Mazda RX8- Good/ Bad/ Ugly
Discussion
Just noticed how cheap these have got now!
Looks like quite a bargain, for spec/ performance. They seem to get quite good reviews as a drivers car.
I am looking at 04/54 plated cars, for approx £2-3k. I understand that they like a drink of oil, and fuel consumption isnt great.
What I don't know enough about is the rotary engine, how long they would generally last, before a rebuild, and if there are any other big things to look out for on them?
I quite like the idea of buying one, and going on a couple of driver limit type days, and finding out how they handle on the limits.
Any feedback would be great, from previous owners, I've had a brief look on the owners forum, and the main thing mentioned is to get a "hot compression test".
Thanks
Matt
Looks like quite a bargain, for spec/ performance. They seem to get quite good reviews as a drivers car.
I am looking at 04/54 plated cars, for approx £2-3k. I understand that they like a drink of oil, and fuel consumption isnt great.
What I don't know enough about is the rotary engine, how long they would generally last, before a rebuild, and if there are any other big things to look out for on them?
I quite like the idea of buying one, and going on a couple of driver limit type days, and finding out how they handle on the limits.
Any feedback would be great, from previous owners, I've had a brief look on the owners forum, and the main thing mentioned is to get a "hot compression test".
Thanks
Matt
Excellent drivers car and extremely practical, but fundamentally flawed in nearly every other way.
Many experience loss of compression due to worn apex seals. Essentially what this means is that you WILL require a rebuild at some stage because these engines have real problems with longevity. It's very rare to find one over 100k with the original engine. Not saying it's impossible, but you'd be lucky to get 80k on the original. Some have failed at 20,000 miles. A compression test is essential when buying one, the results should be normalised to 250RPM and should be at least 7.5 kpa per rotor.
Although they do use oil, this is normal and is only about 1l for every 1,000 miles. The oil is cheap and easy to get hold of, so this isn't an issue. Fuel consumption will be, I was averaging 12-14 mpg in winter with short journeys. The best I ever managed was 22 mpg on the motorway. Whichever way you dress it up, it is not an economical car. My S4 manages better and it's a 4.2 V8.
Get the 231 over the 192 as they are virtually the same in terms of running costs, and the 231 has a few extra goodies. Talking of kit, they are well equipped and well made with lots of room. The xenons on the 231 are fantastic, and the BOSE sound system is decent.
You need to do your homework before buying one of these, as they're cheap for a reason.
Many experience loss of compression due to worn apex seals. Essentially what this means is that you WILL require a rebuild at some stage because these engines have real problems with longevity. It's very rare to find one over 100k with the original engine. Not saying it's impossible, but you'd be lucky to get 80k on the original. Some have failed at 20,000 miles. A compression test is essential when buying one, the results should be normalised to 250RPM and should be at least 7.5 kpa per rotor.
Although they do use oil, this is normal and is only about 1l for every 1,000 miles. The oil is cheap and easy to get hold of, so this isn't an issue. Fuel consumption will be, I was averaging 12-14 mpg in winter with short journeys. The best I ever managed was 22 mpg on the motorway. Whichever way you dress it up, it is not an economical car. My S4 manages better and it's a 4.2 V8.
Get the 231 over the 192 as they are virtually the same in terms of running costs, and the 231 has a few extra goodies. Talking of kit, they are well equipped and well made with lots of room. The xenons on the 231 are fantastic, and the BOSE sound system is decent.
You need to do your homework before buying one of these, as they're cheap for a reason.
I bought a slightly sickly one from auction very cheaply (As it ran out of fuel on the way to the rostrum and got upset!).
Absolutely cracking, cracking cars but if I owned one again I'd want a rebuilt engine with a warranty covering the span of my ownership because I found its foibles quite stressful.
Lots of people bash them, they are not the torquiest cars and drink like fishes but the handling is utterly sublime and once you learn to use the full rev range they go like stink.
Mine was a 54reg fully loaded black 192ps model. Bought for £2000 at auction a year ago. Sold on 4 months later at a profit. Still miss it a bit.
