So as I was driving on I-75 tonight, surrounded by lemming Accords, Malibus and Yukons (also a circa 1998 Ford Escort whose nearly entire passenger side was comprised of duct tape), it dawned on me again how much of an automotive bargain the 8 is.

What else offers the great balance of handling, comfort, reasonable power, smooth engine, great seats and interior, beautiful exterior styling, and unique rotary experience for the price of a Honda Accord, and 2/3rds the price of a 350Z (the car I almost bought instead) ?

That smooth rotary churning like butter at 4,500 rpms, the refined ride quality, the taught and responsive steering...

One of the truly great automotive values in modern cardom.

 

Yes Yes, Totally Agreed.

Can I join your Zero Problem Club ?

 

Of course.

 

no ****.

 

repost

I'll be joining your club too if I don't mind.

Well...this steering wheel rattle isn't going away. But no biggie, just need to find the motivation to go to the dealership...

 

Former employee of a rental car company here. I've driven just about everything on the road, excluding very elite cars. I began to loathe the thought of driving everyday. As soon as I found a better job, I purchased an 8 MT and my attitude has done a complete 180.
I also spoke with a lot of people who owned 8's when I rented cars. The ones who complained either drove it like a granny or bought it with little or no research. Hey, if you don't redline the car on a daily basis, lean into turns like your on a rollercoster, and drive 100 miles to work and gripe about fuel you bought the wrong car a**wipe! I know it has some faults, but for the price, you get a lot of arrows that come damn close to the bullseye, with a direct hit on fun.

 

i'd love in on that action.

membership dues?

 

Sign me up!!! Not quite zero, but a number too small to notice. 85,000 miles since Oct 03.

My Baby's in storage, and I miss her badly (almost as much as I miss the wife and grandbabies!)

 

Fromer member of the "Zero Problems" club here. I became an ex-member 3 days ago.

Anyway, I do agree it's a good value. It's like nothing else on the road, it handles better than some cars twice the cost, it's got a ton of great features, and it looks in many ways like an exotic. The fact that they're so rare on the road is a great thing as well (I can go months without seeing another one).

I wouldn't say it's 2/3rd's the cost of a 350Z though....on Autotrader, most RX-8's are around 20k while the Z's are around 22 - 23k. I can see why more people who just want power go the way of the 350Z. They seem to move a lot quicker off the lots.

Still, with all the potential (and actual) mechanical problems of the RX-8, I think I'm still happier with it than I would be in anything else in the price range.



Oh, and I forgot to mention, you just jinxed yourself. Good luck starting your car tomorrow

 

damn 85,000 miles since Oct '03, AND you can't even drive it now that you're overseas?

I love to hear that your 8 has made it to 85k. I'm almost at 50k, but I put like 30,000 miles it a year. Good to know that in a year or two the car will (hopefully) still be alive and kicking. Otherwise, I've gotta start saving up now for potential fixing issues (man, is it going to SUCK when the manufacturer's warranty and extended warranty are up!)

 

Not quite zero problems ,but I can say that the dealer has gone above and beyond to fix everything that has gone wrong with the car.
Still I can say nothing that has happened with the car has been a problem to me.
I would not trade it for anything ,well almost anything. A Vanquish would be nice.

 

+1 for the zero problems club. I have an '04 6MT and have had zero problems with it. And it dynos on the high side. to all those people that say the original model year sucks!

Oh and +1 for amazing value. Whenever I tell people how much it costs, they say wow and then get that far away look like..."hmmm maybe I should trade in my audi this weekend..."

 

2005 Nissan Altima Auto - Got it at Nov 2004. Now, A/C Broken, Gearbox feels funny when shift to D, it chokes when it shift up. Engine having some noise. Starter having some noise. Recall STILL not done after 5 months. The Defroster works sometimes. The Leather on the Passenger side all ripped out(not because of wear cuz people hardly Sit there ! mostly sit at the backseat.) Oh yes now only 30K miles.

