I would get an SI, simply put its new. I would be lil hesitant buying an 04 Rx8 simply because it was the first year of production and seems to be more prone to issues than the recent years. Also you have no way of knowing if the previous owner babied it or not. This was the only reason why I bought a new 06 .
Also not to mention the depreciation doesn't help either.

Get the SI, you'll be happy. Also while your at it consider the Cobalt SS IMHO its better than the SI bt thats just me.

And pay no attention to the f**tards in this forum, every forum has em

 

that's one of the major reasons im considering both. this will be my third car, my first was a 1985 mr2, i rebuilt the motor myself, then the motor mounts broke so i got rid of the car, it i was fixing it more than enjoying it. now i have a 99 galant, i just got it i needed a ride to hockey practice and the price was right.
but now i can afford something i really want and i actually went to the dealeship to test drive the MS3 and some how came across the rx-8. im going to look for a 05 used or new year end 06. i didnt know 04's were the first year models, maybe they got all the kinks worked out of them.
i never thought the rx-8 was even around the price range of the Si that is why i never considered it (both are comparable performance wise), i always thought i could never afford it, and i was never very familiar with rotaries and how reliable they could be as daily driver.

 

Yeah, Fucktards all over, dont mind them :P

 

I would also consider the Cobalt SS. Gm now comes with a 100K warrenty and the engine on this car is way over engineered (allowing more mod options), it handles better, and is more powerful. Pick up this months edition of car and driver and check out the lightning lap article. It pits the civic against the Cobalt SS and it's no contest.

Interesting, the cobalt had better lap times then a mustang GT, and was less then a second behind the RX8.

Friends don't let friends buy honda's...

 

get a 05 model. you can save big with rebates and financing with MAC. i got my 04 in 05 for 25300 OTD. It had a window sticker of 29 something, but after rebates and a few hundred below invoice it came out to about 25OTD. if your in socal i can hook you up at alhambra mazda.

 

if u in the Atlanta, GA area I know of a dealer who has a brand new 05 sport on the lot. Also test drive the MS3 I have heard its a fun car as well

 

if your worrying about your insurance bill then you're driving the wrong car.

 

I would agree you can get into a new RX cheaper then you think. Also the end of the year is coming so the 06's will start to be discounted. You are looking at the right time. E-mail the Internet manager and negotiate your pricing that way, have a set price before you even talk to the sales man. This way your age will not work against you and these managers just want to turn off a car sales quick very little haggling.

The 04 had teething problems but the later model 05 and all 06 are pretty much set to go. I bought my 05 new in Jan for a little over 24K, 26K out the door. Do your homework and know what you want and what the dealers costs are also know all rebates that apply.

I have had very little troubles with this car outside of the below average gas mileage mechnically it is pretty sound. Your biggest problem with the RX is going to be Mazda. If you have a major problem Mazda has a track record of blaming the user and refusing warranty work as well as ignoring or blaming defective cars on the owner and refusing to service them. I'm stuck with a RX that gets 12mpg and the deal said all is fine. This is your biggest concern with the RX.

 

is there any major mechanical problems i should know about with the rx-8?

 

if you tried searching, you'd know the answer to that.

 

04 is not the first production year for the 8. And they are not in the same price range if comparing new cars. I would go new SI simply for the warranty alone. You can also mod much easier. You mentioned you have rebuilt engines. You can throw that knowledge out the door if you get the 8.

 

If it's your only car and it snows where you live then get the Honda. The 8 is really tricky in the snow and you'll be much safer and much less likely to get in an accident in the Honda. Plus you get the full warranty which is a big plus if you're worried about having repair costs.

You get the honda now...in 3 or 4 years when it's paid off you get the 8 and turn it in to a scorching turbo'd beast and still drive the honda for another 5-10 years while paying off the 8.

 

L0Lz d00d j00 g0tta g0 4 th3 c1\/1c y0 it r0x0rz OMFGBBQ


(Repeat 50 times or so)

 

prefer driving the rx8 ,the si sounds good and powerband is good and all but it isnt as fun as the 8

 

I wish I were the type of person that could loooove a FWD car, it would make my choice of car so much easier. As is, I cannot take a front driver seriously as a fun-to-drive vehicle, they are utility only.

 

I'm glad there is a voice of reason.
Civic Si. So much newer than the old RX-8.