Absolutely cracking, cracking cars but if I owned one again I'd want a rebuilt engine with a warranty covering the span of my ownership because I found its foibles quite stressful.
Lots of people bash them, they are not the torquiest cars and drink like fishes but the handling is utterly sublime and once you learn to use the full rev range they go like stink.
Mine was a 54reg fully loaded black 192ps model. Bought for £2000 at auction a year ago. Sold on 4 months later at a profit. Still miss it a bit.
A 2004 car should only have normal tax too - £240 a year is it? They are brilliant cars if you can live with the mpg and have a little mechanical understanding. I would try and find one with a low compression engine going cheap (usually about £1k) and have the engine rebuilt, so you know it will be sweet, They are really well made and the handling is stunning. I would love to have another one but have a company car now so can't justify it. Run-out R3 model is the best as they have a number of improvements, but these are still around £10k.
ETA never understood people putting other engines in them as the light weight of the engine and its position is one of its main reasons for handling so well.
ETA never understood people putting other engines in them as the light weight of the engine and its position is one of its main reasons for handling so well.
robsa said:
ETA never understood people putting other engines in them as the light weight of the engine and its position is one of its main reasons for handling so well.
I see your point but the LS3 is much more powerfull and isn't prone to self destruction every 5 minutes. It's a shame the rotary never had the development it needed to be competitive with the piston engine.the stigs dad said:
I see your point but the LS3 is much more powerfull and isn't prone to self destruction every 5 minutes. It's a shame the rotary never had the development it needed to be competitive with the piston engine.
What's a shame is that people trot out the same, tired old s
te every time rotary engined cars are mentioned. I know it's oft repeated, but they had enough development to win Le Mans in '91.Having said that, I'm entirely biased and think OP should get a nicely sorted RX7 instead. Much nicer to look at, can be comparatively economical (I get ~25mpg on a run from mine), cheaper tax and insurance, and most of the ones left are run by enthusiasts as opposed to some of the "I fancy an RX8 as a company car, but will drive it just like I drove my old Astra" RX8 sheds that are available.
"tired old ste" or the truth that by 60k the engines are on borrowed time? The rx7 is a much better car imo so how did mazda make a much worse car as it's sequel?
A friend of mine (a very good mechanic by the way not a company car driver) has done 90k and three engine rebuilds. The high tax, poor mpg (in relation to performance) and fragile engine ruin what could've been a great car.
te" or the truth that by 60k the engines are on borrowed time? The rx7 is a much better car imo so how did mazda make a much worse car as it's sequel? A friend of mine (a very good mechanic by the way not a company car driver) has done 90k and three engine rebuilds. The high tax, poor mpg (in relation to performance) and fragile engine ruin what could've been a great car.
the stigs dad said:
"tired old ste" or the truth that by 60k the engines are on borrowed time? The rx7 is a much better car imo so how did mazda make a much worse car as it's sequel?
A friend of mine (a very good mechanic by the way not a company car driver) has done 90k and three engine rebuilds. The high tax, poor mpg (in relation to performance) and fragile engine ruin what could've been a great car.
So he wasn't at all unlucky? Doctors get the big C, lawyers are crooked, accountants fiddle and/or go bankrupt (personally and professionally, of a fashion)_.te" or the truth that by 60k the engines are on borrowed time? The rx7 is a much better car imo so how did mazda make a much worse car as it's sequel? A friend of mine (a very good mechanic by the way not a company car driver) has done 90k and three engine rebuilds. The high tax, poor mpg (in relation to performance) and fragile engine ruin what could've been a great car.
While the fuel consumption is never going to be much above tragic, the tax is £150pa more than the hot hatch equivalent, it is rwd and the OP is talking of examples of the order of 2-4k.
It could almost be argued that at that kind of money it is worth a punt regardless & the most you could lose is your outlay - a couple of hundred from your local friendly scrap dealer and/or selling individual bits would also lessen the pain.
Accept these kind of things and there are plenty of more financially challenging places to go for a little bit of easily accessible gentle tickling.
I think what OP needs to take home from this thread is not to ask about RX-anything on Pistonheads. Here it's just too polarised on either side of the argument.
