Early Musings - RX8 as main car but weekend/motorways mainly

[.blue]

Going to go car-less for a while to save money (I also have a motorbike) and would have eventually liked to replace with the likes of a hot hatch or 350z. However, good examples for either are in £6000+ territory which is more than I want to spend. Have just sold my MX-5 - cracking car and would have kept it if it wasn't for rust. After vowing never to buy a Mazda again, I've reasoned that I won't be supporting the company much by buying an old RX-8

I will buy another car when I start getting car withdrawal symptoms if the insurance industry gives me its blessing (ETA 3-9 months).

RX-8s seem to be in budget (c. £2000, will stretch for a good example) but I'm wondering:
- Realistically, can I pick up a mechanically sound example at this price?
- What are maintenance costs and reliability like? Particularly consumables - tyres, brakes and servicing.
- What are they like for heavy right foot motorway usage? Half of my driving is on motorways (around 4,000 miles per year). If I were to find a motorway with a 90mph limit all the way through, would economy be far below the 23mpg I'm expecting?
- What are they like in the city? (2,000 miles city driving)
- I'm sure they're good on proper roads, right? (2,000 miles of hooning)
- Any ideas what it might be like with 4 of us on a trip around Europe?
- At my age and place on the insurance ladder, I'd be happy with the 192hp version. Power of the MX-5, while sometimes left me wanting, was never a big enough issue for me to pay for more so I think the 192 will be just fine. Agree/disagree?

The reason I am going car-less for a while is that I don't need one to get to places. I want a car that will let me afford 2-3 track days a year and perhaps a driving trip around Europe.

With the budget I have, the RX-8 might just fit the bill perfectly.

Over to you.

Edited by .blue on Wednesday 9th October 11:38

[pimpchez]

If you can afford a engine rebuild at some point , i would just buy one at the cheap end aslong as it checks out that is.

Once its rebuilt you should get 60k+ miles or more .

i warned my mate to have the money for a rebuild set aside , he didnt listen and its bin sat there since april.

[davidd]

We had a 192, ran it for 3 years got about 20 mpg from it. It did not drink oil, covered about 20,000 miles without any issues (was on over 60,000 when we sold it on for £3k 2 years ago).

I know they get a lot of stick but they are better cars than a lot of people claim. If you expect an engine rebuild then I'd say you are going in with your eyes open!

Not sure on the merits of 192 v the 240 odd one as I've only ever driven ours.

4 up around europe would be squash.

D

[pimpchez]

ive driven a 231 , even though i didnt fit.

my thoughts on were this , under say 6000rpm it actually "felt" slower than my t sport after than it kind of went ballistic at 7000rpm then blipped like crazy .

I got out thinking that the powerband was even worse than my tsport .

either way if i could have fitted i would have got it , they are a bargain .

[.blue]

pimpchez said:

If you can afford a engine rebuild at some point , i would just buy one at the cheap end aslong as it checks out that is.

Once its rebuilt you should get 60k+ miles or more .

i warned my mate to have the money for a rebuild set aside , he didnt listen and its bin sat there since april.

So I should really be budgeting £2k on top of the purchase price?!

Would a recent compression test not be good enough proof that the engine is a-ok?

[pimpchez]

Yes you are right , depends how long you want to keep it. A compression test will reveal all ,but if you want to keep it then yes keep the money aside

[otolith]

pimpchez said:

ive driven a 231 , even though i didnt fit.

my thoughts on were this , under say 6000rpm it actually "felt" slower than my t sport after than it kind of went ballistic at 7000rpm then blipped like crazy .

I got out thinking that the powerband was even worse than my tsport .

either way if i could have fitted i would have got it , they are a bargain .

Interesting - I had an RX-8 231 and I've got an Elise with the same engine as the t-sport, and I'd say completely the opposite. Much more linear response from the Renesis engine, with a more or less constant level of torque over a broader rev range. To be honest, it's OK in a light car, but I think I'd really hate to have the 2ZZ in something heavier - it makes me think of an unflattering caricature of a Honda Type-R engine.

