Discussion
Should I get an RX8?
I only have £4k to play with, but have looked about and can pick up loads of 231bhp, 6 speed RX8s, with 50k or so. Seems like a real bargain.
I know fuel consumption is in the low 20s but at these prices am happy with that.
I know you should not do short runs, and need to check oil every 2 fill ups. I can live with these foibles but can not live with a blown engine. So it all comes down to reliabilty, what is the real story? How many miles will the engine do? What type of neglect kills the engine?
I've looked on RX8 forums, and they are unnervingly positive about reliability. Some topics even have rules about posting about negative issues????
I only have £4k to play with, but have looked about and can pick up loads of 231bhp, 6 speed RX8s, with 50k or so. Seems like a real bargain.
I know fuel consumption is in the low 20s but at these prices am happy with that.
I know you should not do short runs, and need to check oil every 2 fill ups. I can live with these foibles but can not live with a blown engine. So it all comes down to reliabilty, what is the real story? How many miles will the engine do? What type of neglect kills the engine?
I've looked on RX8 forums, and they are unnervingly positive about reliability. Some topics even have rules about posting about negative issues????
I had an RX8 briefly in 2005.
It had 35k miles when I sold it and it was not a bad car, just lacked poke.
It was 231 and had Sat Nav.
Personally I never had an issue with the overfuelling cold short start thing but many people did - eg. driving it out of the garage to wash and then trying to move it back into the garage.
Obviously as mentioned, keep on top of the oil thing - always have a top up to hand - its not actually as bad as two fill ups.
I found that my fuel economy was terrible no matter how I drove - laughable really!
For £4k, that is a hideous bargain really.
It had 35k miles when I sold it and it was not a bad car, just lacked poke.
It was 231 and had Sat Nav.
Personally I never had an issue with the overfuelling cold short start thing but many people did - eg. driving it out of the garage to wash and then trying to move it back into the garage.
Obviously as mentioned, keep on top of the oil thing - always have a top up to hand - its not actually as bad as two fill ups.
I found that my fuel economy was terrible no matter how I drove - laughable really!
For £4k, that is a hideous bargain really.
I've always liked them - when I last looked a year or so ago any 231s under 7 or 8k were very tired - have they really come down that much? I would say you probably can't afford a bad one...
For me, though, the "no short journeys" is a dealbreaker. I don't want to be told what sort of driving I can do!
For me, though, the "no short journeys" is a dealbreaker. I don't want to be told what sort of driving I can do!
Also had one for 7 or 8 months. Was a great car, but got rid due to fuel usage.
I certainly don't regret buying one, a car that I enjoyed driving and owning.
I'd say you're shopping near the bottom of the market though, and there's potential for problems if you get an example from a neglectful owner who ran it on low oil etc.
The 231's do shift if you drive them properly
I certainly don't regret buying one, a car that I enjoyed driving and owning.
I'd say you're shopping near the bottom of the market though, and there's potential for problems if you get an example from a neglectful owner who ran it on low oil etc.
The 231's do shift if you drive them properly
solidstatelogic said:
Don't like these cars at all. I wouldn't put up with filling it with oil every 2 fill-ups.
Also I think it needs some kind of special oil which only Mazda will sell to you.
Not worth it.
Thanks for your input then! Also I think it needs some kind of special oil which only Mazda will sell to you.
Not worth it.
I'd imagine the oil is not unlike two stroke oil, and designed to be smokeless when burned.
But £4k for a well equipped genuine four seat RWD with LSD coupe that weighs not a lot is a good deal whatever way you look at it. Plus the engines are simpler in design than piston engines and so a blown engine is not always the disaster it sounds like.
I just can't live with the low fuel consumption...
I wonder what a stripped out caged one would be like as a track car?? Hmm...
Edited by MarJay on Thursday 5th August 13:53
They are very tempting now but I would be a bit scared of a 4k example.
This one looks good.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1873064.htm
They are an excellent solution to the problem of wanting a sporty car that you can easily fit the kids in.
This one looks good.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1873064.htm
They are an excellent solution to the problem of wanting a sporty car that you can easily fit the kids in.
Thanks for your responses. You only need to CHECK the oil every 2 fillups & by all accounts it doesn't use any more oil than a conventional car, but if it gets low the engine is f
ked.
It's only semi synthemtic 5-30 oil no special recommended brand either. I've read some people chuck in 2 stroke oil on occasion - unsure why??
ked.It's only semi synthemtic 5-30 oil no special recommended brand either. I've read some people chuck in 2 stroke oil on occasion - unsure why??
solidstatelogic said:
Don't like these cars at all. I wouldn't put up with filling it with oil every 2 fill-ups.
Also I think it needs some kind of special oil which only Mazda will sell to you.
Not worth it.
I love rotary experts from the pub Also I think it needs some kind of special oil which only Mazda will sell to you.
Not worth it.
On my rx8, I checked the oil every 2 weeks as I do on any car (afterall, it's common sense to catch a problem before it's too late right?) and hardly used any oil, sadly the "uses loads of oil" is another mate-down-the-pub-myth. I think I worked out that I needed half a litre of oil every 5,000 miles, so not exactly bad.
