LOL... What about the Toyota Echo? That seats 4 hobbits quite nicely, I would think.

(j/k)

 

I'm a big fan of the Pontiac Asstech. Lots of room, nice styling, plenty of power.

 

hahaha.... like I said, it depends on my 3 and final pricing on 8.

 

Dell, keep in mind: if you ask if people have had problems, you're going to get a somewhat biased response, because anyone who's ever had problems is going to bitch about it (justifiably), and anyone who's never had problems is going to be less motivated to respond. Me, I've never had any problems, but I've only had my 8 since May. But I've definitely seen a lot of posts by people who've put a lot of miles on their rotary without problem. And Consumer Reports now recommends the car (which they didn't previously, so reliability has improved).

 

I love my 8 and I am just mentally prepared if something goes wrong with it. It is a great car and you can not beat the noise!! of that Rotary. As far as insurance, that blew my mind it is lower than my 04 Passat was!!! this is claimed a 4 door sport car,,,,HAHAHA four doors......it is a great car...looks like no other!

 

I concur. The asstech is "quite possibly the most versatile vehicle ever made."

 

Make sure u get an 05 cause it has less trouble than 04 after recall. U would want to upgrade the power after driving it for a while.

 

<---04 no trouble


Dun dun dun!

 

I had a Civic (1998) and it was a lot less reliable than the RX-8 right from the beginning. Lots of trips to the dealer and it was not fun to drive at all.

 

the 7 is pretty reliable and has a pretty long engine life. the blown seals are usually cause by mods and such. 8 hasnt been around long enough to see a long term reliability yet. but if you want a car that really reliable and maintainance free.... dont get a sports car

 

Dell, you need to get the 8, you won't regret it. Sure the gas mileage won't be as good as the 3 and you do have to check the oil every other fill-up, but you will quickly learn how you drive it impacts oil usage. I redline mine about 2-3times a week and I add about 10oz every 500 miles, with oil being about $2 a quart, it is cheap entertainment. Remember, with this site, you will always find more people talking about problems they have had than those that have had none. I would not trade my 8 for anything, not even something faster, it is a fun car and best of all, insurance is cheaper than my wife's Tribute, I pay less than 1k per year, your results may vary. Any vehicle has the potential to have to go to the dealer for warranty work, that is why manufacturers give you it with the car. The 8 has 4yr/50k miles, this is better than average, so that should give you an idea that Mazda feels it is and will be a reliable car. Last point, the RX-7 was a lower volume car, with a turbo and yes it suffered heat problems and Apex seal problems, but the 8 has dual oil coolers (6mt) and no turbo so with regualr maintenance with 3 moving parts, the engine will last for a very long time.

 

No!!
It consumes, like, a gallon of oil a day and a gallon of gas per mile.

 

I own one..and wish I didn't.

Performance sucks.
Horrible Gas milage.
numberous recalls
Fan Blower eventually "ticks" and needs to be replaced every 6 months (no fix)
Other than hauling 2 small people in the rear; the back seats are useless because the tranny runs down the middle.
The "cup holder" section gets hotter than hell, don't even think about keepin a cool drink in it for long (though its not bad for coffee)
It has horrid wheel-hop so launching it off the line is next to impossible without blowing worrying about blowing of the rear diff or tranny.
Horrible blind spots


..did I mention the performance sucks and it gets horrible gas milage? (I would say the average here on the board is 14-16mpg).

If you want a sports car, consider the STI/WRX/S2000/350z ... All of which IN REALITY do get >20mpg routinely.

 

Did you test drive the car before you bought it?

 

the clutch springs broke, which from what i read here has happened to several people. it was $1200 or so. (it makes a slamming sound now, when it is really cold out, but only in second gear. i have to bring it in again) (do a search on clutch explode ) i have never had problems with the engine, although my heating is now giving me problems. it blows hot, then for no reason it will blow very cold, then within a minute it will blow hot again.
i have had problems with the suspension, which went in 5 times, literally, until they finally just replaced the entire suspension (strut, shock, bushings etc.) because they were tired of trying to find where the squeak was coming from.
they rebuilt the tranny because a bearing cracked and fell into the tranny.
the breaks squeaked when it was hot, they replaced it with different pads, now it squeaks when it is cold
my shift **** vibrates, it has been fixed 3 times, and continues to do it.
the passenger seat squeaks
the center console has a plastic piece that keeps breaking
i am sure i have had other problems but it isnt coming to me now.

oh and also
i wasnt complaining about the tires, i knew when i got it that it couldnt be driven in the snow without changing the tires. i was just simply stating it, in case the person requesting info didnt know about it.

