems. changed out coils etc. oh wait only problem i had was the cat. been replaced.