Mazda rx8 anyone owned one

[marc vectra sri]

fancy a second car would Like anotber vectra like a gsi etc but what are these rx8 like are they a money pit and unreliable

[JJ0063]

They're very 'different' to anything you'll have owned before.

Do A LOT of research, they are essentially two 1.3 rotary engines.

They need rebuilding half as early as any other car, they are difficult to start if left for any period of time, then they smoke when started as the oil sinks.

Epic cars to drive, lovely spec for very small bucks, but MPG is shameful & the repair costs are huge. Make sure if you buy one, it's had a rebuild with proof!

[Phil881]

I've never owned one but looked into them before getting my Gsi

Great looking car, handles well and the higher hp ones go well too.

They are very cheap now and you get a lot of car for the money but with good reason.
they are very heavy on fuel, expect 18 to 20 mpg if you drive it enthusiastically ,
need oil topped up every 500 miles (because the engines consume oil a bit like an old two stroke)
expensive to tax as the emissions are high (see above)
very expensive to insure.
but worst of all they have a know fault with the engine which appears to affect most around 80,000, if the oil hasn't been topped up correctly there is excess wear between the rotors and the engine casing which means a drop in compression making them difficult to start once warmed up. The only cure for this is a new/rebuilt engine. Mazda extended the warranty on these cars in the US and will replace the engine under warranty if it develops this fault but didn’t do this in the rest of the world.

Personally wouldn’t touch one with a barge pole unless it’s already had the engine replaced and you’re prepared for very high running costs in all departments and poor resale value.

[Tom Jerrard]

the rx8 uses oil as part of the combustion so if ya get one keep some oil to hand and it has to be proper mazda stuff. and yes the fuel is shamefull. i was doing about 22mpg in mine. not alot of garages will service them either cuz of the engine so have to take it to mazda and there really expensive. the rotor tips need changing every 100.000 miles witch is a full engine rebuild which is about 2500 to 3000 quid, you can only open the back door when the front one is fully open so you can lets say a child out the back if ya parked in a tight space. but on a plus as a great toy there fast fun and handling is great mine drove like its on rails and they look lovely. if you havent got kids and have some dosh then go fot it. hope this helps.

[Inner Zone]

There is a five page article in Car Mechanics October 2011, Used Car Focus (also an article on the Vectra C, three pages, Survival Guide). You can get back isues on Ebay or from the publisher. Or I could scan it an e-mail it to you.