Get on something like mazdarotaryclub.com instead. There's a healthy dose of "my engine blew up... again..." self-depreciation, but a hell of a lot more informed opinion on the pros and cons of the rotary engine than here. You'll find useful advice, club-member discounts, genuinely helpful folk and well looked after cars in the classifieds section.
Get on something like mazdarotaryclub.com instead. There's a healthy dose of "my engine blew up... again..." self-depreciation, but a hell of a lot more informed opinion on the pros and cons of the rotary engine than here. You'll find useful advice, club-member discounts, genuinely helpful folk and well looked after cars in the classifieds section.
The Flying Ox said:
I think what OP needs to take home from this thread is not to ask about RX-anything on Pistonheads. Here it's just too polarised on either side of the argument.
Get on something like mazdarotaryclub.com instead. There's a healthy dose of "my engine blew up... again..." self-depreciation, but a hell of a lot more informed opinion on the pros and cons of the rotary engine than here. You'll find useful advice, club-member discounts, genuinely helpful folk and well looked after cars in the classifieds section.
This man speaks the truth. Go to a rotary forum or all you'll hear about is rebuilds at 60k (not a mile under or over), uses 40L oil every day etc. OK maybe I'm exaggerating but you get the point Get on something like mazdarotaryclub.com instead. There's a healthy dose of "my engine blew up... again..." self-depreciation, but a hell of a lot more informed opinion on the pros and cons of the rotary engine than here. You'll find useful advice, club-member discounts, genuinely helpful folk and well looked after cars in the classifieds section.
First of all, theres a hell of alot of crap on this forum it appears. And alot of the opinions here are just the usual heresay or exaggeration.
I was an RX8 Noob in august. Armed with RX8ownersclub's buyers guide, I went and looked at some. The first 2 were truly poor independant garage examples. Zero knowledge of the car. Rusteverywhere, chips, couple of dents, and these were looking at £3500-£4000.
I found a private seller, selling the Evolve Phantom Blue special edition. This is limited to 100, comes with the cream Alcantra half leather and the usual 231 spec.
What did I check? Rust around the door sills, 3rd brake light and the wheel arches. None anywhere. I checked the Xenon light leveling; no malfunctions. Bodywork had a single scratch. Interior was pretty much perfect. Exterior the same.
Now, this is where I used my knowledge gained from the website; I asked the seller if he would start the car cold; took 3 seconds from key turn over to ignition. So far so good. The seller then took me a 10 minuet spin round in the car.
Now, the seller, was very knowledgeable about the car. he explained to me about how he used 10w-40 part synthetic as opposed to the 5w-30, which is what the later R3 models use. He explained to me how he never let the petrol go below quater of a tank. He explained about the shut down cold procedure; Hold revs at 4000rpm for 10 seconds, then turn the engine off. When the car stops revving, take your foot off the accelerator.
We got back. he then turned the engine of when it was warm. He then started the car back up. again, this was about 3-4 seconds from key turn. This is considered normal. I didnt have a compression test. i used my head not my heart. The car started like it should hot and cold. No curbing on the alloys, nothing but the one scratch.
Now, the owner also told me he had the coil packs, leads and spark plugs changed at 60k miles. He was selling it with 61k on the clock which is what I bought it for. I paid £3000 for this car. its had 4 previous owners, im the 5th. No accident damage or anything. The car is just under 62k and theres nothing wrong. Only thing ive had to do is replace the original battery from 2006. she starts fine each time hot and cold.
Reliability is something which is thrown around. Its basically a lottery. You get an enthusiast with a RX8 who looks after it, then your in with a great car. The fact the seller explained everything in the buyers guide to me without asking, proved to me that it was looked after. Let alone him buying it from his friend who had it a year, who bought it from his uncle who owned it for 2 years, passed the knowledge down to each other.
I cant lie and say the car is perfect. She drinks petrol like a beast. On a nice drive, I got 84 miles out of a quater of a tank. Suburban im getting 50 miles out of a quater.
