Hello folks,

Just a word to let you know I'm a "converted lurker". I've been reading and lurking this forum for a while, trying to decide what car I should buy, which one had the right "combination" of performance, equipment, etc. As a lot of you did, I looked at 350Z, G35, Boxster... even considered the new Mustang or a 98+ Camaro.

Finally I stumbled on an incredible deal for a 2004 GT MT6, black with black & tan interior, fully loaded except for the navigation package. It was the third car of an older man who babied it and had to sell it since he was moving away where he wouldn't have room to store it. Only 10K miles on the car. Couldn't believe it!

A little info on me: 26yo guy, works writing software in Montreal, Canada. Car fever started when I bought a '91 Dodge Stealth R/T in 1999, kept it only 2 summers but had to sell it because sometimes life is hard and no fun at all. Still have a huge laminated picture of it above my computer. Drove a '00 Neon for 6 years and worked hard. This year winter was especially mild and I got (as every year) my "spring car fever" real early and decided that this year would be THE year. No more "well I should wait 'till next spring, I don't really NEED a sport car..."

So far I'm real thrilled with the car, as I expected it's not real torquy at low rpm but boy is it good to shift that baby at 9000rpm, engine screaming and all! The first morning I had it I got up at dawn and went in a deserted industrial area not far from my place and ripped thru a maze of large alleys meant for 18-wheelers deserving a bunch of factory loading/unloading docks... whoa!

So far my concerns had been fuel economy, flooding and... well driving manual. Both first cars were AT. For fuel economy I figured it's better to enjoy it and spend some extra cash than putter around in an econobox for life and have 5$ more on your retirement checks when you're 70. Didn't flood it so far and keeping my finders crossed. And the driving stick part isn't going that bad at all, except that I still take off a little roughly sometimes... still need to work on that clutch. Took me about 1h to figure out it needed some good revs to launch, not only "idle and then a dab of gaz" as with other MT I drove.

That's it! I look forward to enjoying the car with you guys and chat on the forums.

Here's an obligatory pic of the 8:

 

Congratulations and welcome! I am with you, as far as "needing" a sports car. When it came down to it, I just wanted one. So I got one. A month ago, and been smiling ever since!

 

Might as well live while you're alive. Great choice!

I have one b/c I wanted a sportscar before I turned 50 (i'm 24 now). I'm having a quarter life crisis.

 

i'm 26 and also just bought my 8. last month in fact. my dad just couldn't understand why i wanted it and not a scion tc. it was about what driving what i wanted to drive. it seems like you only get 2 chances to buy a sports car, when your young (if your lucky enough) or when you're retired. like snizzle, i wasn't willing to wait that long.

you're right about it needing some revs to launch. my old civic could go with just a dab of gas, but the 8 loves to stall under the same conditions. just try not to launch it too hard.
as far as flooding goes, DON'T SHUT THE ENGINE OFF COLD. let it warm up and then purge the excess gas like it says in the manual. i've done this and haven't had a problem with it yet.

 

Another lurker converted to owner here...

Wanted an 8 the last 2 car purchases and allowed my wife to talk me out of it... No more....

On Tuesday I picked up a red loaded GT w/Nav -beautiful to look at & even more of a pleasure to drive!! I can't believe I missed several years of this much fun, never again.

Looking forward to being a member, thanks all for your great input, the collective "you" convinced me to go for it!

 

Congrats and welcome.

 

YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooo!!

 

Welcome to the club! Nice color choice!

 

OMG, THERE ARE LIKE 10000 POSTS LIKE THIS.. DO A SEARCH DUDE AND NOT TAKE UP ALL THIS SPACE UGH!

Im just kidding, just introducing you in to what half the posts are on this post site. Posts about some onee making a post that has already been posted.


welcome to RX8 club, hope you love your rx8 as much as the rest of us do.

 

Welcome, great color. Your first mods should be clear corners, and a wing :]

 

congrats & welcome to the club.

 

You're gonna have so much fun. If it were mine, I'd take it to a Mazda dealer just to check and see that it has all the lastest flashes/updates. Good luck.

 

Welcome welcome welcome!!