 

Hey if you want a Dodge Colt - look a like remake POS follow amartin's advice. I saw an old lady with blue harid driving a WRX. It's pretty popular the the retired crowd. I guess it's good for riding to ice cream socials in. I had a kid stop me at a light two weeks ago and he actually told me he wished he would have got an 8 his WRX embarassed him. All of his friends make fun of him now. Oh lets see, the 350z has all kinds of problems and no back seat. the s2000 has no back seat and you can't rotate the tires on it. The 8 will fit full sized adults with no problems in the back.

 

Man, I wish *I* had an ice cream social to go to...

 

All the snow that has dropped so far today, I could make a lot of ice cream!

Gonna take out the 8 tonight and see if any Mustangs or Firebirds want to race!

0-60 in 30 seconds should beat em!



I have an '04 and love it. Especially the '05 flip key that I have now.

 

Funny, I have an 05 and I bought an 04 FOB

 

Do a search and you'll find lots of info. My RX8 has been reliable and trouble-free and IMHO people exaggerate the inconvenience of its oil consumption. Its fuel economy is poor and there are a few things you need to keep in mind, but they're minor:

https://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php...8&postcount=20

 

The oil consumption is very minimal after break in. Half up to a quart between oil changes depending on how spirited your driving is.

 

dell, I have a JDM '03. Yeah, the doors rattle, the display on my radio has gone crazy a couple of times, the gas mileage sucks, you gotta keep watching the oil level, etc... but despite that, I still love it!! Take your time, weigh your options. At the end of the day, you gotta be happy with it so you won't turn into one of those h8ers who cry foul at the smallest inconvenience like a hot cup holder. Be sure to post pictures here if you do decide to get it. Good luck!

 

My insurance rates sure aren't cheap. I have a 2006 on order that is supposed to be here around my 25th b-day (Jan. 29) according to Mazda headquarters. Well, for full coverage insurance with a $50 deductible it will cost me $200 a month (I'm female) give or take around $10. I suppose the problem with my high rates is that since I just finally got around to getting my license last week (have been driving since high school, though) so I could buy my dream car, I have a lack of "driving experience" based on the time I have actually had a license instead of just a permit, which I got when I was in my senior year. Also might be because I am buying gap insurance since with my job and the fact that I more often than not will have to use my own car as opposed to "company" owned car there is a very high risk that major things will happen to it.

 

Bunnygirl, your insurance rates are high exactly because of what you pointed out. Give it a year or two and they'll go down. I was pay about $75 a month for myself and my husband on my car AND his volvostationwagon.

On to the 8- I've got one of the first 8s built- picked it up on August 8, 2003. I love my car. The only problems I've had were the recent recalls, a recall on my oil pan, and a giant pain in the *** of a service department at my Mazda dealer.

I get 20mpg + on average, unless I'm driving it really hard, and even then I've never gotten less then 16mpg. Yeah, if you don't change your oil ever 2500 miles (which I do) you are going to need to check and add some occasionally. But as every single car manual ever created tells you to check your oil occasionally, that should already be something you're used to doing, and you should always have a quart of oil in the trunk anyway. It's also not the only car that uses oil, but I'll let you research that yourself.

And I hate to say this again, but the 8 isn't the only car that floods- my friend has flooded her Solara TWICE. I've never flooded the 8. Unless you don't pay attention, your car won't flood.

In the end, it's a great car. It has quirks, but it's been less troublesome than most any other car I've ever driven. Yes, some people have had problems- but go to ANY car forum and you'll see the same thing. All cars have problems, and the people who's cars have had those problems are going to be much more vocal than those who don't.

 

Forgot to mention..the console rattles after 20k, the drivers seat has ALWAYS rattled, and the center console has been replaced 3x in under 1 year..because it keeps breaking...

Did I metion at >$2/gallon, getting 14-16mpg for CRAP performance compared to everything else out there.. is a JOKE.

A Nissan Maxima will keep up if not pull, and anything else (Especially Subaru's) will DESTROY the 8-- I SO wish I had bought an STI (300hp/300tq/AWD) instead.

Bottom line is... the car blows... spend your $ else where.. (And don't get me started on Resale.. Mine, which was $28.5k new ('04)... found one the other day on a DEALER LOT with 10k miles for 20k.) My '02 S2000 with 15k still sells for more... and its 2 years older.

Ford(Mazda) quality at its best baby! Just don't confuse the quality performance of the RX-7 to an RX-8...different animals...