Buying an RX8

Author
Discussion

Baker1

Original Poster:

323 posts

136 months

Monday 7th October 2013
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Afternoon all,

Despite my reservations...my other half is insisting on a RX8 for her next car.

After some advice really, a "normal" engine I know pretty much what to look for.

With this I am in the dark, how often should they be serviced, engine life etc...

I read somewhere that you have to top oil up every other fuel stop... is this correct?

Any info would be appreciated !

Andy

lexusboy

1,099 posts

149 months

Monday 7th October 2013
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Head on over to the RX8 owners club. They have literally everything you need to know about the RX8.


TREMAiNE

3,992 posts

155 months

Tuesday 8th October 2013
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As Lexus Boy said, the owners club is the best place to go.

Though in quick summary:

Very thirsty (I get 16mpg for town driving to and from work, 20mpg at best on a run)

Oil needs to be checked weekly and obviously only topped up if needed, one week of very hard driving I went through 4 litres of oil, however a sub-5k rpm commute over the last 4 weeks I've used no more than half a litre.
Tax is pricey on post-06 cars, coming in at £490 P/A

Engine life is entirely dependent on how the car has been previously treated, I know owners who have brought a 3 year old example with 30K that have gone pop quicker than 5 year old models with 80k. The key with these engines are to let them properly warm up and to maintain a healthy oil level.

If her budget stretches high enough, opt for the 'R3' version, these actually have an indicator that shows when the car has warmed up enough to rev it beyond 5k rpm, whereas the older gen's do not, and shutting the engine down before this can cause flooding which is common with them.

Again, for proper info, the owners club is the place to go, though I couldn't recommend it to someone who isn't an enthusiast.

Edited by TREMAiNE on Tuesday 8th October 13:19

probedb

824 posts

225 months

Tuesday 8th October 2013
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Owners club. If you searched here you'd find the standard internet responses to anything rotary related.

Ephraim

299 posts

195 months

Tuesday 8th October 2013
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The owners club forums have been suffering over the past few days and have spent most of their time down. They are back up now, and will answer pretty much any query you might have.

In my opinion, the RX-8 offers the best value performance car out there at the moment. Note that they are great value, not cheap. Some of the money saved over comparable cars on the purchase price will need to be spent on running the thing. Fuel and tax are very expensive. To give an idea of servicing costs, I had a service, pads fitted (I supplied the pads themselves) and some trim fixed at a rotary specialist on friday. It cost £240.

rst1234

29 posts

132 months

Thursday 10th October 2013
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I have one as my second car and I must say it's excellent for £2500.
As others have said head over to the RX8 owners forum to get all the info you need. They're really not as bad as people think they are if they are driven properly.

burriana

16,556 posts

260 months

Friday 11th October 2013
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Morning - not my usual haunt but I popped in here to ask where was the best place to sell an RX-8?

A friend of mine has asked the question as he is a little bit disappointed that he hasn't had much take up on his wife's car even though he is asking, in his mind a modest price. I'm guess the owner's club is the best option unless there are any other specialist forums?

Andy, I tried pm-ing you but the site is playing up and it wouldn't let me. PM me off forum and I'm happy to enquire whether Elaine's spec is similar to what you are looking for.

Fairbridge

226 posts

132 months

Friday 11th October 2013
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They are so ridiculously cheap now, it's worth buying one, and if it needs a new motor anytime soon, so what. The price to buy, plus a new motor, would still be worth it, as far as I'm concerned.

StarmistBlue400

3,035 posts

224 months

Wednesday 16th October 2013
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Still miss mine frown

Needs a Borla or Racing Beat Exhaust to make it sound decent (with pops and bangs).


Andy30241

27 posts

153 months

Thursday 17th October 2013
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I love mine use it as a second car for a bit of fun. Great car for the money lots of spec and just great fun to drive. Not the quickest in the world but fantastic handling.

I've gone for a Pettit milltek system sound great like i'm 10 years old again.

samoht

6,156 posts

152 months

Monday 21st October 2013
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burriana said:
Morning - not my usual haunt but I popped in here to ask where was the best place to sell an RX-8?

A friend of mine has asked the question as he is a little bit disappointed that he hasn't had much take up on his wife's car even though he is asking, in his mind a modest price. I'm guess the owner's club is the best option unless there are any other specialist forums?
Problem with selling on owners' club is that most people already have one. It's definitely worth posting there since it's free, but don't count on it.

If I was looking I'd be looking on the PH classifieds first, so suggest there. Autotrader & eBay definitely last resort for me when looking to buy.

RX-8 values are incredibly low, due to thirst, tax on post-06 examples, people's concerns about reliability and the fact that buying is a bit of a risk given the number of bad examples around, and the fact that there are just so many out there - the market is very over-supplied. It really isn't a sellers' market, so check other prices and ensure you're honestly competitive with them - what you paid for it is sadly almost irrelevant.





WarrenG

344 posts

203 months

Tuesday 29th October 2013
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Buy one that has just been rebuilt, or buy one that has popped and then get it rebuilt. Budget for eight or nine hundred quid for a non runner and 2-2.5k for a rebuild?
depending where you are could be Rotary Revs, Haywards or Apex. Mine was done at Haywards and I bought it with remaining warranty.