To be Contiune.

2005 Mazda Rx-8 Manual - Got it @ June 2005. Minor stuff that I can fix it myself.

I cant really say Zero problems but I dont think its anything major. Hey, at least my A/C works !

 

I wouldn't say that I never had any problems with my car but I've dealt with bigger problems (vehiclewise) and so farthis is the best car that i ever had before any modifications =)
...so, where do I sign up?

 

Well, I guess your right.. Heh..

 

That is very extremely true. Didn't you in fact dyno the highest of anyone that day?

Heh... you too, huh? A friend of mine with an Escalade got that very look just the other day. Me telling him, "For what you paid for that Escalade you could have bought one of these and made it go really fast.. and had money left over"

 

how do i join as well?

 

I love how you can look around and see a decent amount of cars that cost about as much as the 8, and yet they're so commonplace and normal looking.

I pull up and everyone's like WOW...and I keep it a secret about just how affordable it is.

 

My wife gets mad when I tell people how little I paid for my car!!!

 

The same can be said for the Speed 6. You look at that car, and think you can get a Sport model for $21k , and people's jaws would drop as well. I think it's an even better bargain IMO, but both are fabulous cars for the money. Failure in the marketplace is a good thing as long as A) you luck out and don't suffer reliability/long term durability issues, and B) you plan on keeping the car a very long time.

 

No problems so far either. 04 MT and I still manage to love it more and more everyday.

 

well since you guys are on the topic of zero problems, just thought you guys would like to know that car and driver rated our cars a bit more reliable than the 350z

 

sometimes i wonder if the rx8's exterior design will stand the test of time like say a 3-series, miata or even the FD. Afterall the 8 has some really outrageous sight lines.

 

I think the 8 will age well personally. If you look at concepts at any 2007 auto show this year, you will see styling cues taken here and there that looks like it has been on the 8. Ex. look at an 07 camry, the headlights seemed to be taken from an RX-8. Look at the Toyota FH-TS concept......esp the hood and the headlights, it looks like they took some of their styling influences from an RX-8. In addition, a lot of modern cars and concepts cars are revealing bulging fenders like the RX-8, not to mention the fake side vents we have, are being drawn up and placed on modern cars.

To be quite honest, i think when the 8 came out in 2003 as an 2004 model. it probably look liek an outrageous design, like too bold almost, and probably scared off a lot of people cause of its distinct and unusual look. Right now in 2007. 4 years later......it actually has aged quite nicely and it is now that other auto makers are taking bold designs and the RX-8 looks like a car that came out yesterday in recent times. People are finally getting used the RX-8 looks now than 4 years ago. I think with the new designs of cars are trying to emulate a few of the RX-8 styling cues.

Nevertheless, whether the RX-8 will stand against time......well it will be up to time to determine if it will still look good. However, that being said, there no denying that the RX-8 is and will be a distinct vehicle, if anything the styling was probably a few years ahead of other auto makers.

 

There's a certain magical element to driving the RX8 - it just feels special. I've owned 95 cars in my life, and a very few of them have had that feeling of driving something special... a car that feels as though it's hard-wired directly into your central nervous system and just plain responds to your feelings - and gives feelings back (older Porsche 911, Alfa-Romeo, Saab Viggen). Cars designed for the enthusiast. The RX8 is definitely one of those special cars. It is just plain fun.

There are many cars out there that are fast in a straight line, or have retina-popping cornering capabilities. But the RX-8 transcends all that and wraps it up in one flingable, tossable, agile package. To me, one of the few new cars that comes closest to capturing this is the Lotus, but for a lot more money. Mazda uses the term "Jinba Ittai", Japanese for "horse and rider as one" to describe the feeling of driving the Miata. I think it applies much better to the RX8.

Bargain? Absolutely! At about $30k for a new one, and maybe $18-$20k for a used one, where else can you get that feeling of driving something special for so little money?