And the special oil that only Mazda sell to you? You can get 5w30 semi-synthetic from most places, and it's cheaper than regular oil
Personally I never had any problems with mine, but I did do the servicing myself (ie the work was actually done rather than paying £500 for a stamp and no maintenance) so I don't know if this contributed to the reliability of my car? (53 plate that I owned for 4 years and did about 30k miles in it up to 50k miles).
As a Mazda fan I recently seriously looked at buying one to replace my S-Type Jag and went to look at 3 different 231 models. I Loved the way it drove but it just didn't seem to have enough grunt to justify the 20MPG. I still very nearly bought one, but in the end i had to be sensible as i already have a lowish MPG sporty car (MX5) so i bought an S3.
If your not doing a high mile commute and want a fun and quickish car, They are a massive bargain.
If your not doing a high mile commute and want a fun and quickish car, They are a massive bargain.
Edited by paul99 on Thursday 5th August 14:47
solidstatelogic said:
Don't like these cars at all. I wouldn't put up with filling it with oil every 2 fill-ups.
Also I think it needs some kind of special oil which only Mazda will sell to you.
Not worth it.
Also I think it needs some kind of special oil which only Mazda will sell to you.
Not worth it.
and you heard it from a bloke down the pub too...Impressive that, of the two facts you present, you scored an impressive zero correct answers!
The price sounds very low and there are some 'under-cherished' examples out there - View anything with reasonable mileage but especially low price as suspicious.
They are crazily cheap to buy - Fuel consumption is high (I get around 21-22MPG all the time), but the oil thing is overstated and the oil they use is cheap as chips compared with most cars with similar performance.
They don't lack speed, they lack 'grunt', so people used to torquier cars feel they're slow, in the same way going from a Renault 5 GT Turbo to a Clio 16v felt like a huge drop in performance - You just need to adapt to a very different torque curve.
On most roads, with bends in, the RX8 will match or better anything else in its class for 'speed' and quite a lot of supposedly more sporty cars - it's no dragster though.
Short journies aren't a problem, it's moving them around on the driveway short that causes the flooding problem (solved by running the engine up to 4K for a few seconds before turning it off). I regularly start mine from cold and drive 1/2 mile to the petrol station where it starts fine after filling up.
I wouldn't buy one without strong evidence of a proper service history though - Even with RX8s, if it seems too cheap, it probably is!
M.
They are crazily cheap to buy - Fuel consumption is high (I get around 21-22MPG all the time), but the oil thing is overstated and the oil they use is cheap as chips compared with most cars with similar performance.
They don't lack speed, they lack 'grunt', so people used to torquier cars feel they're slow, in the same way going from a Renault 5 GT Turbo to a Clio 16v felt like a huge drop in performance - You just need to adapt to a very different torque curve.
On most roads, with bends in, the RX8 will match or better anything else in its class for 'speed' and quite a lot of supposedly more sporty cars - it's no dragster though.
Short journies aren't a problem, it's moving them around on the driveway short that causes the flooding problem (solved by running the engine up to 4K for a few seconds before turning it off). I regularly start mine from cold and drive 1/2 mile to the petrol station where it starts fine after filling up.
I wouldn't buy one without strong evidence of a proper service history though - Even with RX8s, if it seems too cheap, it probably is!
M.
Edited by marcosgt on Thursday 5th August 15:04
threesixty360 said:
It's only semi synthemtic 5-30 oil no special recommended brand either. I've read some people chuck in 2 stroke oil on occasion - unsure why??
Some 7 owners have the OMP removed and run pre-mix (i.e. 2-stroke oil added to the tank), can't see why you would need to on a standard 8 though.Personally, I'd stay well away of cheap ones.
And they seem cheap to buy, they are cheap to buy.. They aren't cheap to run or repair unfortunately.
Coils, Cat, Plugs, Leads, they're things that go wrong.. Thats on some that aren't maintained that well, if they have been they could be fine. You're looking at £2k for that stuff.
We get quite a few people who buy them, not sterotyping but my age, young, think its all good, until something goes wrong.
Then they want to do the cheapest thing possible to be able to sell it.
On the other hand, they're lots and lots of fun to drive, look very nice and are comfortable.. If you can run/maintain one no problem then they're a good car
And they seem cheap to buy, they are cheap to buy.. They aren't cheap to run or repair unfortunately.
Coils, Cat, Plugs, Leads, they're things that go wrong.. Thats on some that aren't maintained that well, if they have been they could be fine. You're looking at £2k for that stuff.
We get quite a few people who buy them, not sterotyping but my age, young, think its all good, until something goes wrong.
Then they want to do the cheapest thing possible to be able to sell it.
On the other hand, they're lots and lots of fun to drive, look very nice and are comfortable.. If you can run/maintain one no problem then they're a good car
I have heard that the engines will need rebuilding at about 100k even if they are well maintained.Suppose its better than my fd which went pop at about 50k.I think the prices of new rotors have come down quite a lot now though.
Ive also heard about unscrupulous dealers putting brake fluid on worn rotors.Apparently it expands them and gives the motor about two more weeks to live.Has anybody else heard this or am I also guilty of listening to pub gossip?
p.s. whats the V.E.D. on one of these? because at those sort of prices they look like a bargain
Ive also heard about unscrupulous dealers putting brake fluid on worn rotors.Apparently it expands them and gives the motor about two more weeks to live.Has anybody else heard this or am I also guilty of listening to pub gossip?
p.s. whats the V.E.D. on one of these? because at those sort of prices they look like a bargain
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