So I quit this place 3, 4, 5 years ago because of all the hate and friction (and the board owner's reluctance to put the breaks on such things). To be expected, I guess -- strange car with the strange little motor polarized people.

SO here's why I break my silence:

My 05 Shinka is now 111,xxx miles. Six years old.

I want to commend mazda for a superb chassis, coachwork, engine and gearbox, but I WILL ABSOLUTELY TAKE YOU TO TASK, MAZDA, for your CRAP INTERIOR.

1. The pax door actuator broke. Two weeks ago.
2. The pax side airbag cover broke. Cracked right along the 'cut-out" the airbag comes out of. One week ago. I just spent what would've been a couple of month's payment on crap that SHOULD NOT BREAK in the 21st century!
3. The driver visor split long, long ago. Replaced under warranty early on.
4. The doohickey that holds the visor in place on the non-hinge clip broke.
5. The way SAT radio was a mere afterthought instead of well integrated. I'm talking mainly about the crap magnetic stick-on antenna.
6. Squeaks and rattles. Not even my '84 Rx-7 squeaked so much. And while I"m at it, my GSL-SE's dash didn't crack. It faded from burgundy to brown, but it didn't crack.
7. MY DRIVER'S DOOR EXTERIOR HANDLE FELL OFF. Last week! Right in my hand. IN MY HAND! I would've accepted this from a '78 LTD, but NOT FROM A MAZDA! Not from a mazda, from any time, from any factory. That this car was made in Hiroshima made it all the more painful.

And on the body, your headlight covers are garbage, and being one piece I have to buy new ones. Your tail lights are also crap, getting moisture inside a lot during the summer. And that's AFTER the originals were swapped for new under warranty.

I could go on.

However, I point the nose at a corner, give it steam, and it'll do exactly what you want it to do, how you want it, when you want it. Nothing drives like these.

SO, Mazda, listen up: I'll keep my 8 till the wheels fall off, or like my last Mazda, gets shot-out from under me. But if you don't unf*ck your materials, build, fit and finish, my next car will come from Stuttgart, not Hiroshima.

I still love my 8, it is so far my favorite Mazda yet, but I refuse to put up with this garbage. This is NOT a Lotus with a glass chin built by drunks in a shed, this isn't an 80 Olds Omega built by "not-my-job-man" union workers. THIS IS A MAZDA. Not only is it a Mazda, it is THE mazda, the Rotary mazda. Your flagship car.

How on EARTH did you let this happen, Hiroshima?


Feh.

 

I love the people that drop 100k+ miles on their car, and when something breaks due to wear and tear they blame the manufacturer.....

 

Just appears that you needed to rant and that's understandable i guess.. the first two lines; however, were completely pointless and irrelevant.

 

Is your engine still OK? Still on the original?

 

LOL!

After 100K plus miles one would expect something in the car to go bad

 

So you post about leaving 3-5 years ago...and then u come back to spew about interior faults on your six plus year old car? As the saying goes....pics or it didn't happen..... ;-). dude honestly **** breaks sometimes.

 

Yea stuff breaks but that exterior door handle breaking is the most ridiculous thing on that list. At 100k miles most cars are fine and not having pieces falling off of them, maybe he just abused his in some way I don't know.

 

lol@#7

 

My 8 is about 8 years old now and the interior is perfect. I guess that happens when a car is properly taken care of

 

with all my used car purchases... my 2005 rx8 is my newest... my oldest being a 1990... thats 21 years old, and not a thing was falling of...

how the **** does the outter door handle fall off.... i call BS

 

Its really simple to fix. Tear the inside door panels apart. Remove everything from the front and rear driver side door. Until you have only the outer shell. Now then weld the structure shut. You will want as smooth a bead as possible so you wont have to sand and paint much. Once its welded shut all you need is the proper roll cage and you can install a net. Now you don't need to worry about anything else going wrong with the door or its panels.

 

My interior is the one thing that has held up.

 

Odd thread. Over 110K and that's your complaint? Hmm. Personally I do wish the interior had more of a VW/Audi feel of quality, but I find that, if you're careful, it's no worse than most new cars, and better than some. (Although I sat in the Mazdaspeed 3 and did feel the interior was way too plasticy.)

 

My '04 that I bought new just turned 112k (about 85% highway). Original engine replaced at 35k and a broken drivers side sun visor are the only things that have gone wrong besides the regular maintenance. Besides a few minor paint dings and scratches the car still looks good. Also a couple of scuffs on the interior but I don't lose sleep over it. Compression test done at around 99,500 showed readings still very near the top end of the acceptable range so I should be good to go for the foreseeable future. I am shopping around for something else at this point but I'm confident I will be able to part with my 8 on good terms and not because of a blown engine or tranny.

 

I'm at 125K on an 05 MT and as long as the engine is healthy I'm not concerned about petty stuff. It's going to happen and those things are easy fixes. My passenger side console is cracking and my headlights have fissures but she's getting on 8 years now. It's a cheap sports car. You can fix all that stuff but at the end of the day unless it's causing functional problems it's not worth fixing from a financial standpoint.

 

I may not see the 100,000 miles on the odometer of my rx8. I only drive it locally. I bought it used in 2007 with 9k+ miles on it, now, it's on 30k+ miles. It's already a 6 year old car with 30k+ miles on it. Only in my dreams i would see the 100k+ miles on probably both of my cars.

 

Thanks for your contribution.

 

blame it all on mazda's "gram team" who went thorugh and were tasking with cheapening out the whole car to save a few ounces of weight.

 

Seems a little strange, and somewhat rude, to start off complaining about the board you are getting ready to complain to. I'm new here, and plan to purchase an 8 soon, I'm glad that after all those miles and time, those are your complaints.

 

My car is an 7 year old '04 model with 42,xxx miles on it. I am also the 3rd owner. Obviously, the car hasn't been driven a lot, and so it still looks like new. As for the interior, some parts are getting a little loose and worn on the edges, but the main components: engine, transmission, clutch, all work great. You can't ask for much more from a 7 year old car. In comparison my buddy's 2001 BMW 330i that is also in great condition with 84,xxx miles, does have a better held-together interior components but his 5-speed shifter sticks more than the one in my car, and his leather seats are much more worn and saggy. All cars age as they get older. I feel owner care factors in not far behind manufacturer build quality when it comes to how soon things start breaking.

 

Due to lack of response from the OP ... i think they were just trying to find something to bitch about...aka troll

 

I have to admit that I got a chuckle out of the "drunks in a shed" line.

 

Never heard of the exterior handle falling off

My RX-8 is over 8 years old now ('03) and the interior is almost perfect, just a few scratches (that I made) and minimal wear on the leather (thanks to Zymol). Yes there is 1 rattle that I cant find but I only hear it 5% of the time. Couldn't be happier.

 

Anytime...lmfao

 

yeah i give it another 6k before your springs give out