Oil wise, its all a joke. I bought Castrol magnatec 5l bottle of oil for £20. rule of thumb is between 800ml-1l of oil per 1000 miles. so for 5000 miles its £20 of oil. if you do 10,000 miles, maximum is two bottles of 5l oil so thats £40.
Is that really drinking oil? Is that really costly? Not in my opinion. Its ludicrous the bull thats thrown around about these cars. Theres some crap and duff examples out there which havnt been looked after. Rotary engines all in the end, will need a rebuild my 61.8k millage engine has never been rebuilt, and she is running great. I dont need a compression test to tell me that. if she goes, she goes. Im putting abit of money aside each month into an ISA as a precaution. Why? because I always save for rainy days. Theres no point glossing over the problems, you factor it in the ownership.
Get a car before 2006 and its £250 a year tax, afterwards its £425ish. People bang on about power and all that. Well to me, for an NA car at £3000, for a rare model, I couldn't ask for me. Its handling is utterly supreme. Power is still fantastic. I fit 3 Adult passengers in the car. I fit alot in my boot. Its combfy, its stylish, it turns heads, it sounds brilliant, drivers brilliant. I say for £3000, go and find a car in such good condition, with power, luxuries, 4 seats, the boot and the ability to be a normal car;quiet and pedestrian, and then when you open it up it becomes a beast, shifting at 9000rpm to the shift beeper, theres no other car like it.
Its got faults, and you factor them in. You do your research on the car and not on opinion, you see many of these cars, and you can instantly tell a well looked after, working example compared to a thrashed, poorly maintained rusty car.
Until youve actually looked into buying one, seen cars on forecourts, test driven some, then you can never truly slate one. It goes for any car. Word of mouth opinion and lack of knowledge/converging with popular opinion has driven these cars rock bottom prices. I cant complain, because i've bought a smashing model.
So the best thing, is to go onto the rx8ownersclub website, look at the buyers guide, go and see a few then make up your mind. These are the real cons;
Poorly maintained models
Dealers with zero knowledge just wanting to sell
Fuel consumption
Rust
Selective reliability
I was an RX8 Noob in august. Armed with RX8ownersclub's buyers guide, I went and looked at some. The first 2 were truly poor independant garage examples. Zero knowledge of the car. Rusteverywhere, chips, couple of dents, and these were looking at £3500-£4000.
I found a private seller, selling the Evolve Phantom Blue special edition. This is limited to 100, comes with the cream Alcantra half leather and the usual 231 spec.
What did I check? Rust around the door sills, 3rd brake light and the wheel arches. None anywhere. I checked the Xenon light leveling; no malfunctions. Bodywork had a single scratch. Interior was pretty much perfect. Exterior the same.
Now, this is where I used my knowledge gained from the website; I asked the seller if he would start the car cold; took 3 seconds from key turn over to ignition. So far so good. The seller then took me a 10 minuet spin round in the car.
Now, the seller, was very knowledgeable about the car. he explained to me about how he used 10w-40 part synthetic as opposed to the 5w-30, which is what the later R3 models use. He explained to me how he never let the petrol go below quater of a tank. He explained about the shut down cold procedure; Hold revs at 4000rpm for 10 seconds, then turn the engine off. When the car stops revving, take your foot off the accelerator.
We got back. he then turned the engine of when it was warm. He then started the car back up. again, this was about 3-4 seconds from key turn. This is considered normal. I didnt have a compression test. i used my head not my heart. The car started like it should hot and cold. No curbing on the alloys, nothing but the one scratch.
Now, the owner also told me he had the coil packs, leads and spark plugs changed at 60k miles. He was selling it with 61k on the clock which is what I bought it for. I paid £3000 for this car. its had 4 previous owners, im the 5th. No accident damage or anything. The car is just under 62k and theres nothing wrong. Only thing ive had to do is replace the original battery from 2006. she starts fine each time hot and cold.
Reliability is something which is thrown around. Its basically a lottery. You get an enthusiast with a RX8 who looks after it, then your in with a great car. The fact the seller explained everything in the buyers guide to me without asking, proved to me that it was looked after. Let alone him buying it from his friend who had it a year, who bought it from his uncle who owned it for 2 years, passed the knowledge down to each other.
