enthusiast

I love cars. I owned toyotas, mazdas, American cars and I currently own a 3-series E46 BMW. Right now I am looking into getting a new car and selling my BMW.

I am very interested in RX-8. I love the design, I like the fact that the car has 4-seats, and I am absolutely addicted to driving and sports cars. I need a drivers car, one that would bring me joy in everyday driving. RX-8 seems like just the right car for me.

But after reading about horrible issues with the engine, about all the problems that owners have with it (replacement, months spent at the dealership, lemon law returns, etc) - I feel like I will be making a mistake buying it!!!

I want to get a brand new RX-8 from the dealership. 2007 or 2008 model year. Do you think Mazda had resolved all the engine issues by now, or am I still in danger of having to replace it or the transmission? Maybe you know of any other components of the car that I will definitely be having issues with?

I don't have money or time to be constantly bringing my car into the dealership with various problems. I also don't have a spare car to drive if my RX-8 will be broken down.

So is it worth it? Should I refrain from buying a rotary, or should I expect reliability and quality from a brand new RX-8?

SideOfBacon

Buy.

Leesha

What do you think? You come to a site with a rotaries...hummmm????

I bought my car brand new and have yet to flood it, stall, spin out...etc. Love the RX8...you will too...just get it.

kartweb

Mazda appears to have solved the motor issues. After 2005 the frequency of repairs has dropped significantly. Lots of speculation as to what the issues were caused by no one really has the answer. Could have been some unknown component defect or even an overly aggressive state of tune that some driving habits weren't compatable with.

BMW has always been a driving machine. The RX8 simply outdoes the BMW taking ride, handling, and fun into the picture. As a former 928 owner it was my opinion that no one could top that touring car - until I drove the RX8.

Some will swear it's a sports car, and thats OK, it fits as far as it drives. Add the practical back seats (+4 doors) and suitable long distance ride and it's simply a world class exotic at an affordable cost.

Sure it's a bit thirstier as the rotary is what it is. Then again the lower cost of insurance will offset the added fuel cost for about 95% of the owners who would want one.

Resale price drops like a rock, but so does every other car in it's class.

heyarnold69

iTrader: (1)

buy 2.

mdr

Just do it.

If you love a drivers car you will never get the smile off your face.

yale02

iTrader: (16)

Do it, you will love this car!

SideOfBacon

best.advice.ever

bruce_van

So you have a handful of people who are not happy with their cars on this forum, but there is an overwhelming majority who have ZERO problems and really think the RX8 is the best car they've owned.

I'm one of those people who really is happy with my decision to buy the RX8.

Most of the early production problems have been resolved. Go for it!

New Yorker

Do yourself a big favor and do a little research away from this forum. You'll find that rumors of poor RX-8 reliability are greatly exaggerated and, oddly enough, can be found in only one place… here. What's more, most of the "sky is falling" fear-mongering comments are coming from the same 6 or 7 indivduals, who post this crap over and over and over again, generating something like 75% of the negative comments. (If you don't believe me, grab a paper and pencil and note who makes the "my engine failed… again" comments, and how many posts they write.) Determining the reliability of the RX-8 and its engine based on what's written here is like getting your news of the world from the National Enquirer.

Now… read the long-term road tests of this car in just about any car publication out there (Car and Driver, Road & Track, etc.) and you'll quickly discover that the 8 is, in fact, more or less "average" in reliability. Road & Track rated reliability "excellent" in their long-term test (10/06, over 50K miles):

"Two warranty issues were taken care of by the dealer at no cost. A rattling rear speaker was replaced, and a new center console lid was installed when the original’s stopped working. As with most of our long-term cars we had to replace tires; a total of six sticky Bridgestone Potenza RE040s were needed. The front brake rotors warped and needed to be turned once, and new pads were added. Combined with oil changes and regular dealer service, the cost of routine maintenance was low. Fuel economy at 17.5 mpg is on the low side of average, and the high price of gasoline today accounted for the extra cost per mile. Depreciation was about normal and so the cost per mile result is just about average."

(Notice there's nothing about an engine replacement; perhaps R&T had their engine replaced once or twice and forgot to mention it. Also, with engine replacements being "quite common", isn't it curious that R&T doesn't even mention the problem? How odd.)

Consumer Reports initially rated its reliability "average", lowered it to "below average" the following year, and now has raised its reliability rating back to "average" in its newest ratings.

Like many new models, the 8 suffered from its share of teething problems the year it came out. Engine problems were a result of not-yet-optimized ECU settings, which Mazda revised several times. To its credit, Mazda decided to replace—rather than just repair—a number of engines that were losing power and failing a compression test. Of course, here in the bizarro world of rx8club.com, that quickly was turned into "massive engine failures".

reaper1

I have an 06 and have had no issues what so ever . Some made the firsts year had some problems and really they were'nt all . Keep seaching and make your own mind ......

bose

iTrader: (5)

+1 What New Yorker said. My eight is one of the first released(august 03 build date), I've never had any issues. Period.

