In just a few more days I will have had my RX-8 for 2 years. Kind of hard to believe it has been that length of time.

With 31,000 miles, averaging 22 mpg, and some mods (view my garage if you care), this mode of transportation is still exciting. I have developed a bad habit of looking back at her after parking.

Problems have been minor, which I am especially happy with, considering I bought within the 1st pre-order group, and got one of the first ones released for the U.S. The 'L' reflash took care of a recurring CEL, and just last month the Brake light bulb came out of the socket. I am currently running on the 'M' reflash.

I see very few other owners in my area. This makes the car exotic, so still get plenty of gawkers, especially during fill-ups. Routinely I get the "does it go as fast as it looks ?"

What would I have done different? Nothing, however I would gladly sacrifice the moonroof for extra helmet room, if I could keep my leather & foglights.

So here is a few of my ratings after 24 months with her, on a scale of 1-10:
Performance -- 7 (Waiting on Supercharger, no turbo for me)
Style -- 10
Interior -- strong 9 (no signs of wear, as new condition)
Handling -- from 8 to 9 (thanks Racing Beat)
Problems -- 9
Value -- 10 (no better package out there, at the time. New Mustang is worthy)
Versatility -- 7 (that rating is pretty good for a sports car)
Keeper -- 9 (The C6 Vette is calling out, but money is just not there)

And of course the best part of this ownership experience is the rotary powerplant. We own something that less than 1/10th of 1% of vehicles have, and it sure sounds at its best in the redline zone.

Let's hear from some other 2 year owners.

 

On July 17th Roxy and I will celebrate our two-year anniversary. It hasn't exactly been an uneventful relationship, what with flying road debris, a rat attack, and a pretty major rear-ender followed by six months in the bodyshop to contend with. None of these setbacks could be blamed on anything other than bad luck, though... the car has weathered them all very well and even to this day drives and handles as well as she did brand-new.

The only remaining "original" exterior parts from the car I bought two years ago are the passenger doors and windows, front fenders, nose, and roof. The hood, windshield, rear quarters, rear frame members, rear bumper, trunk lid, rear window, exhaust, motormounts, and driveshaft have all had to be replaced from either the flying road missile hit (front) or stupid moron inattentive driver hit (rear). She's got three different layers of paint on her, but the matches were excellent and I find it impossible to tell where the original paint leaves off and the repainted areas begin.

Sadly, though, she's obviously not the pristine, one-of-the-first, perfect car I bought. She's a wrecked-and-repaired facsimile, and every month I get mad that I'm making new-car payments on a car that honestly should have been declared a total loss after the accident. I think I'm the only person on this board whose car has been damaged that badly that didn't get to walk away from it and get a new one. !@#$%^&* City of Pasadena! They still haven't reimbursed me or my insurance company one dime, and it's been a year now.

Anyway. If I could trade her in, I would. Not because she's in any way disappointing in her handling, looks, and fun factor, but because she's no longer the car I bought and paid for. But despite the accident never showing up on Carfax, any dealer I take her to knows she's been in a major accident; I'd have to pay them to take her off my hands. So I'm keeping her for now, continuing to make those payments until maybe, just maybe, what I owe on her is equal to what I could sell her for. Then, in all probability, she'll go -- assuming anyone would want to buy her. With six cars between my boyfriend and myself, I just can't justify keeping her beyond that.

 

Another 30 days and I'll be at the 2 year marker myself. 42,000 miles, and except for some self caused coil problems a while back, hasnt given me any trouble at all.

For the interior my temp and fan control ***** have broken twice each one, and the lever for the center console cover is kinda gimped and slides closed all the time when I stop. Otherwise I am very happy with the car and look forward to a few more years of driving pleasure.

I do have a very slight rattle somewhere on the passenger side I cant find, but since I usually have the radio on I dont really notice it unles I am on the phone.

 

The end of July will be my 2 year ownership with 32K miles. There's the occasional rattle/squeek that comes and goes from the console and sun roof. Currently on the M flash. All my services have been done at the dealership and paid by Mazda. My pocket book will start hurting after the warranty runs out and I'm forced to pay out of pocket.

I'm getting some hesitation during shifts in 1st and 2nd. That could be how I drive. I can can safely squeeze 220 miles from the tank (16mpg) in city driving. I check my oil regularly but it doesn't seem I'm burning oil as fast as some people...1/4 quart every 2-3 fillups.

Overall, I'm still happy about the ownership. It's the fastest and best handling car I've owned....so far.

 

Sorry, for being off topic. I've posted this in another thread but got no response. Does anybody here have a copy of the Free Maintenance Schedule Program for early rx-8 adoptors?? I believe it was in a picture format (JPG or BMP) and prints to about 6-8 pages?

Thanks!