Rotary itch has been scratched! My new RX8
Discussion
So after 7 years with my trusty diesel Civic, I have finally "treated" myself to a toy. I say treated - it only cost me £1,900:
20180414_171026 by Ed Reeve, on Flickr
Understanding and researching all of the potential issues led me to the OC site and the above car being sold by Boston Rotary, a highly regarded specialist. Superb service from the owner Pete Stevens who sent me photos of the underside and bodywork showing very little rust (tick) and high compression results on the original 48k mile engine (tick).
The car is a 231 model in Stormy Blue (has an almost bluey/purple sparkle in the sunlight) with full black heated leather interior (this is really in very good condition), Bose stereo, HIDs and electric drivers seat. It also has ISOFIX and a ski-hatch so I easily sold it to the wife as the perfect family car
.
I got Pete to upgrade the coils to H585s and fit the Miltek exhaust he had on the track car he was stripping.
Picked it up on Saturday and had a solid 2 hour run down the A1 to home.
First impressions:
- Boy was the Miltek a good choice! It's a lovely compromise between something the wife won't complain about and something that keeps a perma-grin on my face!
- People say these are not quick but I can confirm it's definitely quick enough for me and what I liked was in a similar way to my old supercharged MX5, you can have a lot of fun without risking your licence. The steering is direct and handling supple. I didn't have any issues accelerating on the motorway in 6th gear - I never felt "caught out".
- Revving to 9k RPM is addictive
- It's also incredibly comfortable - the seats are supportive, the stereo is excellent and the ride isn't harsh.
I am a little bit in love and she is definitely a keeper!
20180416_082252_HDR by Ed Reeve, on Flickr
20180416_082304 by Ed Reeve, on Flickr
E1E8782D-2FCE-4C71-9C78-29BCADEE9C31 by Ed Reeve, on Flickr
s-l1600 by Ed Reeve, on Flickr
s-l1601 by Ed Reeve, on Flickr
s-l300 by Ed Reeve, on Flickr
s-l1602 by Ed Reeve, on Flickr
20180414_171026 by Ed Reeve, on FlickrUnderstanding and researching all of the potential issues led me to the OC site and the above car being sold by Boston Rotary, a highly regarded specialist. Superb service from the owner Pete Stevens who sent me photos of the underside and bodywork showing very little rust (tick) and high compression results on the original 48k mile engine (tick).
The car is a 231 model in Stormy Blue (has an almost bluey/purple sparkle in the sunlight) with full black heated leather interior (this is really in very good condition), Bose stereo, HIDs and electric drivers seat. It also has ISOFIX and a ski-hatch so I easily sold it to the wife as the perfect family car
.I got Pete to upgrade the coils to H585s and fit the Miltek exhaust he had on the track car he was stripping.
Picked it up on Saturday and had a solid 2 hour run down the A1 to home.
First impressions:
- Boy was the Miltek a good choice! It's a lovely compromise between something the wife won't complain about and something that keeps a perma-grin on my face!
- People say these are not quick but I can confirm it's definitely quick enough for me and what I liked was in a similar way to my old supercharged MX5, you can have a lot of fun without risking your licence. The steering is direct and handling supple. I didn't have any issues accelerating on the motorway in 6th gear - I never felt "caught out".
- Revving to 9k RPM is addictive
- It's also incredibly comfortable - the seats are supportive, the stereo is excellent and the ride isn't harsh.
I am a little bit in love and she is definitely a keeper!
20180416_082252_HDR by Ed Reeve, on Flickr20180416_082304 by Ed Reeve, on FlickrE1E8782D-2FCE-4C71-9C78-29BCADEE9C31 by Ed Reeve, on Flickrs-l1600 by Ed Reeve, on Flickrs-l1601 by Ed Reeve, on Flickrs-l300 by Ed Reeve, on Flickrs-l1602 by Ed Reeve, on FlickrDjw John said:
God they're getting tempting these days!
