Hi All, I'm new to the group, am considering buying an RX-8 and really need the benefit of you guys' experience regarding flooding before taking the plunge. I live in Manhattan and would have to park the car in a parking garage. The parking attendants routinely move cars around from one spot to another to make space for other cars, etc. I know the RX-8 would regularly be started up, moved and turned off before it being allowed to warm up. This could happen several times every day with different attendants. Should I be very concerned about the possibility of flooding under these circumstances? Might the RX-8 be the wrong car for a parking garage? Thanks very much for your thoughts.

 

Slip the attendant a couple of bucks to let you park in a corner where it won't need to be moved, and take the keys with you. Always used to work for me.

 

No need to worry, once it floods, the attendant isn't going to be moving it anywhere. :D

 

The Mazda people just called me for the after-purchase survey. I mentioned that I had not been told about the flooding problem and the lady said she had had several other people mention it. I told her I was concerned about valet parking. She gave me the Mazda customer service # 1-800-222-5500 - option 4.

When I called customer service, they told me it was up to me whether I wanted to risk valet parking, that I could give a copy of the Qwick Start guide to the attendent. Never mind how I would make sure every attendent at the Marriott would read and understand it. She said something to the effect "The Mazda rotary engine is a unique engine and it has special requirements." (She was obviously reading from a tip sheet.) I told her that no one at the dealership had mentioned a word about this and she just started reading again from her tip sheet about the Qwick Start Guide.

Such a shame that a great car like this is going to get a bad reputation for engine problems. My resale value is obviously going in the toilet. Good thing I plan to keep it a long time. Used RX8's ought to be a pretty good deal in a few months.