2004 Mazda RX8 Test Drive

[baddabang]

Well I took a test drive today in a black 2004 Mazda RX8 with the so called "sports package" whatever that means. It was the one with the flappy paddle gearbox. It has 50,000 miles on it and only one previous owner. Power everything, Sun roof, shiny wheels, you get the point.

The car was located at a Chevrolet, Pontiac, GM, Cadillac dealer so I'm assuming it was a trade in.

After pulling up I immediately have a salesman jump on my dick and begin asking questions. At one point he tried to cross sell me a VW Rabbit. I responded politely by stating that VW's are gay.

Anyway he pretty much just handed me they keys and said take it for a spin, no photocopying of my drivers license or insurance. Desperation anyone?

So I get in and it takes like 20 seconds for the thing to turn over and start. I ask if it usually does this and he said "yes". I put it in drive and took my foot off the brake and by the sound it made I could tell it had not been driven lately. So I took her easy, for about 20 feet, Then proceeded to peel out of the dealership lot, took a quick right and got onto the highway.

Traffic sucked.

I finally get to a portion exiting town. Two lanes at 55mph with almost no traffic. First gear up to 7.5K RPM and then I clicked the paddle. I've never driven anything with paddle shifters before so one could say I popped that cherry today. It did 100mph easily.

It's fast. Keep in mind I drive a Chevrolet Cobalt 2.2 slow edition so technically a Schwinn is faster.

I then drove down a back road to a local apple orchard that features a nice road with many twists and sharp corners. I'm not going to lie it handled pretty damn good. Not that I'm a professional driver or anything. I did deliver pizzas for 2 years though so that's close enough.

The interior was impressive also. Heated leather seats, leather wrapped steering wheel, Turns out RX8's have 4 doors. Who knew? Nothing really felt cheap or lacking. That is until I turned the radio on. Good thing the engine revs high because there is no way in hell I can stand listening to that rubbish sound quality. My Cobalt is better.

I'm 6'5 and felt very comfortable in the car. I was wearing Timberland boots (because I'm one fly mofo) so space down by the pedals was tight. Other than that I had plenty of headroom.

Concern:

- At traffic lights or just being stopped anywhere in park the engine idled down to about 800RPM's and the car rattled like a spray paint can in East Harlem. Is this normal?

So what did I learn today?

1. GM dealerships know absolutely nothing about RX8's and probably Mazdas in general.

2. RX8's are fun.

3. RX8's are more than what I expected.

4. Dealers don't like it when you peel out of their lots.

5. Insurance rates on these things are cheap. ($1.74 cheaper per month than my current premium)

6. Rotarys sound nice.

7. Quiggs is in Florida.

8. Mazda RX8's are fun.

Honestly I would not have gone to look at a RX8, let alone text drive one, if I wasn't in the market to upgrade to something with more balls than the Slobalt.

I don't however think I would stick with a 2004, but definetley a newer one. Additionally, even though the flappy paddle shifters were fun, I want that third pedal.

I know that Peter (Matra et Alpine) owns an RX8 so I have a few questions to throw down:

1. How reliable is this rotary engine? The RX8 in general?
2. Will a Ford dealership service it?
3. Snow? (possible LOL's here)
4. What do you get in terms of economy?
5. In terms of status symbol how many pairs of panties am I expected to drop in this thing?
6. How do you think it will be for commuting 50 miles/5 days per week?
7. Whats with taking so long to turn over? and the shaking?

Thats about it. I returned the car and talked to the salesman about it. At this point I realized that not only does he have a horrible shirt and tie combination but I know more about the RX8 than he does. He gave me his business card, shook my hand, and I left.

[Zytek_Fan]

I'd take it to a Mazda dealer to be inspected if you're serious about it.

Ask to test drive it for a weekend

[cmcpokey]

Originally Posted by baddabang

8. Mazda RX8's are fun.



I know that Peter (Matra et Alpine) owns an RX8 so I have a few questions to throw down:

1. How reliable is this rotary engine? The RX8 in general?
2. Will a Ford dealership service it?
3. Snow? (possible LOL's here)
4. What do you get in terms of economy?
5. In terms of status symbol how many pairs of panties am I expected to drop in this thing?
6. How do you think it will be for commuting 50 miles/5 days per week?
7. Whats with taking so long to turn over? and the shaking?

Thats about it. I returned the car and talked to the salesman about it. At this point I realized that not only does he have a horrible shirt and tie combination but I know more about the RX8 than he does. He gave me his business card, shook my hand, and I left.