I cant lie and say the car is perfect. She drinks petrol like a beast. On a nice drive, I got 84 miles out of a quater of a tank. Suburban im getting 50 miles out of a quater.
Oil wise, its all a joke. I bought Castrol magnatec 5l bottle of oil for £20. rule of thumb is between 800ml-1l of oil per 1000 miles. so for 5000 miles its £20 of oil. if you do 10,000 miles, maximum is two bottles of 5l oil so thats £40.
Is that really drinking oil? Is that really costly? Not in my opinion. Its ludicrous the bull thats thrown around about these cars. Theres some crap and duff examples out there which havnt been looked after. Rotary engines all in the end, will need a rebuild my 61.8k millage engine has never been rebuilt, and she is running great. I dont need a compression test to tell me that. if she goes, she goes. Im putting abit of money aside each month into an ISA as a precaution. Why? because I always save for rainy days. Theres no point glossing over the problems, you factor it in the ownership.
Get a car before 2006 and its £250 a year tax, afterwards its £425ish. People bang on about power and all that. Well to me, for an NA car at £3000, for a rare model, I couldn't ask for me. Its handling is utterly supreme. Power is still fantastic. I fit 3 Adult passengers in the car. I fit alot in my boot. Its combfy, its stylish, it turns heads, it sounds brilliant, drivers brilliant. I say for £3000, go and find a car in such good condition, with power, luxuries, 4 seats, the boot and the ability to be a normal car;quiet and pedestrian, and then when you open it up it becomes a beast, shifting at 9000rpm to the shift beeper, theres no other car like it.
Its got faults, and you factor them in. You do your research on the car and not on opinion, you see many of these cars, and you can instantly tell a well looked after, working example compared to a thrashed, poorly maintained rusty car.
Until youve actually looked into buying one, seen cars on forecourts, test driven some, then you can never truly slate one. It goes for any car. Word of mouth opinion and lack of knowledge/converging with popular opinion has driven these cars rock bottom prices. I cant complain, because i've bought a smashing model.
So the best thing, is to go onto the rx8ownersclub website, look at the buyers guide, go and see a few then make up your mind. These are the real cons;
Poorly maintained models
Dealers with zero knowledge just wanting to sell
Fuel consumption
Rust
Selective reliability
fernandofan2008 said:
First of all, theres a hell of alot of crap on this forum it appears. And alot of the opinions here are just the usual heresay or exaggeration.
I was an RX8 Noob in august. Armed with RX8ownersclub's buyers guide, I went and looked at some. The first 2 were truly poor independant garage examples. Zero knowledge of the car. Rusteverywhere, chips, couple of dents, and these were looking at £3500-£4000.
I found a private seller, selling the Evolve Phantom Blue special edition. This is limited to 100, comes with the cream Alcantra half leather and the usual 231 spec.
What did I check? Rust around the door sills, 3rd brake light and the wheel arches. None anywhere. I checked the Xenon light leveling; no malfunctions. Bodywork had a single scratch. Interior was pretty much perfect. Exterior the same.
Now, this is where I used my knowledge gained from the website; I asked the seller if he would start the car cold; took 3 seconds from key turn over to ignition. So far so good. The seller then took me a 10 minuet spin round in the car.
Now, the seller, was very knowledgeable about the car. he explained to me about how he used 10w-40 part synthetic as opposed to the 5w-30, which is what the later R3 models use. He explained to me how he never let the petrol go below quater of a tank. He explained about the shut down cold procedure; Hold revs at 4000rpm for 10 seconds, then turn the engine off. When the car stops revving, take your foot off the accelerator.
We got back. he then turned the engine of when it was warm. He then started the car back up. again, this was about 3-4 seconds from key turn. This is considered normal. I didnt have a compression test. i used my head not my heart. The car started like it should hot and cold. No curbing on the alloys, nothing but the one scratch.
Now, the owner also told me he had the coil packs, leads and spark plugs changed at 60k miles. He was selling it with 61k on the clock which is what I bought it for. I paid £3000 for this car. its had 4 previous owners, im the 5th. No accident damage or anything. The car is just under 62k and theres nothing wrong. Only thing ive had to do is replace the original battery from 2006. she starts fine each time hot and cold.
