Mazda RX8 feedback wanted

[2QUIK6]

My stepdaughter decided she better find a more reliable and higher gas mileage car as she is going to be commuting alot further next semester going to school 40 miles away, an internship in Dallas 30 miles away and continuing to work part time 20 miles away...

So were looking for something used, less than 25k miles. She likes the Pontiac G6 verts, but those are a bit out of her price range. She has test drove a ton of cars and can't find anything she likes. Then I found a Mazda RX8, I've always liked their looks since they came out, but know very little about their rotary engine and quality of the car....looking for some feedback from anyone with first hand experience with them.

Thanks

 

[fitz3820]

My brother in law has one - nice little car, great handling, not much torque at all though.

They get pretty bad mileage for such a tiny motor - 20MPG at best from what he says, and I think it requries high octane fuel. It burns quite a bit of oil as well. I would also get the extended warranty with any rotary...

 

[BarnesGN]

Not first hand but I've asked several people about gas mileage, most get 20-22 mpg. City and highway doesn't mean much to the rotary engines.

 

[little]

I talked to a guy earlier this summer at an autocross event about his. He said 20 mpg was about all you can expect but he loves the car. It was one of the fastest stockers at the event.

 

[2QUIK6]

Yeah I was surprised to find the gas mileage that low, I guess those rotaries aren't that efficient. That MPG kind of rules it out.

 

[boostedturbotom]

[COLOR="Black"[/COLOR][quote="2QUIK6, post: 1655163"]Yeah I was surprised to find the gas mileage that low, I guess those rotaries aren't that efficient. That MPG kind of rules it out.[/QUOTE]

dude i started to post earlier and called my brother in law about it to confirm what i remember he told me awhile back forgot to write in dude he lost money but he was disgusted with the gas mileage and he was tired of puttin oil in the car he doesnt work on any of his cars like oil change etc. it was a pain for him to put oil every three fill ups he was to told do so buy the dealer he said the only good was handling . good luck with it .thought you hadnt purchased the car yet BTW NICE RIDES AND GARAGE !

 

[2QUIK6]

No we haven't purchased anything yet, she can't decide and has a few months before she starts having to drive so far. I really hated getting the 560SL as I can't stand MBs but that was the only car she wanted besides a 70's TA and that wasn't going to happen for a daily driver.

 

[boostedturbotom]

No we haven't purchased anything yet, she can't decide and has a few months before she starts having to drive so far. I really hated getting the 560SL as I can't stand MBs but that was the only car she wanted besides a 70's TA and that wasn't going to happen for a daily driver.

you cannot beat the civic on gas mileage and it looks alot better than alot of the other compacts well the vw are safe cars but not sure on cost comp. but civic will be lower maint. garanteed good luck or buy her some toy that she'll get tired of quick than jump on it. lol , i'm waiting to get a typhoon for the wife then tell her its not safe few months later lol

 

[87grandnat]

Hey Rob....I have a 03 jetta with the diesel engine in it, I am getting around 45 miles to the gallon (it went down because i put 18's on it) and it is fully loaded (leather, sun roof, heated seats, power everything)

Maybe she might like one of them? I have had mine about 2 years and really like it so far

Joshua

 

[2QUIK6]

Hey Rob....I have a 03 jetta with the diesel engine in it, I am getting around 45 miles to the gallon (it went down because i put 18's on it) and it is fully loaded (leather, sun roof, heated seats, power everything)

Maybe she might like one of them? I have had mine about 2 years and really like it so far

Joshua

Yeah a friend of my wife's has one and really likes it. I've been real gunshy of getting anything VW as they used to get really poor ratings in Consumer Reports back in the 90's but it seems like the quality has picked up quit a bit in the last decade. Sounds like you are very happy with it, and 45 mpg is incredible. She's driven a '83 diesel Mercedes tank for the last 8 years, it was her first car and her dad is big on diesel MBs.

 

[87grandnat]

Yeah man, from my experience it has been a good car, I would have liked to got a new Passat with the TDI but they are substantially more than what I paid for my Jetta, but they are extremely nice cars.

Joshua

 

[matt87]

i almost bought an 04 rx8. i did alot of research and found that 04-05 had alot of engine failures due to bad compression. mazda did a voluntary recall and make sure the car you look at has the papers saying the test was done. hard starting in the winter, bad gas mileage, having to add oil ever other tankfull are some negatives. but man its a fun little car to drive and is very sharp looking.

 

[toofastforyou]

I personnally think that the RX-8 is one of the ugliest cars you can find on the market these days. And guys...why can't you look at something made in the USA instead of those import sh*t boxes!

Claude

 

[turbofabricator]

My son just bought a new one. (RX-8) It has some quirks to it. You MUST rev the thing to 5,000 RPM for 20 seconds PRIOR to shut down (when cold) or you WILL be calling a tow truck. The Rotary engine makes nice HP at 8500 RPM. The redline is 9,000 from the factory. It keeps pulling from 5,000 to 8,999 then it shuts off. At 8500 it starts beeping at you. It does handle VERY good, ad is well mannered. The milage is poor and does require Premium fuel and does burn alot of oil. NOT a good commuter car, but my son LOVES it!