RX8 - Oh dear.

Author
Discussion

Devil2575

13,400 posts

188 months

Saturday 27th March 2010
quotequote all
To be honest, at those prices I'd be happy with poor economy.

Thinking about the potential issues, are they really any worse that those that simlar price cars from other brands suffer?

It's not like BMWs don't have there fair share of potentially serious issues.

d3dna

395 posts

228 months

Saturday 27th March 2010
quotequote all
One of my former colleagues brought a RX8 when they first went on sale, IIRC on a 53 plate. He said it was a lovely car apart from the 18mpg average and the weekly top up of oil - around a litre per month. He soon traded it in and replaced it with a Mazda 3 Sport.

edo

16,699 posts

265 months

Saturday 27th March 2010
quotequote all
DamianBPhoto said:
Its quite a funny car. I think there is more too it than the dealer told him. Like the car is a jap import 06 model with 26k? on the clock and the front bonnet has been resprayed and the rear bumper has been resprayed badly. Almost like its been in a smack?


The car only cost £10k
Nothing funny or cheap about that. He's been robbed:

2006 MAZDA RX8 4dr [231] Coupe
Price: £8,580

14,740 miles, 2006 56 REG MAZDA RX8 231 IN GALAXY GREY, 6 SPEED, FULL BLACK LEATHER INTERIOR 1 OWNER FROM NEW, FULL MAZDA SERVICE HISTORY, 14,740 MILES, MOT UNTIL JANUARY 2011, IMMACULATE CONDITION THROUGHOUT, SPEC INCLUDES: POWER STEERING, ALLOY WHEELS, CD PLAYER, ELECTRIC WINDOWS AND MIRRORS, REMOTE CENTRAL LOCKING, CLIMATE CONTROL,HEATED LEATHER SEATS, ELECTRIC DRIVERS SEAT, FRONT FOG LIGHTS, MULTIFUNCTION STEERING WHEEL,REAR PARKING SENSORS, ABS, TRACTION CONTROL, SPARE KEY, LOCKING WHEEL NUTS, HPI CERTIFICATE SUPPLIED. £8,580.
Trade Seller

marcosgt

11,018 posts

176 months

Saturday 27th March 2010
quotequote all
d3dna said:
One of my former colleagues brought a RX8 when they first went on sale, IIRC on a 53 plate. He said it was a lovely car apart from the 18mpg average and the weekly top up of oil - around a litre per month. He soon traded it in and replaced it with a Mazda 3 Sport.
I don't know if what it is with oil consumption, maybe they use a lot when new.

I check mine every other week and it probably needs a bit more oil every other time - Nothing like a litre a month and it uses the cheap semi-synthetic stuff from Halfords, so cheap as chips (probably cheaper than refilling with fully synthetic oil every 6K miles).

M.

Happy Eater

438 posts

195 months

Saturday 27th March 2010
quotequote all
mine never used a lot of oil either.
I had an Audi A4 3.0 that used a lot more

Oilchange

8,460 posts

260 months

Saturday 27th March 2010
quotequote all
yikes
I bet you could get better economy/noise/torque/hp, lower oil consumption, better reliability from a Rover V8! All that and the Rover is Stone Age technology too. What were Mazda thinking??



d3dna said:
One of my former colleagues brought a RX8 when they first went on sale, IIRC on a 53 plate. He said it was a lovely car apart from the 18mpg average and the weekly top up of oil - around a litre per month. He soon traded it in and replaced it with a Mazda 3 Sport.

otolith

56,080 posts

204 months

Saturday 27th March 2010
quotequote all
If you think the only thing worth trading off against fuel consumption is power, you will never understand what Mazda were thinking, and probably shouldn't bother trying.

wolves_wanderer

12,385 posts

237 months

Saturday 27th March 2010
quotequote all
Oilchange said:
yikes
I bet you could get better economy/noise/torque/hp, lower oil consumption, better reliability from a Rover V8! All that and the Rover is Stone Age technology too. What were Mazda thinking??



d3dna said:
One of my former colleagues brought a RX8 when they first went on sale, IIRC on a 53 plate. He said it was a lovely car apart from the 18mpg average and the weekly top up of oil - around a litre per month. He soon traded it in and replaced it with a Mazda 3 Sport.
Erm, that it wouldn't fit in an rx8 maybe. Genius.

In fact a BMW 335d engine would get more power and bette fuel economy than most so we should all have them...

