Hello all,
I merely pose this question because it seems that looking at various dealerships they usually dont have many rx-8 in stock. Considering the price and the various other attractive features of this car, why is the demand relatively low? Is there any particular reason why the resale value drops so quickly?

 

the search button can be your best friend

 

im happy that they are rare in the U.S. for the most part... for every 30 BMWs i see on the road I see 1 rx-8. I like the rarity of it. as for the low sales, its directly related to the amount of advertising for the 8 and mazda dealers you see are probably about 1 to every 5-6 toyota, ford, or chevy dealers. less supply chains, lower the supply. and with very little advertising, people really know nothing about them. cant answer your reason for the steep negative equity as soon as those papers are assigned.

 

or your worst enemy

 

the amount of bad reputation the engine gets, I see why uninformed people would be too scared to buy one...

But really, like Caveney said, I like the rarity of it. I see so many Mustangs on the road, and I just can't see any 'enjoyment' of a car if you see 20 of the exact same thing on the road every day.

 

Good question -I'll take a stab at it :
I think for a couple of very compelling reasons
1/fuel consumption - rotaries are notorious for poor fuel consumption and the 8 has not really done a lot to fix that preconcieved notion.
2/Lack of power - while the renesis produces good power when compared to its N/A predecessors it does not make enough for the car to match its closest rivals IE 350z , S2000 etc .
3/Reliability - it's different so therefore is percieved as a problem - rightly or wrongly .

BUT : once you have owned one you will love it so much you will be happy you are one of the few that took the plunge ..

 

because the Curse of the Silvers scared most people away. The curse is real.

 

Um, short sweet version: Its slowest in its class, eats gas/oil, has terrible resale value and has higher maintenance costs than most cars.


...all of the above and we cant get over how much we LOVE this car....you figure it out

 

People don't know much about the rotary . So they stay away from them. Personally I don't care , I like the fact theres not many around. Resale , well that sux with any make nowadays.

 

another reason the resale value is terrible is cuz mazda made way to many. thought theyd sell more than they did lol.

 

There's a lot of reasons...
1. Lack of knowledge...A lot of people, don't even know what a RX-8 is...They don't even know who makes it.
2. Lack of marketing...How many people really know what a rotary is? I didn't know much about it before owning my 8. There aren't many RX-8 ads etc etc...well at least in Canada. Most people think this car costs way more than the MSRP in Canada. MSRP in Canada is about 40k for a GT.
3. Love/Hate design.
4. Reliability...the RX-8, and Mazda as a whole...service is really sketchy. And Mazda wasn't really popular namebrand until recent years. They don't really have the "rep" of Toyota and Honda in terms of reliability.
5. Exaggerated problems. Flooding, oil-eating, engine issues.

6. Forgot to add this...SHITTY AUTOMATIC...4spd originally, 6 spd recently. TONS of people who buy Zs, Gs, are all looking for the auto. None of those cars' autoboxes lose as much grunt as the 8's.

 

I blame Mazda choosing Britney Spears to PR the car brought to the early down fall of the RX-8

 

Being rare is a good thing

Resale value is AWESOmE!!!!! my resale value is the same as what I paid for mine 1.5 years ago.
I have not lost a single penny!!!!!!!

 

Gets a bad rap based purely on lack of knowledge and misinformation.

 

I did not buy this car to resale it. I purchased it to transform it into a fire breathing flame throwing highway nemesis. Move to the right please so that I may pass you.

 

Most all questions well answered so I'll just ring in on resale. It depreciates rapidly in direct proportion to the reasons it's "unpopular." Not many people really know what it is, they've heard what they think are horror stories, etc.

I too like the rarity, and as an engineer have always been appreciative of the Rotary engine's elegant simiplicity (which actually promotes reliability and ease of/low cost of maintenance), high 'thrust to weight' ratio, ability to site the engine for low center of gravity and optimal 50/50 weight distribution, etc.

 

Here in Canada the RX8 is quite costly starting at $43,000 so that explains a lot.


Keep in mind this price is without any options at all just a sunroof and for the 2008 GT which is the only way to go. Now can you imagine how much mine cost with all my options...lol..

Awesome car and it works in our favor that there are few on the road... EVERYONE stares at my car and always has questions for me about it...

 

The rarity is definitely a 'plus' on my list. Something I did not expect, I get far more looks in my 8 than people in G35s and Zs.

Or maybe I'm just dead sexy...haha...okay I doubt that...

 

April 1st is over.

 

rarity = +++.. seriously, the ability to turn head at the same if not better rate than a porsche.

 

Not popular because it's far easier to mash the gas on a mustang GT and get thrown back in your seat then it is to go around corners and have real fun.

many people are way to obsessed with butt dynos to recognize a good car.

 

I think it's because the RX-8 is a niche car, rather than mass-appeal garbage.

For a small amount of people it's perfect, rather than moderately good for a larger audience.

 

People generally like to stick to what they know.

so buying a car with an engine that might have problems and is totally foreign to them sends off warning signs.

I am glad the car is rare.

 

thanks for all the insight hopefully will be getting one soon

 

If I wanted an apologetic car, I'd get an Accord.
In RoW, the RX-8 sells well and has a very good reputation.