Just took possession of a 04 Titanium Grey RX-8 with 54,000 km (not miles). I have been lurking on here for awhile now and I think I have the rotary knowledge to properly care for this RX-8 now.

Lower ball joint & pcm flash was checked/fixed under warranty by the last owner. Are there any other recalls that affect Canadian RX-8's?

My main question is regarding the keeping of maintenance receipts. The previous owner did not keep all the maintenance receipts although he did say he changed the oil every 5,000km. Am i out of luck when it comes to warranty? I understand that they must prove that it was lack of oil changes which caused the engine problem. Will a well kept engine show completely different internally than one that has had oil changes past recommended intervals? If the seals were to blow on my engine and they tore it down and everything looked pristine, would I be covered?

Thanks

 

This is something I am concerned with as well. I want to buy a used rx8, probably from a dealer (tyronesquare mazda or carmax come to mind). I too am curious what I will need to do to make sure I will be able to get work done under warranty.

 

Maintenance records are good to keep and will cut the BS when the stealership starts stirring it, but they are not required to get warrenty work.

The dealers and Mazda want YOU to pay for your repairs. Why would they want to pay? The less-than-honest stealership will raise any pseudo-issue that they think will get by you. If you buy their ****, more power to them. Survival of the fittest and all that.

 

Exactly (kinda) what Carbon said.

I wouldn't worry too much about the past receipts. I would perhaps go to your local Mazda service dep't an start a relationship with them - get an oil change done, ask for a service and recall history of the car, etc. Show them that you consider the car as an investment that you take seriously as far as maintenance goes.

When I worked in warranty for a Ford dealer (many years ago), we looked mostly at the whole picture in questionable cases. For example, what is the general condition of the car? Do we know the owner? Was the car bought here originally? Does the owner bring his car here for retail work? Why is he bringing it to this dealer if he obviously lives closer to another dealer? Etc.

The bottom line is that the dealership needs to get paid by somebody for the labour and parts. The Warranty branch of the manufacturer is not in the business of paying unless it has to, and all of the dealerships I knew had significant claims for warranty work that they'd done, subsequently denied by Ford. Often, it honestly is a case of the service department 'going to bat' for the customer with the Regional Reps. This can be tough to justify in some cases when the customer is unknown, has an attitude, and/or the car overall looks like it has not been cared-for.

Just my 2 cents.

Enjoy your car!

 

The only other ones that comes to mind are the battery/starter replacement (not really a recall, but a service campaign), and last spring's recall for the oil cooler hoses / wheelwell plastic shields.

Again, this would be a good reason to go to a dealership and check the history on this car.

Good luck.

 

When my motor went and i was out of warranty i paid to have it fixed by mazda. Then a few months later mazda came out with the 8yr 100k warranty. So i filled out the paperwork and sent the bill for my motor. 6 weeks later mazda sent me a full refund. I did not have to prove any Maintenance records. But it is always good to write these things down and keep your receipts even if you do the work yourself

 

Related question. If you're not driving the car over the winter is it necessary to get the oil changed as frequently as recommended? How does that factor in to the warranty situation? Seem stupid to get the oil changed in November and then have to get it changed again in March or whenever with it hardly being driven.

 

Some of the packages in the oil expire with time, so you might not want to run the full 3000 miles after pulling it out of the garage. By the book, you would change the oil. If it was some mint condition 1960s ferrari, you definitely would. Personally, I might go 0-1000 miles on a stored car that had had a fresh oil change before storage. YMMV

 

I have all my receipts .... hehe ....