mspdfreak said:
A $10,000 cheaper price tag, and about 1/2 the insurance rate.
Also, after doing a little research on the RX-8 boards, I found ALOT of problems with the 8. ALmost everyone says they us oil. (avg. 1qt. every 1000 miles) Many say they're lucky to get 16mpg. Some have blown their motors without doing any mods. And everybody complains about the rattles, clunks and so forth that is apparantly Mazda's forte'. Hell, I can get all that AND a blown sub for ten-grand cheaper!
Hahaha, my insurance went down $400 every 6 months when I got my 8. Why? 1.3L 4 door, that's why. I recently turned over 3K miles, and no problems. My buddy has an 8 with about 18K and no problems nor rattles. Sorry, but the 8 just has a superior suspension, RWD, 50/50 weight ratio, DSC/TCS, better interior, better steering feel, and the list goes on and on. I average 22mpg when I drive like a gramma and around 17 mpg if I drive like a madman.
As far as blown motors, you'll find that with any car. Search any forum and you'll see "ALOT of problems." It's the nature of a message board. What do you expect? That's like going into a service shop and not expecting to hear people talking about problems with their cars. For you to say the car is inherently bad because of what a few people say on message boards is pretty ignorant if you ask me. I frequent the RX-8 boards and I've seen less than 5 blown motors. And that's alot of research that I've done. FAR LESS blown motors than STi, EVO, SRT-4, and obviously the MSP.
Also, if you knew what you were talking about, you would know that the rotary consumes oil BY DESIGN. Read the owner's manual. There are oil injectors that inject oil directly into the rotor housing and the oil is then consumed. It's the nature of the rotary engine. By the way I've added half a quart in the 3000 miles I've had the car in varied driving.
By the way, I paid just under 27,000 out the door for my rx-8 with sport package. For much cheaper insurance and slightly higher car payment I'll take it.
Keep in mind that RX-8's built prior to January '04 were the ones with the problems. That's what happens in the first year production of a car. I'm lucky to have gotten one built in March. With the lastest "M" flash you shouldn't have any problems with an 8.
