RX8 - What to look for?

[k-ink]

I said "running costs", not purchase price.

Single digit to teen mileage, plus +£2000 engine rebuilds, plus having the car off the road means needing a second car. It all adds up. The performance return is not good enough.

Simple

[daemon]

300bhp/ton said:

As for running costs. Plenty of cars can have potential big bills. Impreza's, plenty of BMW's, Mercs and so on.

Yes, however typically with Imprezas, M3s, etc, you get high levels of performance to match the high risk of big bills.

With an RX8, not so much....

[lilwashu]

k-ink said:

I said "running costs", not purchase price.

Single digit to teen mileage, plus +£2000 engine rebuilds, plus having the car off the road means needing a second car. It all adds up. The performance return is not good enough.

Simple

In reality:

Teen to low 20s mileage
Potential engine rebuild (but by no means certain)

I think the performance return is very good (performance for me not being measured by driving in a straight line) and the cars are excellent. Like everything, if you get a bad one, it will cost you.

[daemon]

lilwashu said:

k-ink said:

I said "running costs", not purchase price.

Single digit to teen mileage, plus +£2000 engine rebuilds, plus having the car off the road means needing a second car. It all adds up. The performance return is not good enough.

Simple

In reality:

Teen to low 20s mileage
Potential engine rebuild (but by no means certain)

I think the performance return is very good (performance for me not being measured by driving in a straight line) and the cars are excellent. Like everything, if you get a bad one, it will cost you.

And how do you know if you've bought a bad one until its too late?

Of course you can do your due diligence to minimise the risk but genuinely good ones that you would have a level of confidence in purchasing are a rarity.

[delta0]

Compression test. Just need numbers in the 7s or above and you have a good one. Very quick and easy test and costs around £40.

[daemon]

delta0 said:

Compression test. Just need numbers in the 7s or above and you have a good one. Very quick and easy test and costs around £40.

You have a good one today - whos to say thats going to be the case in 3 months, 6 months or a year?

[delta0]

daemon said:

You have a good one today - whos to say thats going to be the case in 3 months, 6 months or a year?

It's fine as long as you check the oil regularly. Like with any engine when the oils runs down it can cause damage. The RX8 injects a small amount of oil into the engine to lubricate. This means it uses more oil than a piston engine. The later R3 model is far less susceptible to damage but even then you can look after an early model quite easily. If there is a major issue then you can have it rebuilt which doesn't take long and isn't very expensive especially considering the price of the early models.

[rb5er]

Other than the fuel consumption and good but not great performance these are great cars. An engine build from a specialist is £1500. Most people will spend that refreshing the suspension on their BMW.

Performance bargain imo.

[k-ink]

You shouldn't have to spend £1500 sorting a BMWs suspension either. Or come to that fixing a BMWs steering, turbos, water pump, digital display, Vanos, you name it. Two, or multiple wrongs does not make a right. Shoddy engineering is not excusable. The knowledge and technology exists to make things properly, to last.

[TheJimi]

I actually like these a lot but I wouldn't touch one with my own money.

Pathetic fuel consumption vs accelerative performance and the almost certainty of a rebuild being needed at some stage.

Values are so low that rebuild and fuel costs make it a daft (imo) proposition.

[300bhp/ton]

daemon said:

300bhp/ton said:

As for running costs. Plenty of cars can have potential big bills. Impreza's, plenty of BMW's, Mercs and so on.

Yes, however typically with Imprezas, M3s, etc, you get high levels of performance to match the high risk of big bills.

With an RX8, not so much....

Stock Inpreza Turbos have 215hp and new age ones weigh more than an RX-8. Are you really sure the performance is better?

Engine rebuild prices certainly aren't.

[300bhp/ton]

TheJimi said:

I actually like these a lot but I wouldn't touch one with my own money.

Pathetic fuel consumption vs accelerative performance and the almost certainty of a rebuild being needed at some stage.

Values are so low that rebuild and fuel costs make it a daft (imo) proposition.

Slightly more power than an EP3 CTR and slightly better 0-60, 0-100 and 1/4 mile performance. What exactly are you expecting from the performance?

[TheJimi]

Compare EP3 fuel consumption to that of an RX8.

Big difference.

[daemon]

300bhp/ton said:

daemon said:

300bhp/ton said:

As for running costs. Plenty of cars can have potential big bills. Impreza's, plenty of BMW's, Mercs and so on.

Yes, however typically with Imprezas, M3s, etc, you get high levels of performance to match the high risk of big bills.

With an RX8, not so much....

Stock Inpreza Turbos have 215hp and new age ones weigh more than an RX-8. Are you really sure the performance is better?

Engine rebuild prices certainly aren't.

If you want to nit pick over the lowest power output car in a particular range to prove a point, go ahead.

Likewise, if i'd just bought a car at £2,000 and three months later had to spend nigh on £2K on an engine rebuild, i'd consider that a big bill.

Personally - they're not worth the hassle. And most of the market thinks the same.

[k-ink]

People who can only afford a two grand car don't want a sudden two grand bill. In much the same way someone who buys a ten grand car doesn't want a ten grand bill.

[daemon]

k-ink said:

People who can only afford a two grand car don't want a sudden two grand bill. In much the same way someone who buys a ten grand car doesn't want a ten grand bill.

I think that hits the nail on the head really.

[otolith]

TheJimi said:

Compare EP3 fuel consumption to that of an RX8.

Big difference.

I replaced my EP3 with one. Very similar straight line. Massively more satisfying to drive, I found. Guess it depends where your priorities are.

I have just been reacquainting myself with the EP3. I haven't driven one since I sold mine, over ten years ago, but my sister has just bought a 100k mile one the same year as mine was. It's holding up pretty well, really. Well screwed together. Gearbox is as good as I remember it. Still sounds good. I don't know whether it's down on performance (it could be, there's a CEL showing a knock sensor fault) or whether my butt dyno needs recalibration, but it feels slower than I remember it.

[otolith]

daemon said:

I think that hits the nail on the head really.

Mazda sold far too many of them for the used market to support. There just aren't that many people who want a 20mpg coupe and are more interested in handling than the traffic lights Grand Prix.

[300bhp/ton]

daemon said:

If you want to nit pick over the lowest power output car in a particular range to prove a point, go ahead.

The Turbo 2000 was the most powerful turbo classic Impreza sold in the UK as a proper full time production model.

The WRX of the New Age models was also the mainstream performance model. So what nit picking??

The lower output Impreza's were the n/a ones.

daemon said:

Likewise, if i'd just bought a car at £2,000 and three months later had to spend nigh on £2K on an engine rebuild, i'd consider that a big bill.

That could happen with almost any car.

[Ozzie Osmond]

300bhp/ton said:

daemon said:

Likewise, if i'd just bought a car at £2,000 and three months later had to spend nigh on £2K on an engine rebuild, i'd consider that a big bill.

That could happen with almost any car.

Yes, but "almost any car" isn't going to suffer "almost inevitable wankel engine rebuild". IMO it's an additional worry over and above buying conventional cars and the used prices reflect this.