Reliability is something which is thrown around. Its basically a lottery. You get an enthusiast with a RX8 who looks after it, then your in with a great car. The fact the seller explained everything in the buyers guide to me without asking, proved to me that it was looked after. Let alone him buying it from his friend who had it a year, who bought it from his uncle who owned it for 2 years, passed the knowledge down to each other.
I cant lie and say the car is perfect. She drinks petrol like a beast. On a nice drive, I got 84 miles out of a quater of a tank. Suburban im getting 50 miles out of a quater.
Oil wise, its all a joke. I bought Castrol magnatec 5l bottle of oil for £20. rule of thumb is between 800ml-1l of oil per 1000 miles. so for 5000 miles its £20 of oil. if you do 10,000 miles, maximum is two bottles of 5l oil so thats £40.
Is that really drinking oil? Is that really costly? Not in my opinion. Its ludicrous the bull thats thrown around about these cars. Theres some crap and duff examples out there which havnt been looked after. Rotary engines all in the end, will need a rebuild my 61.8k millage engine has never been rebuilt, and she is running great. I dont need a compression test to tell me that. if she goes, she goes. Im putting abit of money aside each month into an ISA as a precaution. Why? because I always save for rainy days. Theres no point glossing over the problems, you factor it in the ownership.
Get a car before 2006 and its £250 a year tax, afterwards its £425ish. People bang on about power and all that. Well to me, for an NA car at £3000, for a rare model, I couldn't ask for me. Its handling is utterly supreme. Power is still fantastic. I fit 3 Adult passengers in the car. I fit alot in my boot. Its combfy, its stylish, it turns heads, it sounds brilliant, drivers brilliant. I say for £3000, go and find a car in such good condition, with power, luxuries, 4 seats, the boot and the ability to be a normal car;quiet and pedestrian, and then when you open it up it becomes a beast, shifting at 9000rpm to the shift beeper, theres no other car like it.
Its got faults, and you factor them in. You do your research on the car and not on opinion, you see many of these cars, and you can instantly tell a well looked after, working example compared to a thrashed, poorly maintained rusty car.
Until youve actually looked into buying one, seen cars on forecourts, test driven some, then you can never truly slate one. It goes for any car. Word of mouth opinion and lack of knowledge/converging with popular opinion has driven these cars rock bottom prices. I cant complain, because i've bought a smashing model.
So the best thing, is to go onto the rx8ownersclub website, look at the buyers guide, go and see a few then make up your mind. These are the real cons;
Poorly maintained models
Dealers with zero knowledge just wanting to sell
Fuel consumption
Rust
Selective reliability
Maintenance no matter how good or how well its cared for will resolve the "design issues" with the rotor seals, or the lack of torque, v8 esque fuel consumption etc & its still an impending timebomb imho. There are plenty of well cared for cars out there to choose from though.I was an RX8 Noob in august. Armed with RX8ownersclub's buyers guide, I went and looked at some. The first 2 were truly poor independant garage examples. Zero knowledge of the car. Rusteverywhere, chips, couple of dents, and these were looking at £3500-£4000.
I found a private seller, selling the Evolve Phantom Blue special edition. This is limited to 100, comes with the cream Alcantra half leather and the usual 231 spec.
What did I check? Rust around the door sills, 3rd brake light and the wheel arches. None anywhere. I checked the Xenon light leveling; no malfunctions. Bodywork had a single scratch. Interior was pretty much perfect. Exterior the same.
Now, this is where I used my knowledge gained from the website; I asked the seller if he would start the car cold; took 3 seconds from key turn over to ignition. So far so good. The seller then took me a 10 minuet spin round in the car.
Now, the seller, was very knowledgeable about the car. he explained to me about how he used 10w-40 part synthetic as opposed to the 5w-30, which is what the later R3 models use. He explained to me how he never let the petrol go below quater of a tank. He explained about the shut down cold procedure; Hold revs at 4000rpm for 10 seconds, then turn the engine off. When the car stops revving, take your foot off the accelerator.