(psst - red is faster )

 

Ok, nice work Mensdossa, you made a good choice.....Ok, now lets get started. First I suggest a set of S.S. strakes, followed up by a sweet turbo kit, then a cool sounding R.B. Sorry, heh, hmm got alittle excited there for a split nanosecond , anyways welcome and savor the moments

 

Looks Sweet!! Were you happy with the price?

 

Hey - Another first time poster, just joined the forum (and the RX8 'brotherhood').

Picked up my green 2005 6spd late last week, just finshed the first tankful. Just a nats @ss under 20 mpg on the dealer-supplied unknown-octane fuel. Generally conservative low-rpm breakin miles, all on back country winding hilly roads. This thing may never see a stoplight...

I absolutely LOVE this car, but my frame of reference may be a tad skewed. I just came out of a 1998 Corolla with 180K miles, so just about anything looks nice to me. I started looking at the 3si, then began eyeing the Miata. On yet another troll through yet another dealership I tripped over this RX8 on the showroom floor with a "can't pass up" pricetag on it. Went home, did some research, slept on it, went back and drove it home the next day.

About me - I'm just past the half-century mark, well-entrenched in a midlife crisis. Spent 20 years in IT (network design & data security) and am currently re-entering a medical-related profession.

A question regarding plug fouling. My first 1.7 miles of the daily drive is down a mountain at 15+/- mph, just barely/occasionally on the throttle. The engine temp never leaves the peg until I hit the main road. Any increased risk of fouling under these conditions? Am I being paranoid, or is fouling REALLY that much of a problem?

FWIW, the dealer wants the car back within 7 days of purchase because "mazda wants it to have new plugs". Is this indeed a standard dealer action? What else should I expect them to do?

Can't wait till tomorrow, I may see if the stereo works.

 

nice of them to be taking care of your car that quickly. I wouldnt worry on it .

 

I just got my green 05 6spd on Saturday and ready to fill up this morning. I can't help with the plug fouling question, but can confirm Mazda dealerships want the car plugs changed, along with other checks at purchase. I went to one dealership that not only confirmed that they change the plugs before you pick up the new car, but provide a free coupon for the first service, specifically to check everything out. This was true for the dealership I bought the car from too. They changed the plugs and showed me a list of things they did to the car. Looked formal, almost like a legal document. I think Mazda is pressing dealerships to make sure that the new owners have no issues and maximum satisfaction, or if cold start issues occur, the burden is on the new owner, not Mazda, because the car was completely prepped.

 

Thanks for all the replies! I'm quite surprised to see the rate at which RX-8s are flying off the dealer lots, seems to me that a LOT of us on the forum are new owners, and when I say new, I mean "new from last week" new!

Three37ny, I had the car inspected at the original Mazda dealership where it was bought and cared for by the original owner, all recalls and flashes have been done.

Old Rotor, you bet I was happy with the price! There actually was an nearly identical car at the dealership, nearly same mileage, same color, GT, 6 speed, the only diff. was that it had the navigation package. And they were selling it a good 20% over what I paid for mine.

 

That is a great choice of color for a cooler climate. I feel that it's the most menacing color almost like a cat leaping. I wish I had the patients not to buy the first one out, but I have been enjoying mine for two and a half years and got a good price at that time. No problems thanks to reading this forum.

 

Congrats Mendossa!! I must agree w/ bart- replace the orange reflectors!! Just ordered the clear for my black8 today, and I've check the mailbox twice already . . .

Juikster - I've found a pretty lg variance in strake prices - did you get yours aftermkt? any issues, chipping, fading, etc.?

 

Got my Green 8 9 days ago, dealer did the same with me. New spark plugs as soon as I can come back, and the first service is free. Made me an appointment, too.

 

Unfortunately, it's illegal to change the color of any reflector/marker/light cover/lens on a vehicle in the province of Quebec.

We've had a few accidents involving stupid ricers and now our legislators think that as soon as you remove or add something to your car you're an evil GTA-playin' pedestrian killing machine.

 

ahh. legislators. the finest example of closet cases that need, more than anything else, to experience the joy of grabbin a PS2/Xb controller and being said evil GTA-playin' pedestrian killing machine.

 

hey DMC27, i have your avitar tattoo'ed on my back. that is weird.