Hello to all, I'm new to the forum and was hoping to get some information as I am about to possibly purchase a 2004 RX-8. I've been doing as much research as I can on the car as I can't think of a car I would like more than this one! I'm new to the rotary engine. I've never owned a car with one before. I've read all over that when owning this car, you should never start it and immediatly turn it off. Always let the engine heat up for 5 minutes or 1/2 max temperature. I have no problem with this. What I am concerned about is how many people have had problems with there RX-8's. Many people needing engine replacements and problems with stalling and not being able to restart the car. My thinking is that this problem is a direct result of not properly taking the temperature precautions. Am I correct ? If so, What is the best way for me to find one that has not been unintentionally abused by a previous owner ? Any help would be greatly appreciated ! Thanks.

P.S. Ran a search but couldn't come up with the information I was looking for.

 

just get an 06 or 07

 

Would love to but '06 / '07 will not put me in the payment range I want. '04 model = $ 9,000 less than new.

 

Look for a leftover '06 and you should be able to get one for 6K-7K below MSRP. Buying any used car is a crap shoot, and with this car it is even more so. Unless you have a way of checking out the condition of the engine and transmission, you should reconsider buying used. Better to wait 'til you can afford new than potentially buying into someone elses problem car. Anyway, that's my opinion.

 

I hear you. I think this is why I can find many used '04's and very few that are a later model year.

 

Here is a list of recalls and service bulletins.

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...ins_index.html

Whatever vehicle you are planning on purchasing, get it's VIN number and have your local Mazda dealer run it's # to see if these services have been checked or performed. If you really did your research, you would have found that "many" people did NOT need new engines. The number is less then 1% of all owners.

 

Tell me about it. I had my '04 on Autotrader.com for 2 months and no significant bites so I decided to just keep the car and took it off the market. And mine is in showroom condition with only 15K miles. Too much competition right now.

 

I'd definitely run the VIN number through CarFax. If the local Mazda dealer is friendly (or better yet, you're buying the car used from the dealer) and the car was locally purchsed, the service history might be available -- you might make it a condition of the sale that you get a peak.

I would go for the lowest milage 2004 M.Y. car you can find. The warranty has been extended to 60K now (it was 50K when new) so the more factory warranty remaining, the better.

From what I can tell, the engine can take more "abuse" than almost any engine I've heard of. Like most engines, the core mechanical parts would be mostly harmed by infrequent oil changes and driving with low oil levels. Remember that the car is designed to burn oil and level needs to checked regularly.

If the service data is not available but the CarFax report is clean, buying a used 8 is no more a crap-shoot than buying any other car. I would absolutely steer clear of anything out warranty as many expensive items are often replaced on 2004's under various dealer directives:

- Starter

- Battery

- Coil packs

- Plugs (at more-or-less $20 per plug, this is important)

Less frequent is the water pump. Mine failed at about 7,000 miles and I've read about several others going the same way.

When you're about ready to get serious about a specific car, take it out for a HARD test drive. Red-line it under WOT several times -- coil and plug problems manifest themselves more clearly at high RPMs.

The 8 has a rough/uneven idle when warm (at least when compared to V6 and greater performance cars of the same ilk), so don't be worried about that.

I haven't seen too much writen here about the failure some of newer technology in these cars: the carbon fiber driveshaft (you can feel it wind up when taking off fast from a stop) or the electric-assisted power steering. The durability of these items remains to be seen.

If you buy one, get it into the dealer as soon as you can get the ownership transferred to your name. Have them ensure all the recall items have been performed.

That's about all I can think of. I bought mine new in October 2003 and, in hindsight, would do it all over again.

- Eric H. in Marietta, GA

 

All warranty work done on the car is recorded and your dealer should be able to print it out for you. Any Dealer can do this. All you need is the VIN #.

 

I purchased an 04 used @ 21000 miles and found out that none of the TSB were done, however, the local dealer was very happy to perform all of them, all in one shot actually. I've had the gas tank recall done, the engine mount, heater control, pcm flash, flooding recall which btw, got me a brand new battery and new plugs, found out that mazda had extended the warranty to 5 years or 60,000 miles. Overall I've not had any issues with the vehicle warranty whatsoever. Dealer has been very helpful. I did manage to buy a 5 year/100000 miles policy for about 1500 from the dealer which should cover just about anything else...

 

yep. The key here is get one with a few miles a possible and make sure it is still under warranty. That way even if you do run in to some catastrophic engine issue it will be covered. Once you get it take it to the dealer for a good going over and have them check all the recalls and TSB's. Shouldn't cost you anything and then you'll know you have a solid car.

 

I bought a used certified by mazda 04 that cost an extra $500 w/19K. There was plenty of warranty left and the certification gave me an extra year of coverage.

 

One more thing, you don't need to warm up the car for 5 minutes or to 1/2 temp before driving. You should get it that warm before taking it to redline, but not just to leave your driveway.

 

The 04's have a 1 year extended warrenty.

 

Only added post recall not before I bought mine. Also it only covers the drivetrain not the entire car like the extend factory warranty I have.

 

Thanks to all for the replies. I went to the Mazda dealership today to look at them. They had 2 used 2004's one with 15,000 miles for $18,500 and a 2004 grand touring with 18,000 miles for $19,500. The salesman was very honest with me in saying that yes some RX-8's had problems but Mazda has been very good about correcting them. He also said that all recall's had been performed on both cars. Couldn't do anything today as my 3 year old son won't sit still long enough to go through the car buying experiance. They have my number (wanted it incase my perferred color comes in). I'm interested to see if they call me this week. Might head back up there for one of them.

 

Be carefull of 04s from hot climates. extreme heat in traffic may have affected the engines. Problems have since been eliminated with recalls this year. I have an 04 and it runs fine. I live in a northern climate so heat is not an issue, just snow. I've had all the recalls and trust the car completely. I do think mazda should have tuned these cars right before sending them to market in 04. They used us, the customer, as guinnie pigs to get it right 2-3 years after release of the car. Shame, Shame.

 

I live in Florida. I wonder if what you said about the warm climate has anything to do with the extremely low milage I'm seeing on these cars in my area. I would think it is rare to see a 3 year old car with only 15,000 miles on it. Anyone from Florida having any problems ?

 

If the Carfax says no recalls are open, does that mean all the recalls were done? I have been running Carfax reports for some '04s. Some have "recalls open" and other don't. Can I trust Carfax?

 

carfax won't have everything. the dealer can run the VIN and let you know what has been done. carfax really only shows what has been reported to insurance and doesn't always cover these type of voluntary recalls.