Hey guys!

I'm a long time Mazda owner, having owned a Mazda3, then a B4000 4x4, and now a 2011 Mazda6 GT.

I'm looking at trading my 6 on a 2011 RX8 R3 with only 12,000kms on it. The car checks out on car proof but in talking with a few car folks and my dealer where I service my 6 everyone is telling me not to touch this RX8.

I'm being told they are expensive paper weights regardless of how well I maintain it. I need some honest input. I've read the oil consumption stories. The car is priced at 21,000 canadian dollars.

Should I go for it or spend my money on the competition?

 

Do your Own investigating the 2011 rx8s are a lot more reliable then it's predecessors. A lot of the problems that the older models were having were resolved. So look more into it. Ask for a Compression test to begin with.. The rx8 is a great car , it performs great when well taken care of. If u have the type of attitude where u like to kick back and not worry about your car then it's not for you. But if u don't mind cherishing a legend. Putting work into a car that is a dying breed then., I say go for it.

 

Oil consumption shouldn't even be a story. If you want the straight scoop on actual stories, read the new owner's thread at the top of this forum. If that intrigues you more than it puts you off, go for it.

Are you being advised against 8s in general or just this particular one?

Ken

 

8's in general. I'm mainly interested in owning it for 2-3 years and putting in typical maintenance

 

I'd lay money on the reliability of an RX-8 over the reliability of a Mazda6. The 6's engine and transmission are both Ford products, and ones that have a horrendous failure rate, subjectively worse than the RX-8. They just don't get as much press about it. Talk to a Ford+Mazda dealer tech and you will see what i mean.

 

I'm on my second rebuild with my 6-speed manual transmission in my 2011 Mazda 6. Bearing and spring failures each time.

I'm going to look at the RX8 this weekend and take it for a spin.

 

Good luck with your search!

 

I have both. Both from 2004.

They are different cars. The things you were used to putting in the trunk on the 6, or folding down the seats and hauling, you will need to throw away. Sorry. The trunk opening on the 8 is rather limited. You can get a lot of little things in, but a regular size cooler (48 qt) will not fit.

Maintenance is about the same. The ford V6 was designed by Porsche, so was a great engine, however Porsche decided to make it longer because it was neater that way, Ford had to shorten it to fit in their cars. That caused some issues.

You can see all the plugs on the 8. It is rumored that you can reach the rear plugs on the 6 without pulling the intake manifold.

all the cam covers leak on the 6, no cams on the 8 FTW.

I like the 8 seats better, I am too big for the 6 seats.

6 gets me 25 mpg, the 8 22, on premium.

Red 6 is my old man car, Green 8 is my fun car. I gave the 6 to my daughter.

That help?

 

like folks here have said, if after you read all the new owners stickies and you are not put off, then get the RX8 (with a good compression test mandatory) and talk him down on the price. Any used RX8 is going to be hard to sell off his lot, just not that many rotary advocates, so you should be able to negotiate them lower, even in Canada.

Test driving the RX8 will sell the car, there is nothing like a well maintained, well tuned rotary sports car (I have owned seven over the decades). Go for it and stay up on this forum for all the help available from experienced rotary hounds to help make your rotary experience a happy one.

 

Didn't know the 2nd gen had such problems. I'm assuming it's the V6 that had problems? OP mentioned GT trim. There was an iGT (I4) and an sGT (V6).

 

Yeah. The I4 is an Mazda MZR engine, which is reliable enough.

The V6 is a Ford engine however, and Ford's "dirty little secret" that the general public seems to ignore. Nearly every Ford V6 model has engine failures litering their various forums, and even taking internet bias into account, the problem is rather large. There have also been a few Mazda and/or Ford dealer techs on here from time to time, and every one I recall has mentioned that they replace Ford V6s and transmissions quite a lot.

Their trucks and V8s are good and it is enough to bury the V6 problem under the rug, keeping it out of the general public eye.