I've been looking for an RX-8 for about 5 months now in the DFW area. I've been focusing mostly on 07-08 models with manuals in either blue, black, or red with less than 40K miles. In that time, I've had 2 that looked promising get sold before I could get to them, and a few others that looked good, but when I called Mazda to check service and warranty history the results weren't acceptable for me to risk. I finally test drove an 07 red sport manual this week with just over 35K miles, but unfortunately it wasn't nearly as "clean" as the dealer said - some exterior blemishes , discolored area on drivers seat (ewwww), 2 rims had scrapes, missing tire kit, no owner's manual, and to top it off, coolant light came on several times during the test drive. Plus the maintenance history was sketchy so that one is not an option. I was't really looking into an automatic, but I decided to road test one, and last night found a really clean 07 Touring with 41K in white. What a completely different experience and not nearly the reduction in power and acceleration as I thought compared to the manual. This car felt brand new - drive, engine, transmission all felt rock solid - but it's in white so sits lower on my priority list. Now I found another 07 Touring in red with 22K that I'm going to drive tomorrow (private party) and the maintenance history looks exceptional. Hoping this is finally the one!

 

Good luck on your RX8 endeavors!

 

lets us know how you did. And if you buy post some pics of the car

 

Good luck! I can't wait to see it.

 

Good Luck......go with a manual.....

 

Good luck! Keep in mind the tradeoff with the Automatic is that the torque converter limits the rev range lower, so you wind up accumulating carbon in the engine because you're not hitting the 9k redline to clean it. I guess that's what seafoam is for. :o

Ultimately it's your choice, and flappy paddles might be fun.

 

^ Don't listen to this guy.

 

Sounds like you are doing your research and not rushing. That's always a good thing

 

No rush...research carefully before buying a car. There is no refund or exchanges on cars...lol

 

Done deal today. 07 Touring, Red, Auto, 22K miles - paid 13.7K. Really well maintained - paint/body/interior all in excellent condition. Owner had all the service records from local Mazda dealer. Religious oil changes, always premium fuel. Drive back home was awesome - plenty of power for me so I'm happy with auto. Getting it detailed this afternoon so I'll post pics this weekend. Thanks for support - been something I've been wanting to do for a long time.

 

Congratulations! I want to see some pictures! I shall check back later.

I've only owned one automatic and she's been such a really good. But the only reason I bought her was because I broke my right ankle, . Ended up driving with my left foot for a little while.

 

subscribed for pics, welcome!

 

Congrats on the purchase, were waiting for pics of your car

 

Really? The knowledgable service guy at the local Mazda dealership said they get 5 autos to 1 manual in for repair more often than not because the lower rpm cap keeps the engine from getting rid of the carbon that the manuals can clean out at 9k RPMs.

The majority of that probably just lends to the demographic of drivers that buy the car for cute looks(and in coincidentally in automaric) instead of driving it like it was meant to be driven. I'm sure the OP is going to love his choice, and the fact he's even here on the forums suggests he's in for the long haul.

@atomicode, congrats on the purchase! Post pics and first impressions!

 

I've read all the threads related to pros/cons on manual versus auto. I take most of the problems I've read with a grain of salt - most people who are happily cruising along without problems generally don't spend a lot of time posting - "Hey - my car has 90K miles and I've never had any repairs!". That being said, I'm well aware of the things I need to be doing to minimize the likelihood that I'll have issues (thanks to all the great people who bother to post so much information on this site).

Here's a quick rundown of improvements I plan to make over the next year cash flow willing:

1. window tint - getting that done today
2. new tires
3. new battery/Upgraded ignition/coils/wires - maybe starter but if I recall 07 and beyond had better starter.
4. paint/door ding/touchup

 

Full detail job and new window tint

 

Car looks great. Congrats. Question for ya... My car goes in next week for tint. What did you tell the guys at the tint shop regarding not turning the car off cold?

 

I just told them not to turn the car off unless the temp gauge read warm (near mid-point) and to let it idle till warmed up if needed.

BTW - the shop I went to uses Llumar window films and I went with the ceramic based tint (CTX series-ceramatrix - 30% tint all around) since it won't cause interference problems with the integrated radio antenna in the rear windshield. Total install was $279 including tax (lifetime warranty). Looks really sharp and installation was excellent.

 

^^^^^ My guys use the same stuff, quality. Have used it on 4 other of my cars. Can't wait to get the 8 done. I keep hoping for a cancellation.

 

Your red car looks great with all the colors in the backgroung. Really a nice pic. No green or flowers here for another few weeks at least.

 

nice looking car

 

Great price on car. Horrible price on ceramic tint lol.

Looks good though. Are you getting new wheels too or just tires?

 

Probably just tires. I would like better rims, but the originals are in decent shape. I'll see how much unexpected maintenance I have this year before deciding to invest heavily in new rims.

 

Would you be interested in the Texas State Meet?

https://www.rx8club.com/texas8-171/texas-8-2012-official-thread-230020/

 

Good looking car! Welcome to the addiction...