USED Mazda RX-8 Coupe (03 - 11)

My car

Love this car, you know when you buy it that its not economical but it is an absolute joy to drive. No problems with the engine oil; on annual mileage of around 10k.

Hasn't disappointed yet - 2 yrs in.

If you want a fun car to drive - do it.

My car

I bought a 54 Plate RX8 231PS and had a good 4 to 5 years out of it. but from the 5th. the problems started to emerge.

The car does pretty well everything you read about, great fun, fast, good to drive and generally well built. There were a few recalls, and the burning oil was no where as near as bad as I thought, but it did drink fuel, how ever I drove it I never seemed to get over 22 mpg, nothing like what I was promised when I bought the car new. Service costs for the first 3 years very reasonable.

On the last service by Mazda, had a bill for near 1K, rear brake pads, calipers, anti roll bars broken etc. I was not to happy, though I be quite Frank the Mazda Dealer had change hands and I thought was really being over the top and wanted to replace anything they could get away with.

The real problem started at around 50k miles, would not start hot, after some reading, and getting a compression test, compression was low, and the rotary tips should have been replaced, Mazda had upgraded the starter motor to make it spin faster hence building up more compression, making starting from hot/flooding better, this solved my problem after another £500-00 but I had lost faith and heart in it, hence selling it. Great Cars, great value for your money if you get a good price one, but you will be lucky for an engine to do over 80k miles so be very very wary. It is a shame :( they should have put a different engine into this car.

My car

If you like cars you'll love an RX8. I bought one to experience a rotary engine and what an experience it delivers; there's not huge amounts of torque (if that's what your want, then buy a diesel Audi or BMW) but it just revs and revs and sounds like no other petrol engined car. No drama just a turbine like delivery of smooth power - fabulous. The stereo is magnificent (Bose - 'banging tunes Dad') but it's not used much as the engine is so tuneful. People complain about the fuel consumption and yes it is poor but compare it with other cars with a similar performance and it's not so shocking, I get about 22mpg in mixed driving. The hoo-hah over oil consumption is over played. I check it weekly and it rarely needs more than 100ml, hardly scary. It's very practical with 4 seats and those rear suicide doors (copied by Rolls) especially useful as I have young adult children who can comfortably sit in the back but it's the driving which captivates. The grip is excellent need to be cautious in the wet but it's got DSC so will look after you) but as it's front mid engined with a weight distribution of 51/49% front/rear,it handles beautifully and is a real joy to drive. Some fora quote reliability issues such as poor starting but with the upgrades (check with a local dealer they've been done) you'll be fine - if you're worried buy from Mazda and get a warranty - and again these are over played. I had high expectations of the car and it's exceeded them, try it you'll enjoy it.

My car

If you like cars you'll love an RX8. I bought one to experience a rotary engine and what an experience it delivers; there's not huge amounts of torque (if that's what your want, then buy a diesel Audi or BMW) but it just revs and revs and sounds like no other petrol engined car. No drama just a turbine like delivery of smooth power - fabulous. The stereo is magnificent (Bose - 'banging tunes Dad') but it's not used much as the engine is so tuneful. People complain about the fuel consumption and yes it is poor but compare it with other cars with a similar performance and it's not so shocking, I get about 22mpg in mixed driving. The hoo-hah over oil consumption is over played. I check it weekly and it rarely needs more than 100ml, hardly scary. It's very practical with 4 seats and those rear suicide doors (copied by Rolls) especially useful as I have young adult children who can comfortably sit in the back but it's the driving which captivates. The grip is excellent need to be cautious in the wet but it's got DSC so will look after you) but as it's front mid engined with a weight distribution of 51/49% front/rear,it handles beautifully and is a real joy to drive. Some fora quote reliability issues such as poor starting but with the upgrades (check with a local dealer they've been done) you'll be fine - if you're worried buy from Mazda and get a warranty - and again these are over played. I had high expectations of the car and it's exceeded them, try it you'll enjoy it.