[J4CKO]

They are a nice idea but they are cheap for a reason, a 2003 350Z is five grand, the fuel consumption is similarly tragic but it doesn't have the reputation for poor reliability.

I would look perhaps to an RX7 if you must go Rotary, the FC model is in budget, but pretty old.

[otolith]

Our 350Z has been pretty much bulletproof - but I think our RX-8 was nicer to drive.

"Well, do ya, punk?"

[.blue]

I love Nissans and the 350z has been on my wall growing up (by wall I mean computer wallpaper) but just 2 seats is a big downer because it makes driving trips far less affordable.

How common is the rust issue? After having that on the MX-5 (it went from a few spots on the wheel arch to soft sills in 18 months of ownership), I don't want to go through the experience of poking and worrying about an expensive repair bill for a simple problem caused by the manufacturer's negligence.

Edited by .blue on Thursday 10th October 10:37

[V8RX7]

If you are put off by a £300 repair bill on an MX5 then you really don't want to be buying an RX8

I'd suggest an MR2 Roadster but read up on the Cats.

[.blue]

The itch still hasn't gone away. My view is that if I can get a car with the following, I should be OK cost wise for the next year at least:
- 1 year MOT
- FMSH according to RX8 schedule
- Satisfactory Compression Test
- Brakes and tyres well within wearing out limits

This one seems to tick all the boxes: http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...

Would a sensible approach (walk away unless everything is as above) still be very likely to leave a big hole in my wallet or is it a smart risk to take (for a petrol head)?

[otolith]

For 2k, if as described, that sounds tempting.

[rst1234]

I got an RX8 a couple of months ago as a weekend car, excellent for £2k, had no problems yet.
RX8 owners club were a good help so I know how to look after it.
I've driven some miles in it, about a 200 mile trip a couple of weeks ago and I was surprised how good and comfortable it was.

[STW2010]

For £2k I would say that one was well worth a look. Rare for them to have a sunroof.

I miss mine a lot, and the ownership of it was very enjoyable. The fact it's had such a good service recently is very attractive- a set of plugs for these are £100 plus, and the coil packs are quite expensive too (I bought mine from the USA and paid about £140 I think).

[otolith]

I seem to remember tall people complaining about headroom issues with a sunroof.

[STW2010]

otolith said:

I seem to remember tall people complaining about headroom issues with a sunroof.

I've heard this too. I'm a short-ass though, so always wanted the sunroof (couldn't find one though)

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

pimpchez said:

ive driven a 231 , even though i didnt fit.

my thoughts on were this , under say 6000rpm it actually "felt" slower than my t sport after than it kind of went ballistic at 7000rpm then blipped like crazy .

I got out thinking that the powerband was even worse than my tsport .

either way if i could have fitted i would have got it , they are a bargain .

Yep, kinda agree with the first bit at least.

A friend has a servicing / repair garage dealing mostly with VAG's, and recently I dropped him my Skoda Octavia VRs for a day's work - cambelt and that.

He lent me a 231 RX8 that he had kicking about - and actually told me to go off and have a bit of fun in it - short of putting it into a hedge backwards, obviously

I did not like. Chassis and handling = average at best. Engine? A horrendous, soul-less, flat, linear buzz up to a limit that is articulated by a warning buzzer...wtf???

And, without tempting the fate of 'cliche' as we are all familiar with - my Octy is re-mapped, and would fairly easily make this car look a wee bit slow I think.


But....they look really nice, and with the price they are going for - with the already mentioned caveats, may well be a good choice for some I guess.

[otolith]

Marmite cars defined by a marmite engine. If it's your kind of thing (and it was mine) a front drive turbo four pot just isn't likely to appeal - and vice-versa. OK for a barge, like our Saab, but no fun at all.