Exactly why I went for it! It's probably not far off being worth what I paid for it in parts.Man maths went like this:
I could spend £6k on a Ford Focus or even £10k on a BMW 335i but now I have cracking looking car with no rust issues and in the best colour with £4-8k to spend on petrol (and an engine rebuild if necessary)!
Djw John said:
For man maths thats pretty good!
Defo looks like you've got a good one at a good price too, the gulf between good and bad on these is huge! The money between good and bad doesn't seem to be.
Not sure where you are based but if you do consider buying one I would highly recommend Boston Rotary, as will many on the owners club forum. It was a bit of trek for me but as you say, it's worth it to get a good car.Defo looks like you've got a good one at a good price too, the gulf between good and bad on these is huge! The money between good and bad doesn't seem to be.
Legend83 said:
Not sure where you are based but if you do consider buying one I would highly recommend Boston Rotary, as will many on the owners club forum. It was a bit of trek for me but as you say, it's worth it to get a good car.
Best part of 6 hours away but I've gone further! Will bear it in mind thanks, won't be this year, not with a wife on mat leave!That looks fantastic OP - great choice! 
I always liked them from the 1st time I saw one, but around that time I got a company car allowance and was doing business miles so I did what most people did and went down the 4-cylinder turbo diesel route.
The HMRC mileage rates just wouldn't have worked with an RX8 sadly!
After about a decade that all came to an end and I went off and bought another car I'd always really fancied, but I do sort of regret not trying one.
As far as values go, I would have thought the VED doesn't do post April 06 ones any favours though - still that is what manmaths is for!
I'm looking forward to any updates - I hope you enjoy yours.
I always liked them from the 1st time I saw one, but around that time I got a company car allowance and was doing business miles so I did what most people did and went down the 4-cylinder turbo diesel route.
The HMRC mileage rates just wouldn't have worked with an RX8 sadly! After about a decade that all came to an end and I went off and bought another car I'd always really fancied, but I do sort of regret not trying one.
As far as values go, I would have thought the VED doesn't do post April 06 ones any favours though - still that is what manmaths is for!
I'm looking forward to any updates - I hope you enjoy yours.
Mr Tidy said:
That looks fantastic OP - great choice!
I always liked them from the 1st time I saw one, but around that time I got a company car allowance and was doing business miles so I did what most people did and went down the 4-cylinder turbo diesel route. The HMRC mileage rates just wouldn't have worked with an RX8 sadly!
After about a decade that all came to an end and I went off and bought another car I'd always really fancied, but I do sort of regret not trying one.
As far as values go, I would have thought the VED doesn't do post April 06 ones any favours though - still that is what manmaths is for!
I'm looking forward to any updates - I hope you enjoy yours.
Cheers, in some ways my history is similar in that pre-children I had a supercharged MX5 that unfortunately had to go due to driving longer miles with work - bought a reliable but dull Civic diesel and held on to it for 7 years in a "better the devil you know" kind of way.I always liked them from the 1st time I saw one, but around that time I got a company car allowance and was doing business miles so I did what most people did and went down the 4-cylinder turbo diesel route.
The HMRC mileage rates just wouldn't have worked with an RX8 sadly! After about a decade that all came to an end and I went off and bought another car I'd always really fancied, but I do sort of regret not trying one.
As far as values go, I would have thought the VED doesn't do post April 06 ones any favours though - still that is what manmaths is for!
I'm looking forward to any updates - I hope you enjoy yours.
I start a new job in June and my commute will be 7.4 miles exactly so running costs won't be too painful (I'll likely mix and match driving and cycling).
But yes, the tax hurt I won't lie (although I chose to pay it monthly despite the 5% the Gruberment adds on)!
