Just turned 49,000 miles in my 2010 R3 Aurora Blue. Except for a piece of the driver's Recarro seat that keeps popping off, bad gas that cost the gas station $1400 to repair, some idiot who rear-ended me in Buffalo to the tune of $2500 in repairs, paid for not by me, no issues at all.

 

I’m at 94,000 on my 09 R3. Starts up quick when it’s cold. Had a few issues to deal with such as cat replacement and wheel bearings, and a rusted oil pan, but other than that, she’s been great. Taking her in for a tune up next week. (Might get a compression test done too last one I did was last year and had high 8s across the board).

 

Update: Engine replaced just before 75k miles. They also replaced an OMP line while they were in there, as the old one seemed old.

FWIW, there's reason to suspect the car was driven poorly during break-in.

 

Just did a 4500 Mile road trip. All the way from BC, Canada, all through Utah (from sea level to 10,000 ft elevation), Arizona, Nevada, Cali, Oregon! Even camped a few days out of the car in the desert, it fit my tent, cooler, camping stuff with room to spare... Some of the roads I drove were absolutely mind-blowing.


Car never skipped a beat. Drank a lot of gas, few bottles of premix. Oil change halfway (brought the correct filter with me).
Believe me I was a little apprehensive with the rotary, but wow am I glad I went and did it! Refreshed the whole car when I bought it which definitely helped get me through the trip I think.

Had the car for little over 7000 Miles now. Has about 45,000 on it now (second R3 Engine - First one had side seal failure not in my ownership). Best car I've ever owned in terms of sheer enjoyment and overall usability. My last build was a 600 hp twin-turbo Nissan 300zx, definitely says something about these cars - to be honest I find this car far more refined, yet still stripped-down enough to be enjoyable without sacrificing comfort.

 

Nice!

 

Just turned 20,000 miles in my blue 2010 R3.

 

Pushing 52,000. In for oil change and perhaps compression test next month. Running like a top.

 

Im at 65,000+ miles now...Ive put 20,000+ miles since I got it last year and now issues...

However I do get a very Intermittent long 2-3 second crank before the car starts when the car was just cooling down for a good 1-2 hour after a drive...very rare...not sure what causes it. Its not a hot start issue cause the car starts fine 5 min-30min after the engine was off.

 

Just hit 40,000 miles in my 2009 Sport MT. No issues the past 8 years other than a window motor going out and the aux stereo input stopped working, both were easy fixes. Time has come though and I'll probably be selling or trading it in soon for a car with a little more room. Thinking Golf R. Any idea on what a fair price would be?

 

Just put my white S2 GT (Luxury in Australia) back on the road to get the TAKATA Passenger Air Bag done.

God this is a beautiful car, my red leather still smells new, done nearly 60K or 36,000 Miles, not one issue, she was in home storage for 2 years with Battery disconnected.
Car Battery is still Original and coming up to 10 years of age, all I did (was flat after 2 years of no use) was to re-con when put on my Battery-Charger power unit, that took about 5 hours and self testing gave the green light.

So I do not know why guys complain about the Batteries Mazda use, 10 years!, and my Miata is still good.

So far the only costs are normal self Servicing, like engine oil and filter changes, Oil, Oil Filters, Set of Spark Plugs, Pre-Mix, 1 x Air Filter, need 4 new Tyres soon.

 

Anyways, didn't know you have the red leather interior as well. It seems like they are pretty rare.



Also, I think my 8 may have had the original battery when I bought it. It cranked the car okay in the summer. I replaced it with a Canadian Tire Motomaster Eliminator Ultra AGM battery as a precautionary act as I don't want the old battery to quit on me in the winter.

 

Yep, I have the exact same interior red, and yes they are rare AFAIK the reds were only used for first intro MY2009 (made in 2008)..??..might look it up.. The red on steering wheel is not OEM, should be black leather AFAIK, IF you want to PM me your full VIN I can check it...I deleted all PMs here as was full. ...Just checked NA EPC yep all black Steering Wheels except R3 which has RED Stitching.

Battery, I think after a few weeks of use it is just starting to be a touch slower/lower in cranking amps, not quite as fast as crank, but after warmed up it is like new and fast crank...so if it sees me out for 3 months I will be OK as I will mothball her again.

 

S2 All RED/BLACK like yours and mine (colour code FG6) was only used up to December 1, 2008 according to EPC, so my memory was right, that is for RHD and LHD models...also there were some S2 in BEIGE/BLACK FG5 and or BLACK FG3 trim with same cut off date, all others went another two codes of BLACK FG4 or FG7 after that date until the end of S2 production.
Were some original R3s with all red too FG6 same cut off date....and later brought back for Spirit R Recaro in late 2011/12.

So yeah, all red is rare as is beige in S2...ONLY in production for last 8 months (between April - November 2008)

 

Ash, his red and black steering wheel looks like an aftermarket leather cover (wheelskins).

 

Yeah that steering wheel looks horrible and that S2 red interior is OEM and very rare. I searched for a CWP S2 GT with this interior forever and all I ever found with this interior was black automatic GT's.

 

You guessed right. That's exactly what it is.

There are some other stuff I did, like a new R3 shift ****, a shifter cover with red stitching, and a little cover on the handbrake, which isn't the best looking, but it's hard to find these individual R3 parts.

I got the cover because some S1 RX-8s steering wheels come with this pattern, like the one Jeremy Clarkson test drove.

To be fair, it does look a bit horrible now, but only because I accidentally kicked a part of it and that part looks worn down.

In the end it's personal taste. Wheelskins makes some good stuff and you can make a cover in any color you like, even just a plain black one. It makes the steering wheel a bit thicker and feels better than the rubbery feel the OEM steering wheel has.

 

Nah, it's not personal taste, that just looks horrible.

 

Or just 9k being 9k.

 

just crossed 65k, looking to sell now though.
I will say this much, if you keep on top of your maintenance and listen to the car, these are hellaciously easy to work with and play on