We got back. he then turned the engine of when it was warm. He then started the car back up. again, this was about 3-4 seconds from key turn. This is considered normal. I didnt have a compression test. i used my head not my heart. The car started like it should hot and cold. No curbing on the alloys, nothing but the one scratch.
Now, the owner also told me he had the coil packs, leads and spark plugs changed at 60k miles. He was selling it with 61k on the clock which is what I bought it for. I paid £3000 for this car. its had 4 previous owners, im the 5th. No accident damage or anything. The car is just under 62k and theres nothing wrong. Only thing ive had to do is replace the original battery from 2006. she starts fine each time hot and cold.
Reliability is something which is thrown around. Its basically a lottery. You get an enthusiast with a RX8 who looks after it, then your in with a great car. The fact the seller explained everything in the buyers guide to me without asking, proved to me that it was looked after. Let alone him buying it from his friend who had it a year, who bought it from his uncle who owned it for 2 years, passed the knowledge down to each other.
I cant lie and say the car is perfect. She drinks petrol like a beast. On a nice drive, I got 84 miles out of a quater of a tank. Suburban im getting 50 miles out of a quater.
Oil wise, its all a joke. I bought Castrol magnatec 5l bottle of oil for £20. rule of thumb is between 800ml-1l of oil per 1000 miles. so for 5000 miles its £20 of oil. if you do 10,000 miles, maximum is two bottles of 5l oil so thats £40.
Is that really drinking oil? Is that really costly? Not in my opinion. Its ludicrous the bull thats thrown around about these cars. Theres some crap and duff examples out there which havnt been looked after. Rotary engines all in the end, will need a rebuild my 61.8k millage engine has never been rebuilt, and she is running great. I dont need a compression test to tell me that. if she goes, she goes. Im putting abit of money aside each month into an ISA as a precaution. Why? because I always save for rainy days. Theres no point glossing over the problems, you factor it in the ownership.
Get a car before 2006 and its £250 a year tax, afterwards its £425ish. People bang on about power and all that. Well to me, for an NA car at £3000, for a rare model, I couldn't ask for me. Its handling is utterly supreme. Power is still fantastic. I fit 3 Adult passengers in the car. I fit alot in my boot. Its combfy, its stylish, it turns heads, it sounds brilliant, drivers brilliant. I say for £3000, go and find a car in such good condition, with power, luxuries, 4 seats, the boot and the ability to be a normal car;quiet and pedestrian, and then when you open it up it becomes a beast, shifting at 9000rpm to the shift beeper, theres no other car like it.
Its got faults, and you factor them in. You do your research on the car and not on opinion, you see many of these cars, and you can instantly tell a well looked after, working example compared to a thrashed, poorly maintained rusty car.
Until youve actually looked into buying one, seen cars on forecourts, test driven some, then you can never truly slate one. It goes for any car. Word of mouth opinion and lack of knowledge/converging with popular opinion has driven these cars rock bottom prices. I cant complain, because i've bought a smashing model.
So the best thing, is to go onto the rx8ownersclub website, look at the buyers guide, go and see a few then make up your mind. These are the real cons;
Poorly maintained models
Dealers with zero knowledge just wanting to sell
Fuel consumption
Rust
Selective reliability
cptsideways said:
Maintenance no matter how good or how well its cared for will resolve the "design issues" with the rotor seals, or the lack of torque, v8 esque fuel consumption etc & its still an impending timebomb imho. There are plenty of well cared for cars out there to choose from though.
That's quite true. No way in hell is there escaping that. Some have been well looked after and gone at 20k. Mines still going strong at 61k. Some have been thrashed and still go upto 60k. Its such a selective reliability. Its hard to explain. You see so many dodgy ones, and you go on the owners clubs and you see so many there, who may have had a rebuild, and alot havnt, and they are still going strong.That's the thing. Not every RX8 will go at 60k, not every one will go at 20k. Its a lottery. For peace of mind, I know people buy broken engine cars, at 1k, and get a warranty rebuild for £2000.