8=yes, very fun, especially in 3 pedal format.
1=they can be very reliable, you juat have to take care of them. like really take care of them. let them warm up for a while, then cool down for a while. watch your oil pressure gauge, its there for a reason.
7=the previous owner didn't do above.
2=no. take it to someone who knows rotarys, preferably the specific engine you have. i wont take my 12a to someone who only knows renesis. they are very complex animals, and very different between the generations.
3=no idea how they would do, but i imagine it woudl be fun
4=if you are worried about economy, stay with the slobalt
5=at least 2, but then again, it is new york
6=not great

i enjoyed the rex when i looked at it. the forst time i drove one it was truely a revelation. since then i have gotten a litle more power hungry, and thats what led me to the G. still a fantastic car, and is a better autoxer than the g if thats your thing (autoxbonne?).

[baddabang]

Originally Posted by cmcpokey

8=yes, very fun, especially in 3 pedal format.
1=they can be very reliable, you juat have to take care of them. like really take care of them. let them warm up for a while, then cool down for a while. watch your oil pressure gauge, its there for a reason.
7=the previous owner didn't do above.
2=no. take it to someone who knows rotarys, preferably the specific engine you have. i wont take my 12a to someone who only knows renesis. they are very complex animals, and very different between the generations.
3=no idea how they would do, but i imagine it woudl be fun
4=if you are worried about economy, stay with the slobalt
5=at least 2, but then again, it is jersey

I'm not that worried about economy. I can get tax free gas but IIRC it takes premium unleaded.

Turns out there is a Mazda dealer in Potsdam that I didn't know existed. That's only 30 miles South. GG'z report.

I'm in New York not Jersey. Our girls are not trash.

[cmcpokey]

it posted before i was done... i changed it to NY.... my bad.

check out the real dealer before you buy used. i woudl also reccomend buying a mazda CPO if they have it... cant remember. the rotarys require maintenance by people who know what the hell they are doing, and you have to be very careful of one that hasnt been.

[coolieman1220]

Originally Posted by baddabang

I'm in New York not Jersey. Our girls are not trash.

So true. Those Jersey girls are something else not that Staten Island oranges are much better, they have one step till they go to Jersey.

They let me, a 17 year old test drive a 2008 BMW 135i in Jersey with no looking at license or anything. Just pulled it out the lot and said c'mon. Very nice car to drive, not to look at so much but driving is amazing.
I test drove a 2009 Scion Tc, not bad but not great. It's geared so wrong. its zippy though and handles well. I went to test drive a 2009 Subaru WRX STi here on Staten Island and the dealer said no because its a liability. They don't let anyone test drive the STi because it has too much power and is dangerous. since when is 305 horses a lot? i handle 260 in the G35 and i drove a 135i which has 300 also and 300 ftlbs of torque from 1800 rpm. I also test drive a G37 Coupe the other day. It was raining and i was at the dealer. Drove the hell out of it. its soo fast and beastly. i loved that car.!

[Zytek_Fan]

Despite the flappy paddle hate here, I do like flappy paddles.
Let's you focus more on the driving

[f6fhellcat13]

Originally Posted by baddabang

I'm not that worried about economy. I can get tax free gas but IIRC it takes premium unleaded.

Turns out there is a Mazda dealer in Potsdam that I didn't know existed. That's only 30 miles South. GG'z report.

I'm in New York not Jersey. Our girls are not trash.

would make sense seeing as it revs so high. if you talk to a mazda salesperson ask if you can run it on regular if you keep the revs down.

[baddabang]

Originally Posted by f6fhellcat13

would make sense seeing as it revs so high. if you talk to a mazda salesperson ask if you can run it on regular if you keep the revs down.

Why would I want to do that?

[f6fhellcat13]

Originally Posted by baddabang

Why would I want to do that?

If you're a cheap bastard like me.

[baddabang]

Originally Posted by f6fhellcat13

If you're a cheap bastard like me.

Thankfully I'm not.

[zeppelin]

Originally Posted by Zytek_Fan

Despite the flappy paddle hate here, I do like flappy paddles.
Let's you focus more on the driving

Ah but you see rowing through a nice six speed gearbox as you enter your favourite turn is the best part of driving.

[cmcpokey]

Originally Posted by zeppelin

Ah but you see rowing through a nice six speed gearbox as you enter your favourite turn is the best part of driving.

the best thing is while down shifting you heel-toe and match all your revs perfectly. thats when it is amazing.

[Zytek_Fan]

Originally Posted by cmcpokey

the best thing is while down shifting you heel-toe and match all your revs perfectly. thats when it is amazing.

I will agree to that statement lol.

[clutch-monkey]

there's no problem at all with reliability especially non-turbo rotaries (and especially again newer ones). You do have to watch it more than an ecobox, and it does use more oil, but if you can't look after it, you have no business being in a sports car full stop