brettzRX8

hello im new here and maybe some of you can answer my questions

i am looking at buying a 2004 Mazda RX8 with about 107,000km on it. i read about it and i heard it has the rotary engine and read about oil changes etc...

i heard they are hard to maintain but also some people say if you maintain them correctly they will treat you well! :D

1. How often do you check the oil? ( i heard every 1000kms)

2. How often do you get the oil changed? (i heard every 3000kms)

i know probably alot of people on this forum had a RX8 for a while and will know how to treat them and could maybe pass on some tips to me if i get one? would be really appreciated and even if you have anything else to add please feel free!


thanks alot RX-8 users!!

RotoryVirgin

Read all of the stickies in the new member forum. After that consider your income. If you are a high school student working part time, the 8 will break your bank unless you have help.

If you can afford it, great. Just don't kill yourself.

If you want a fast car to beat your buddie's at the drag strip, look elsewhere.

If you want a beautiful, unique, and beautifully well rounded sports car, welcome to the club!

brettzRX8

i have a full time job, just graduated and going to school soon. no need to race lol, not that kinda guy aha

TBFlorida

Hey I'm gonna be in a similar situation if I do get an rx8 but I'll still be in high school. Before I get the car I should have a job, working 2-3 days a week ideally and volunteer work on the other days. The cost of gas shouldn't cut deep into me since my school is less than 2 miles down the road and anyone place else I would ever go is within 15 miles of me. Other maintenance charges would be taken care of by my help(parents) as long as I'm taking responsibility such as volunteering and having a job and not laying around like a bum after school. Personally I would like to take care of all gas and oil charges myself and leave most of the rest to my parents. Would that be breaking my bank? Honestly my parents could cover everything but I was not spoiled like other kids in my place. Would I be covering my share of the costs and even with maybe 3-5k miles a year would that still cost a lot to maintain?

gwilliams6

You absolutely have to get a compression test on that engine before even considering to buy that car ! No matter how nice it all looks, you could be buying a car with a dead or dying engine. Replacing that engine will cost you. The same advice for buying any year RX8, but certainly any 2004 with real mileage and no history on the car and maintenance during its past nine years. Don't have my km-miles conversion table in front of me, but in miles you want to change the oil religiously every 3000 miles and check the dipstick every other gas fill-up or more often if you are driving it hard. Rotary engines are designed to inject some oil into the engine to lubricate seals, and will show some oil consumption. A quart every 1000-1500 miles of normal to hard driving is average. But the harder you drive it (more revs, more spirited ) the more oil the omp (oil-metering pump) will inject to lubricate the internal engine seals. Highway cruising at constant rpm will demand the least of the omp. If you maintain the rotary right ie: a good compression engine with proper maintenance with regard to engine oil, ignition system, cooling, proper warming up etc. and only warm shutdown the engine will run great. There are a host of other things relating to the chassis, suspension, brakes, exhaust and other areas that will need checking out on a 2004. Start with this thread link below. Then come back here for any further questions once you have thoroughly read it.


https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-f...t-here-202454/

https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-f...thread-242295/



BTW Merry Christmas to all !

RotoryVirgin

Its really not all that bad if you can resist the temptation to mod and so your own repairs. Parts are expensive.

If you don't get service records you'll probably want to replace coils, plugs, wires, oil, tranny/diff fluids right away. That's $400 or so doing your own labor.
If you live in a temperate area you'll want snow tires as well, another 350-400.

There's a lot to consider before buying a sports car.

Then of course there's the mandatory compression test that's another 100 or so.

After taking care of all this, you may be set for a couple years or you may have to drop 2k into it the first month.

I'm not trying to turn off anyone looking to buy an 8, I just want you to know what you're getting in to.

brettzRX8

OK, thanks for that I'm not sure if you're aware but there is this thing called car proof when buying a car and basically what that is, it shows you all the history! Etc so that'll be good. T

J8635621

iTrader: (10)

I hope it works better than carfax here.

kops

iTrader: (1)

It will not tell you if plugs coils wires were changed, oil changes done on time, cat or compression issues, or any service history really. You'll know when it changed owners, and any accidents basically.

Don't get me wrong for $20 I bought one. It helped me ask questions like, you've owned it for 30k have you done this or that, etc. And $100 on compression test. Don't let this car sneak up on you and your wallet

TBFlorida

Will a car dealership do a compression test for you?

gwilliams6

You need a Mazda dealership or a rotary tuner or a friendly RX8 club member in the USA or any country with the proper gear to do a compression test on a rotary engine. Regular Piston engine compression test equipment won't properly fit to a rotary engine without modification. A Mazda dealership or rotary engine tuner would be your best bet. They will charge you varying amounts for the service. Hey TBFlorida, see what other RX8 club members reside in your Tampa area and check with them to see if they have an affordable place where they had a proper rotary engine compression test done, or the equipment themselves to do it. Folks on this forum are helpful in this regard.

bse50

The rx8 doesn't like short trips.
It really depends on your budget anyway, if it's too low you may end up purchasing a real money pit.

At 107000km do a thorough inspection, compression test \ ignition \ catalytic converter etc. While it's true that maintenance makes these car acceptably reliable, it's also true that you'll never be sure on how the car was treated before

TBFlorida

Is there any place I can search the whole member list(which I doubt) or do I just need to create a new thread?

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Go to the Regional subforums, into the Southeast one. There is a thread for all the Tampa owners.