For someone who is very conscious about the engine, that's the very best option to put someones mind at ease. I didn't get a compression test. I didn't feel a need to go and look for problems which aren't there. Im happy knowing a possible problem may be down the road, and saving for the occurance. Fuel consumption can sometimes be one of those 'oh come on!' moments, but again, you factor that into purchasing.
The only thing you can say about this car, is that one day, whatever the millage, it will go. When? What Millage? god knows. Enjoy it while you have it, factor the problems and theres been many people who cry about these cars being broke, because theyve bought a dodgy one in the first place. Many people buy these cars without the knowledge. Sellers know something is wrong, and just shift it on, it breaks, new buyer is gutted and berates the car simply because no research was done.
That is as common a problem; Unreliable engines and thick buyers.
fernandofan2008 said:
cptsideways said:
Maintenance no matter how good or how well its cared for will resolve the "design issues" with the rotor seals, or the lack of torque, v8 esque fuel consumption etc & its still an impending timebomb imho. There are plenty of well cared for cars out there to choose from though.
That's quite true. No way in hell is there escaping that. Some have been well looked after and gone at 20k. Mines still going strong at 61k. Some have been thrashed and still go upto 60k. Its such a selective reliability. Its hard to explain. You see so many dodgy ones, and you go on the owners clubs and you see so many there, who may have had a rebuild, and alot havnt, and they are still going strong.That's the thing. Not every RX8 will go at 60k, not every one will go at 20k. Its a lottery. For peace of mind, I know people buy broken engine cars, at 1k, and get a warranty rebuild for £2000.
For someone who is very conscious about the engine, that's the very best option to put someones mind at ease. I didn't get a compression test. I didn't feel a need to go and look for problems which aren't there. Im happy knowing a possible problem may be down the road, and saving for the occurance. Fuel consumption can sometimes be one of those 'oh come on!' moments, but again, you factor that into purchasing.
The only thing you can say about this car, is that one day, whatever the millage, it will go. When? What Millage? god knows. Enjoy it while you have it, factor the problems and theres been many people who cry about these cars being broke, because theyve bought a dodgy one in the first place. Many people buy these cars without the knowledge. Sellers know something is wrong, and just shift it on, it breaks, new buyer is gutted and berates the car simply because no research was done.
That is as common a problem; Unreliable engines and thick buyers.
t mental).If the power was
then maybe. However, the normal equivalent (engine wise) VAG/Volvo pig iron, for example, is broadly equivalent size/power wise, sounds better but can go to the moon & back. Hell, I still haven't added oil or paid for a cam belt change in mine in twice that upper limit, let alone hugged engine rebuild.If the current engine whizzes cared & dealed with the obvious issues, there's obviously great potential. However, losing to a pensioner is never good.
fernandofan2008 said:
...Now, this is where I used my knowledge gained from the website; I asked the seller if he would start the car cold; took 3 seconds from key turn over to ignition. So far so good. The seller then took me a 10 minuet spin round in the car.
Now, the seller, was very knowledgeable about the car. he explained to me about how he used 10w-40 part synthetic as opposed to the 5w-30, which is what the later R3 models use. He explained to me how he never let the petrol go below quater of a tank. He explained about the shut down cold procedure; Hold revs at 4000rpm for 10 seconds, then turn the engine off. When the car stops revving, take your foot off the accelerator.
We got back. he then turned the engine of when it was warm. He then started the car back up. again, this was about 3-4 seconds from key turn. This is considered normal...
You forgot to mention that you must drive the first 3.2 miles from cold at no more than 46.8 mph.Now, the seller, was very knowledgeable about the car. he explained to me about how he used 10w-40 part synthetic as opposed to the 5w-30, which is what the later R3 models use. He explained to me how he never let the petrol go below quater of a tank. He explained about the shut down cold procedure; Hold revs at 4000rpm for 10 seconds, then turn the engine off. When the car stops revving, take your foot off the accelerator.
We got back. he then turned the engine of when it was warm. He then started the car back up. again, this was about 3-4 seconds from key turn. This is considered normal...
If you don't, the passenger side wing mirror will almost certainly fall off.
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