Oilchange

8,460 posts

260 months

Saturday 27th March 2010
quotequote all
ok maybe I don't 'get' the whole rotasry Mazda thing but you have to agree they are up to date modern engines from a car company that has a reputation for reliability but the rotary isn't living up to the dream is it?

wolves_wanderer

12,385 posts

237 months

Saturday 27th March 2010
quotequote all
Oilchange said:
ok maybe I don't 'get' the whole rotasry Mazda thing but you have to agree they are up to date modern engines from a car company that has a reputation for reliability but the rotary isn't living up to the dream is it?
Mine's been fine, so have the huge majority of others. Yes you have to stick your head under the bonnet every now and again which is scarcely a hardship. The engine allows a 4 seater car to handle in a way that a mainstream 4 seater has no right to. Personally I prefer the noise of a rotary screaming at 9000 to a v8 but each to their own

Oilchange

8,460 posts

260 months

Saturday 27th March 2010
quotequote all
fair enough.

marcosgt

11,018 posts

176 months

Sunday 28th March 2010
quotequote all
wolves_wanderer said:
Oilchange said:
ok maybe I don't 'get' the whole rotasry Mazda thing but you have to agree they are up to date modern engines from a car company that has a reputation for reliability but the rotary isn't living up to the dream is it?
Mine's been fine, so have the huge majority of others. Yes you have to stick your head under the bonnet every now and again which is scarcely a hardship. The engine allows a 4 seater car to handle in a way that a mainstream 4 seater has no right to. Personally I prefer the noise of a rotary screaming at 9000 to a v8 but each to their own
Spot on - It's an acquired taste, but the RX8 has plenty of virtues that are unique.

Be a dull old world if we only had the choice of one thing... smile

M.

Ozzie Osmond

21,189 posts

246 months

Sunday 28th March 2010
quotequote all
BIANCO said:
Go to a rotary specialist and get a engine rebuild or get a second-hand or refurbished engine fitted £3k
This would be my favourite but I don't know much about rotaries. Does it really cost £3k for a specialist to rebuild the engine? Sounds like big money to me, especially when compared with, say, £1,500 for a specialist to remove, rebuild and reinstall an auto transmission.

skid-mark

375 posts

212 months

Sunday 28th March 2010
quotequote all
the biggest problem with the rx8 is that people don't use the correct rotary oil in them from mazda, this oil is mineral based so burns clean and don't leave carbon deposts around the rotor tips, rotary engines have oil sprayed on to the tips to keep them lubricated if the coil packs start to break down most of this oil along with fuel ends up in the cat which blocks it up and kills them, you can expect to use around a liter of oil for every 1000miles any more than this and its signs the tips have become worn.
If the car is taken to mazda they normally carry out a compression check and check the speed at which the engine is turning over and firing this is usually down to the starter or coil packs if it turns out that the rotors have worn its cheaper to pay in costs of labour to replace the engine rather than strip it down to replace worn parts,
if flooding of the engine is happening then my advice would be to pull the fuel pump fuse out before turning the engine over as it gives the oil chance to help seal the rotor tips and give the engine more compression you can normally tell when it has compression as you'll hear the engine pumping more.

SmoothRB

1,700 posts

172 months

Sunday 28th March 2010
quotequote all
Devil2575 said:
Issues with the RX8 go some way to explaing why they are so damn cheap at the moment.
They are truely fugly also, which is a shame because the RX7 is gorgeous.

marcosgt

11,018 posts

176 months

Sunday 28th March 2010
quotequote all
SmoothRB said:
Devil2575 said:
Issues with the RX8 go some way to explaing why they are so damn cheap at the moment.
They are truely fugly also, which is a shame because the RX7 is gorgeous.
That's your opinion, but looks are a hugely subjective matter smile

I'd agree on the last RX7 and the first one, but the middle one was no oil painting...

M.

bazking69

8,620 posts

190 months

Sunday 28th March 2010
quotequote all
I'd be worried. And concerned that a massive bill is on its way.

SmoothRB

1,700 posts

172 months

Monday 29th March 2010
quotequote all
marcosgt said:
SmoothRB said:
Devil2575 said:
Issues with the RX8 go some way to explaing why they are so damn cheap at the moment.
They are truely fugly also, which is a shame because the RX7 is gorgeous.
That's your opinion, but looks are a hugely subjective matter smile

I'd agree on the last RX7 and the first one, but the middle one was no oil painting...

M.
Yep sorry I meant the RX7 FG.

Looks are subjective to some extent yes.

But not many men will find Ann Widdecombe drop dead sexy.
wink

Chris71

21,536 posts

242 months

Monday 29th March 2010
quotequote all
This all sounds very familiar. I've just been asked to pass a message on at work to my say that one of my colleagues is going to be late today, as her RX8 has just expired. Again.

Bill Carr

2,234 posts

234 months

Monday 29th March 2010
quotequote all
d3dna said:
One of my former colleagues brought a RX8 when they first went on sale, IIRC on a 53 plate. He said it was a lovely car apart from the 18mpg average and the weekly top up of oil - around a litre per month. He soon traded it in and replaced it with a Mazda 3 Sport.
Is a litre of oil/month really that much of an issue? It's hardly a big expense or *that* much of a faff.

The 18mpg might be painful though, agreed!