loki98

I am having a very hard time understanding why so many owners say "I hate this car" or " these are the highest maintenance cars ever built". Our 8's are sports cars, plain and simple. Try maintaining an XK-120 for instance or a Morgan, MG,Triumph or even a Porsche. Our 8's are a wonderful blend of modern comfort's and seat of the pants driving machine. Plus, they are in my opinion, a work of art, running or not. If your car isn't running right or just makes you so unhappy that you slam it's door or hit something, remember, its not at fault. You propably are! It is after all, A MACHINE! Just felt the need to vent, thanks for all the great reading and if you couldn't tell, I'm in love with mine!

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

The problem is that most who buy them don't know what they are getting into. And then because of their lack of proper, prior, planning they end up with a 10 year old problem child that they expected to be as reliable as a ten year old Civic. And then finally when it comes time to fix a problem, they half *** it and then blame the car. I have seen it a hundred times. The cheaper they get, the higher the moron level gets.

loki98

I know exactly what you mean. I read and studied and read some more. I knew what I was getting into and still love this car. Matter of fact, I have my eye on another one as a project.��

RXeligion

That same sentiment attracts certain types of people to the car, though. Not everyone is capable of keeping these cars up correctly, and those of us who do seem to take a lot of pride in it.

Roytary

Like i said in another thread, The rx8 was made too accessible by mazda, aimed at the wrong crowd, lots of ladies and newbs tought they were buying a mazda 3 kind of sport car but didnt know anything about rotaries. Mazda should have built a boring azzz and reliable FRS & BRZ kinda sport car for the mainstream and give us a refined 8, for the real fans, Wankels aren't for the usual consumer.

westgman

iTrader: (1)

Like an MX-5(save for the boring part)?

Roytary

Not really IMO, the mx-5 ain't the same breed as the rx8's,Brz's,s2k ect, if that was the case,Mazda would have put a hardtop on it and called it a day. What i meant was, The rx8 as we know it, should have been cheaped and get a a maybe less powerfull/more conventional Otto Cycle drive train with the same accessible price for the mainstream consumers. I didn't bring the mx-5 name into this, its an amazing little roadster especially for the price, but it doesn't compete in the same class @ the Rx8, Brz ect. The concept of the RX8 is great ! Good built sport car with a unique soul as a drive train ''renesis'', but for Mazda to think this engine were eligible for most consumers was a big mistake. what i meant was : A rx8 like, affordable, otto cycle model should have been the RX8 Mazda wanted to sell us from day 1, Then a refined RX8 with a rotary soul ''maybe a bit more expensive'' should have been made for us.
That's just how i see it, since the rants we all see now @ the rx8 comes from the ppl who shouldn't have been aimed as buyers in the first place.
Are u familiar with atv's ? You know the Yamaha Banshee ? You can compare the 8 and the shee as an example, They were both feared and respected on the performance scene but both had the same rants issues because their engines requires different needs compared to conventionnal engines, ppl wants them because there's fast, their engines gives u a feeling you might not find anywhere else, but they expect those to be as maintenance free but as reliable as a brigs&stratton engine.
Anybody that doesn't have basic mechanic skills or knowlege shouldn't own any of these machines.

New Yorker

You make a good point, though I don't agree that one must have "basic mechanical skills or knowledge" to own an 8. Mine's been trouble-free for nearly ten years now, and I'm all thumbs when it comes to anything mechanical. One doesn't need basic mechanical skills to 1) check the oil every other fill-up, 2) have the oil changed regularly, 3) rev the engine a lot and 4) know to NOT start the engine in the morning and immediately turn it off; one simply needs to follow those few, painfully simple rules of rotary ownership. I dare say successful ownership of a Tesla or even a Nissan Leaf requires following a few rules that differ from those that go with owning an ordinary car. But yes, Mazda should have done a much better job of communicating those simple - but critical - rules to new and prospective owners. Something like a big, clear graphic of those rules titled "Rotary Rules" - rules that, compared to those of ordinary car ownership, are not hard to follow - just different.

Separately, I get your point about a non-rotary, Otto-cycled RX-8; many have clamored for just that. But do realize that such a vehicle would in no way be an 8. Conceiving the car, Mazda literally started with the Renesis and then shrink wrapped a body around it. That tiny engine makes much of the rest of the car - and the remarkable things it can do - possible. Without an engine that physically small, that low and pushed that far back, you couldn't build an 8. It would be the equivalent of a Mustang - designed for a big *** V-8 - fitted with a 4-cylinder engine. Looks the same, but a very different car. (And unlike a 4-cylinder Mustang, the 8, with a piston engine, wouldn't even look the same. It's interior/exterior dimensions would be physically impossible!) No rotary means no 8.

warrior66

Or be willing to pay for every little thing that comes up.

Roytary

Agree with that 100%. After seeing the aftermath the rx8 concept sadly became due to the wrong croud its been aimed @, IMO the 8 we know today shouldn't have been the one we had. The Non rotary less refined car i said that should had been given for the aimed market wouldn't deserve the RX name or legacy. Maybe the current rx8 chassis should has been used for this ''hypothetical'' concept, but just like you could hate your baby mother and regret her, you can't really do, because your kid that you love wouldn't has been born!! lol , so i like to imagine another car was made to replace the car mazda wanted to sell to the same crowd, give it a name, then give us a even more refined 8 aimed @ us.
When i bought my FD back then i didnt bought it having comfort,reliability & fuel economy in mind, i knew what i was buying, paid big money for it, and loved it. I bought a great sport car with a unique soul as an engine. Since no REAL evolution of the rx7 was made available from mazda i bought an rx8 knowing its wasn't the same breed as a sport car but i knew that for way cheaper, a great car it could become with little effort. I didn't mind getting the next RX and have to upgrade it to match or make it better then an fd, i knew all that. Mazda should have knew it also and make the new RX generation car ''rx8'' available as a RX class of a car.
The only thing positive this fiasco brought is giving access to a great rotary car to ppl that loves 13b's and can now afford to buy one, a recent one. But I don't think most of them appreciate em' enough.

Roytary

Unless internal failures, nothing is much different from other cars on the market. Lots of shops refuses to work on them because of the lack of knowledge about rotaries, but nothing surrounding the engine block is different. Find a shop with a mechanic who got given a brain at birth and you wont pay more for repairs than any other car. If u meant u can't fix your 8 yourself but thinks you could fix any other car, srry m8 but i woulnd't trust u even working on your own car.
Pls tell me what issue cost u more money to fix or was harder to fix than any other car ?