So few jobs for the next month are:
- got the car booked in with Mazda to carry out recall work to the drivers airbag system and should hopefully get a new fuel pump FOC (new pump seals at a minimum);
- purchase some Rustoleum black plastic paint to spruce up the exhaust shrouds which have gone grey and speckled over time;
- there was no history with the car (another reason it was cheap) but thankfully on post-06 cars any services carried out by Mazda were held digitally. Having spoken to the service department doing the recall my car has plenty of history on file and they'll print it all out for me and give me a shiny new service book
- check the oil at least 11 times
- got the car booked in with Mazda to carry out recall work to the drivers airbag system and should hopefully get a new fuel pump FOC (new pump seals at a minimum);
- purchase some Rustoleum black plastic paint to spruce up the exhaust shrouds which have gone grey and speckled over time;
- there was no history with the car (another reason it was cheap) but thankfully on post-06 cars any services carried out by Mazda were held digitally. Having spoken to the service department doing the recall my car has plenty of history on file and they'll print it all out for me and give me a shiny new service book
- check the oil at least 11 times
So the big fuel test commenced last Friday. I brimmed it to the top with Shell and reset the trip computer....and so far it says 104.2 miles...and I have used 1/2 a tank .
BUT, my current 10 mile commute is 70% urban including crawling through school snag roads and commuter routes, 30% B-road blast so it's not that surprising.
Start my new job June which is one long, clear B-road for 7 miles finished off by a fast dual-carriageway and exit onto business park.
As someone else on here said, it's less the economy that becomes a pain more the small fuel tank so you end up with higher frequency trips to the pumps because you are filling a watering can!
Much more boring is I got the driver airbag and fuel pump changed FOC by Mazda today honouring the outstanding recall that the previous owner hadn't bothered to get done.
Still loving it!
.BUT, my current 10 mile commute is 70% urban including crawling through school snag roads and commuter routes, 30% B-road blast so it's not that surprising.
Start my new job June which is one long, clear B-road for 7 miles finished off by a fast dual-carriageway and exit onto business park.
As someone else on here said, it's less the economy that becomes a pain more the small fuel tank so you end up with higher frequency trips to the pumps because you are filling a watering can!
Much more boring is I got the driver airbag and fuel pump changed FOC by Mazda today honouring the outstanding recall that the previous owner hadn't bothered to get done.
Still loving it!
Legend83 said:
So the big fuel test commenced last Friday. I brimmed it to the top with Shell and reset the trip computer....and so far it says 104.2 miles...and I have used 1/2 a tank .
BUT, my current 10 mile commute is 70% urban including crawling through school snag roads and commuter routes, 30% B-road blast so it's not that surprising.
Following this with interest, I have a slow burning thread going about mine which I bought a couple of months ago..BUT, my current 10 mile commute is 70% urban including crawling through school snag roads and commuter routes, 30% B-road blast so it's not that surprising.
It's not my only car so I've only filled up with fuel twice so far, but around 100 miles with 1/2 tank showing sounds familiar.
My commute sounds similar to yours, my first tank gave 14.5 mpg, but that did include an MOT test.
I did have a couple of 40-ish mile trips on my second tank which gave a positively frugal 16 mpg.
Martin350 said:
Following this with interest, I have a slow burning thread going about mine which I bought a couple of months ago.
It's not my only car so I've only filled up with fuel twice so far, but around 100 miles with 1/2 tank showing sounds familiar.
My commute sounds similar to yours, my first tank gave 14.5 mpg, but that did include an MOT test.
I did have a couple of 40-ish mile trips on my second tank which gave a positively frugal 16 mpg.
So I managed 209 miles to my first tank which is not great but as I said, one has to bear in mind a) my current commute is a South-East of England crawl-fest; and b) it's a new car so any oppportunity to drive it I have whether that me ragging it round the hills with my BIL or dropping my daughter off at ballet!It's not my only car so I've only filled up with fuel twice so far, but around 100 miles with 1/2 tank showing sounds familiar.
My commute sounds similar to yours, my first tank gave 14.5 mpg, but that did include an MOT test.
I did have a couple of 40-ish mile trips on my second tank which gave a positively frugal 16 mpg.
When I put my foot to the floor in 2nd and the revs rise to 9k with the Miltek screaming like a banshee (it's like a quieter Capristo on a 355!) I couldn't give a hoot about MPG.
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