Cromax

It's not as good as my MX6 was :p

enforcer

We all make decisions based on the circumstances at the time. I didn't realise how much I missed my 1973 4 speed V8 Falcon hardtop until I realised the potential value it would be worth today! So we live and we learn and hind site is always 20/20.

Things I would miss with the RX8 incude the height, the cars capacity to manouvre corners, its power and the fact that there really isnt much the car can't do.

The saving grace is you can remain a member of the RX8 club, and have look out for one of those bargains out there...!

Revolver

I'm not going to debate it with you. In my view, many '03 and '04 cars have suffered problems that Mazda should have been upfront about dealing with (and paying for).

If you've had no 'congenital' problems, bully for you, but please don't suggest I'm not entitled to express a view. After all, I'm part of the 'us' and 'we' you refer to in your last sentence.

Cromax

I agree Mazda Australia should've been more upfront with rectifying problems, but you've sidestepped from your previous statement. Of course you're allowed to have your own opinion, I apologise if my previous post suggested that. I just don't see how you can come out with a judgement suggesting this product was under developed.

I'd put most reliability issues down to the fact that they cost cut. Cutting corners in relation to thinks like quality and final design, which is evident in all their vehicles, but I wouldn't ever suggest the car was under developed.

Aside from that, do you know of any cars that are perfect from their release date? Almost all have teething problems, unless it's something like a Trabant or Lada ... where they were just one big problem!

LittleJohn

I think blaming it of MA is a bit rough. I am more likely to point the finger at the dealerships and thier incompetent mechanics and salesman like service staff.
From experience, I have found that when you voice your concerns about an issue or potential issue, unless there has been a TSB from MA, then the dealership just nods their heads, but don't actually do anything to investigate.
I wish all workshops had a internet access for their mechanics and thought them how to use it.
15 mins research online can save hours and $$$...

EDIT: My opinion has been formed on the basis that even though my baby is out of warranty. MA is still willing to warranty a number of parts , such as the Water bottle, glove box dampener and even bottom radiator hose. but the dealership will not chip in for labour even though these issues would all have been fixed completely with the warranty period if it were not due their incompetence.

Revolver

LJ, some of the problems I've had have had nothing to do with servicing, etc.

Quite agree teething problems are expected but the whole ignition system of this engine has been called into question IMHO given the variety of components that have needed replacing on many '03 and '04 cars.

I'm not going to get into the semantics of development v reliability v cost cutting, etc, etc because none of us have all the facts but I think we're all agreed that MA should have voluntarily fixed these things rather than wait for owners to run out of warranty and then have to get their begging bowl out.

erx8s

I agree with Revolver 100% on this issue , funnily Mazda has 178 Ignition coils in stock so obviously there is great demand for this part

Cheers
Michael

timbo

I fear that Mazda or their dealers are no better or no worse than other makers and their dealers. In all cases, the dealers wait to get approval from the manufacturer before they cover a warranty repair, and never having a part in stock seems par for the course.

I'll freely admit to instantly judging poorly any car that lets me down, in the sense of failure to proceed at a critical time...(avoids rant about Range fkn Rovers).... My 8 didn't do that, so obviously I'm a happy ex-owner. Standing back, I merely note in passing some 8 owners need to be aware that using a vehicle hard will have consequences, and that parts which are subject to wear and tear may do so more rapidly.

That aside, based on my experience I reckon Mazda has responded about as fast as any other manufacturer to issues that emerged with the 8 after release. Forums such as this tend to magnify the expression of concern.

Revolver

I tend to agree with much of that Timbo however people are jumping out of the woodwork with this coil problem now and I'm yet to see or hear anything from Mazda acknowledging it as their responsibility to fix (and their dealers must be seeing more than we're hearing about).

I have no issue with teething problems, etc, etc. But this car was sold on its ability to rev, yada yada yada, so you can't tell me that unless we all drive like Miss Daisy it's our problem. It's either up to the job or it's not. If not, I'll pay more money for something that has been designed and engineered to be driven hard and stop wasting my time and money on a cheap alternative.

timbo

I think one of the critical issues in this and a number of other threads is what category ignition coils fall into, as there is clearly a pattern of failure emerging.

I would certainly put spark plugs into the category of parts affected by wear and tear, and 'in the olden days' so, too, were coils. But I'm not sure today. However, there is some accepted wisdom that if you are enhancing the performance characteristics of your car, replacing the stock coils with something more heavy duty is common. Not just Mazdas. but for most makes.

Anyone care to comment?

Revolver

That's also fair comment but many of us haven't enhanced the performance characteristics of our cars beyond a catback, which hardly does much anyway.

I could appreciate your point more if we had all played around with forced induction and expected the stock coils to last forever. However, as posted, I'm yet to get to 40K and various ignition parts have been replaced, in the case of two of the plugs, twice.

I suppose every one's got fair warning now though (or at least those canny enough to keep tabs on this joint). Order in some spare plugs and coils, get some aftermarket leads and avoid the massive price difference between US sourced parts and MA pricing.