Renesis07

iTrader: (1)

Mines had alot of problems, but its an 04 and ive only heard of one other owner with one as bad as mine, mazda has helped me with about90 percent of the repairs. I would still recommend this car, I may have got the bad seed but like nearly every car model, theres lemons. I took that risk when I bought my 04 from an auction.

Buy an 07 and get the rebate so u don't wind up upside down

yale02

iTrader: (16)

I am a new RX-8 owner and I did just what post #10 said. Most people are very happy to have this car. After digging around here and other places I felt comfortable owning this car!

delhi

350Z and EVO are better.

TheKDog

If you don't buy it you will be making a horrible, horrible mistake.

Whenever someone doesnt buy an RX8, a kitten dies or something.

TheKDog

at handling poorly and looking ugly, respectively.

ken-x8

It's worse than that. All of the rotational energy from that unbought rotary goes into the atmosphere. It generates a tornado, which then flattens a town in Ohio.

Enthusiast - if you don't want all that blood on your hands, buy the RX-8. Your soul is at stake.

Not to mention your driving pleasure. If you haven't actually tried one yet, take a test drive. As for reliability...check Consumer Reports and look for red vs black circles in the charts. You cannot get reliable statistics from a web forum.

As for owning just one car: during the 3 year bumper to bumper warranty, Mazda provides free loaners if yours is laid up for warranty work.

Ken

restiller

And that's the sound they make too!

I do at least 80 miles a weekday in my car and the only thing i had to bring it in for was the visors. Just do the maintenance required and you should be good. Since you're buying new, you can sleep easier for the first 50k miles. MPG is my only gripe, but I have to admit that the bad press on this site has me paranoid.

tidmutt

I can't speak with the same authority that people on this forum who have owned their RX8s for years can. However, I can say that I was up until a week ago in the very same boat you are in. I was agonizing over which car to buy. Every car has it's strengths and weaknesses and deciding from a field of so many options took me a very long time. However, I spent too long reading forums when I should have just been driving the cars (not that research isn't important!). I drove just about everything from Civics through to an Infiniti G37. The RX8 stood out. It wasn't the most powerful, but the overall package sold me. When I drove a whole heap of cars back to back and then climbed in the RX8, it was an obvious decision.

Had the RX8 a week now and have loved every minute of driving it, washing it and vacuuming it.

When it came to the reliability concerns a few things made me decide it wasn't an issue:

1) Manufacturers tend to sort these issues out progressively through model year iterations. A 2007 is now mature enough that many issues should be sorted.

2) Consumer reports improved it's rating to Average and tagged it as Recommended for 2007

3) Long term tests in car magazines reported very few problems over a significant period of time

4) As has been mentioned in these forums before. People tend to only post when they have problems. So the perspective you get from reading these forums tend to be skewed.

Hope that helps in some way.

ken-x8

It's not unique to this site. I've posted this rant before...

I almost did not buy a new TV a few years back because every time I looked at forum discussions about 30% of the posts on any given model said it was junk.

Same thing happened when I researched a $2000 digital camera that I ultimately decided to buy. Web fora said picture quality was lousy, colors inaccurate, but I bought it anyway. First time I used it, at the Indy Car race at Phoenix, I was reviewing photos on my laptop. Someone looked over my shoulder at a head shot and blurted out "Wow! Look at those great skin tones!" Photos from that day wound up on a couple of Silver Crown team's web sites. One shot a couple of months later was nationally published.

I need to take a picture of my RX-8 and my TV, before all three items crumble into toxic dust as predicted by web fora.

Ken

enforcer

Refer to this...https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...46#post2178146

....and then buy.

Icemark

People that claim the car suffers from engine problems obviously didn't own a Porsche Boxster for the first two years of production (where 50% of the engines were changed)...the car didn't have a check engine light... it had a Change Engine Light.

Or the 15% of people that owned a 350z/G35 and had their engines changed.

Even here on an anonymous internet board you really can't be sure that the 12% or so that claimed they had their engines changed and that participated in the change engine poll even have owned a RX-8.

Buy the car... my RX-8 has been as reliable as every Mazda I have owned, which is too say, it has never seen a dealer for warranty work or repairs. And I expect it to stay that way for the next 100K+ miles.

jones75254

iTrader: (2)

If you dont fall in love after the first test drive, its prob not the car for you. Go w/ ur gut.

mbrule6465

I'm glad you asked. First: Test drive the 8 if you haven't already. (you problably will need no further convincing) All but the most stubborn or ignorant or stubbornly ignorant of us can get past the "test drive" without a strong desire for more. It's looks, it's handling, and that 9000 rpm rev get most of us and we must have it! On a more serious note Consumer Reports latest issue has placed the RX8 back on it's "recommended list" for improved reliability. I personally have 9,000 miles on the "Oddmeter" with zero...and I do mean zero...issues. The Rx8 makes me actually look forward to going to work each day as it's another chance to experience it's pure Bliss. The only draw back to owning (driving) the 8 is all the unwanted attention it draws. The stares and highway challenges can get annoying at times. I don't blame them though. I too was once an envious admirer who would speed up,slow down, or rubber neck to get a good eye full that stunning sports car from Mazda. Drive it, love it, buy it.......and don't look back.