Wow...my eyes started to glaze over there towards the end, but I think I have the answer for why despite the 27% figure people are so loyal. It's very simple - we all love the fact that our car is UNIQUE. It's indisputable and makes us feel like we own something special. And because of this uniqueness, we're (mostly) willing to deal with the inherent unique problems that come with it.

That, and of course the styling kicks ***

 

What really surprises me is the lack of consistancy within the service departments and dealerships themselves. Speaking to a friend of mine who is a service technican, we've talked at great lengths about the various issues that have been spoken about here on RX8 club. Namely the issue of so called "customer abuse" and what seems to be a serious lack of knowlege regarding the Rotary.

Still, when we focus on elements of this survey I think it can be concluded that there has to be come element of a positive dealership experience with such a high re-buy rate. I'm not out to dispute the 27% of owners who claimed they had a break down...but years of following politics has taught me that a poll/survey is only as good as the questions which are asked.

Simply asking an owner "have you ever experienced a breakdown?" can mean 100 different things. It could be transmission related, engine related, a dead battery or even a recall engine situation. My theory, as others have stated, is no doubt some of the 2004 and early 05 owners experienced flooding issues. To an inexperienced owner not informed about the rotary, this would no doubt cause them to answer "yes" to that question.

I think that it's great that after nearly 4 production years that the RX8 continues to be at the forfront of the sportscar world despite undergoing small changes.

 

Sorry for the double post.

I totally agree! Anyone who is involved in the performance or tuner market knows that being different or unique requires wandering off the beaten path. We show this through custom fabrication, creation and are heavily involved in the building of the car. Still, if custom parts fail or break...they must be created again. No warranties or recalls can replace a one of a kind.

Now granted the RX8 isn't one car. Still having a niche market means that there are less people to work out bugs and less industry professionals there to fix them. If the rotary were common, no doubt these problems (if any) would have been worked out by now.

I also stand by the fact that I'm willing to accept a certain amount of trouble in exchange for the unique aspects of the car. Still, members who have experience multiple drive-train failures or engine replacements have a legitimate reason to be upset in my book.

In all, the unique factor is very attractive. I realized this when at the Scottsdale pavilions and asked my friend with his Evo if he was going to open his hood.

"Everyone has seen an engine" he told me...I remember opening mine thinking they haven't seen this one!

 

Very nice comments Todd. And so true. I love this car and would buy and will buy another one. No matter the rants and raves from the few unhappy owners.
If anyone should be unhappy it's me. (four engines in 2 months) But hey, what is happening to me has more than likely happened to some piston engine owner out there too.
Plain and simple,,, I love this car.

 

I think Erik's situation is a great example that despite going on the 4th motor...not all replacement situations were due to failures and none of the failures were for the same reasons.

We will not know the extent of serious failure issues (if any) until people start paying for new motors and the old ones can be cracked open to see what the primary issue is.