 

Civic Si

 

Please buy a Civic. You'll be happier. You'll happily zoom around with your iVTEC motor consuming minimal amounts of oil (don't fry the head gasket, though). You'll snick around with your six speed manual happily around town. You might even be pleased with a near 7-second 0-60 magazine racer time.

But you'll also happily understeer around corners. And never hear the spaceship machine noise that is your drivetrain, sitting three inches from your armpit, nor marvel at the 9400 rpm redline. Or have to stock 5w20 in your home like beer on a long weekend.

But that's just one man's opinion.

 

if you like plain vanilla ice cream then you'll gonna like the civic.

 

9400RPM? You're not driving an 8.

I say again--buy a Civic. It's da bomb.

 

I see the search ***** are out, although they have a point they can say nothing else but search so lets steer you in the right direction.

There was/is a engine failure issue which is being addressed by Mazda as we speak, a small proportion of people will be effected by this.

Early cars are susceptible to rocks puncturing the AC condenser, this was corrected in mid 05. A retro fit screen is available by 3rd party.

The engine flooding issues has been all but eliminated by a update and all 8 built after 3/05 have this update. Older cars can get it but Mazda may or may not give you a hassle getting it. Did I mention their service sucks.

OEM tires are completely worthless in winter, to the point of being dangerous to drive in light snow.

A number of RX will get very poor gas mileage and Mazda will completely refuse to address this issue, pray you don't get one of these. One member on this board was getting 11mpg and Mazda kept telling him this is just want the car gets, he finally excepted their lie. A year latter he traded the car in for a new model RX and driving the exact same roads is now getting 17mpg. Did I mention that Mazda's service sucks.

The oil consumption thing is normal and no big deal at all.

Like any car there are other items that effect a small percentage of cars but not numerous enough to mention here.

Once again the greatest problem with the RX is Mazda. All kidding aside they have a real problem with there service. I have heard some real horror stores and am experiencing one myself. Not all Mazda dealers are bad but as a company they are one of the worst of all car companies according to JD power.

 

Civic Si
http://automobiles.honda.com/models/...lName=Civic+Si

Hot!

 

robert,

first off i just realized how many dumb rx8 owners are here on this forum .. i hope you're just ignoring the profiling statements like get the cool civic you 19 yr old rice dude so you can mod it .. it's pretty embarassing

anyhow the rx8 is a really nice ride and you definatelly get a lot for the money .. i dont know any other car that you car seriously take on a track as is .. and some ppl paid 22k or so otd for it

ownership - few things to consider:
- adding oil - no biggie dont even concern yourslef with this as an issue .. if you cant check oil level in a car than you may as well drive an automatic
- gas consuption sucks - city gas cons sucks so bad your *** hurts
- insurance is cheap, way cheaper then my 99 si would be today when i had it in 99, doesnt offset the gas of course
- tires and all that replacable stuff is going to be more expensive but i wouldnt sweat it, though i just dumped some dough on winter wheels, which i wouldn't do for an si
- city driving is very easy for two reasons: visibility (in fact you maybe a be claustrofobic coming in from other cars because the cabin is pretty enclosed, also rear view mirror blocks some of the view if you're not really stopping at stop signs) and the wide rpm range (well, you're just not gonna be in low gears all the time when in traffic, so to move through there is quite a bit of shifting to be done)
- well i have to mention that this car's look's basically carry some status, it's not just a civic with a red badge, it's a type of car "a manager would own" as my pop culture versed coworkers say
- recalls, bitching, fixes, and all that - hmm who cares - imo mazda stays behind this car as everyone's warranty was extended to 5yrs 60k - every car i owned was new and had been back for warranty work, some of which was even caused by me and fixed by the dealers, both honda and mazda came through on their warranty claims for me on prev cars .. no probs with the 8 yet

i drove the si during a honda event about a year ago and this is what i didnt like about it
- tires folded feeling on hard turn ins - shitty control of the car pretty much in only this scenario
- inside, the look of the controls panel, it still turns me off when i go to see civics with others
- outside styling, i'd rather take a 4door si just for the looks if there was one

i hope this helps, gl man

 

The truly foolish ones are the members who spend time seriously answering posts that the poster hasn't even bothered to spend time on themselves.

 

you're right sir