rx8 opinions?

i found a great deal on an 04 mazda rx8, i think we got the guy down to 18000. its red with a red and black leather interior and a 6 speed manual. it has the grand touring package, which has the bose audio upgrade, leather seats, moon roof, homelink day/night mirror, 8 way power driver seat with lumbar, heated mirrors and xenon headlights, stability control, fog lamps, and heated seats. it also has a 6 disc indash cd changer. it doesnt have the appearance or rotary accent package, but it has the spoiler.its got about 20,000 miles on it and it booked out on kbb for i think about 22000. its all in excellent condition as well. sorry the picture is so crappy. what does everybody think?thanks!!

One hell of a car for $18000... Go for it if you want... but get the engine checked by a proper mechanic...

Well, my thoughts are, I don't like the car.

Looks are not to my tatse, but that s personall preferance.

The car itself is very reliable, although the engine has its weaknesses. No torque so to get full performance you have to really push the engine. Fuel consumption is also poor as that little 1.3 has to work hard to get you places.

Despite this it's your desicion. I hope you make the right one.

yea ive heard horror stories about rotaries, but then again ive heard stories that treat it like a god. anybody have any opinions on this too? ive been told that you have to let it run for 5 mins before going anywhere and that you have to check the oil every couple of days, anybody know how true it is?

[QUOTE=chris98891]yea ive heard horror stories about rotaries, but then again ive heard stories that treat it like a god. anybody have any opinions on this too? ive been told that you have to let it run for 5 mins before going anywhere and that you have to check the oil every couple of days, anybody know how true it is?[/QUOTE]

I assume the oil theory is correct, but every couple of days seems a bit steep. Every week is what I have heard, and it is important as oil is an extremely important component for the roatary to spin properly and efficiently.

If you don't keep tabs on it I can see a few thousand dollars being spent on your engine.

The fit between the hood and front fascia looks wierd. Did it have an accident of somekind? Might wanna ask the owner.

Make sure it's still covered under warranty. They guzzle oil and gas and aren't notably reliable. Piss poor reliable, I should say.

18K for something that stickered for close to 30K a year ago. I think it's safe to say the car has taken the depreciation hit and you won't need to worry about that.

My dad's friend knows a guy who's trying to sell his 2003 Audi S4, and he's only asking for $22k, but he said that if we want it, he'll cut it back to $18k. :) Btw, that's because his wife got a new car.

[QUOTE=NuclearCrap]My dad's friend knows a guy who's trying to sell his 2003 Audi S4, and he's only asking for $22k, but he said that if we want it, he'll cut it back to $18k. :) Btw, that's because his wife got a new car.[/QUOTE]


haha where does he live? id love to buy that in a heartbeat.

[QUOTE=heryandy0210]The fit between the hood and front fascia looks wierd. Did it have an accident of somekind? Might wanna ask the owner.[/QUOTE]

i havent gotten to see the car in person yet, but the place is just a couple miles away and ill see if he'll tell me the truth or if i can pick it out for myself, but it does look a little off from the pictures

18K is one hell of a deal, go for it.

Even if it sucks gas and can be called unreliable sometimes I'd go for it... Could also be a good investment if you think about it. Buy it for 18k and sell it for more or sell it at the same price after you use it for a couple of months / years.

I saw one at Carmax going for $26k with the same mileage ;)

[QUOTE=chris98891]yea ive heard horror stories about rotaries, but then again ive heard stories that treat it like a god. anybody have any opinions on this too? ive been told that you have to let it run for 5 mins before going anywhere and that you have to check the oil every couple of days, anybody know how true it is?[/QUOTE]
Yes, it's true - if you have a rotary engine from the 90s or earlier.
On that note though, you'd be stupid not to let your car warm up before driving at a normal engine speed (not necessarily idle), and you'd be even stupider not to check your fluid and oil levels on a regular basis.
With the RX8, just treat it like any other car - get it tested by an independant vehicle tester to make sure it's OK, look out for all the usual signs of damage, abuse, etc and make sure it comes with a full service history with receipts.

My personal opinion on the RX8 is that it's one of the best looking cars ever built, and is VERY comfy in the drivers seat (surprisingly!) although I can't say I've ever ridden in the back. The only thing that lets it down is it's performance - it' slow off the mark and has no torque.

How much do they retail for brand new in the states? You guys have it so lucky there with car prices.

I personally like the RX-8, I think it's a great car for what it is. Snappy styling that, in my eyes, is not ugly; wonderful handling, decent performance, and that lovely rotary sound.

Also, I'd like to make note that the Rotary in the RX-8 is much different (vastly improved) over the older 13b. It doesn't make as much power as the last generation car, but then the 3rd gen RX-7 had twin turbos. This car is normally aspirated. That's one thing most folks don't understand; the RX-8 doesn't have as much power because it's not force-fed. I'd like to see what kind of grunt Mazda can push out with a twin turbo, or even supercharged version of the car.

Also, this means that the new Rotary probably doesn't face as much of the reliability issues that the older car did have.

I'd say go for it, that's one hell of a deal.

thanks for all your help everybody, im going to look at it sometimes this weekend