Hi all,

I'm looking for a stop-gap between my current car and my next big purchase (Probably a BMW F10) and I kind of fancy an RX8, I have a bit of a soft spot for strange engines and the renesis kind of appeals in this regard.

I've never driven one, but I know you have to keep them in high revs to see any benefit. I know they drink oil (about 1L per 1000 miles?) and I'd expect to get between 23-28MPG out of one. I'm also aware that the tips wear through improper driving and carbon build up, can I perform my own compression test to check this or do I have to have a specialist do it? How difficult is it to do myself? Can I do it with a standard compression tester?

I've heard things about the seals going, how common is this? How do I check for it? Is there anything else I need to watch out for?

For the price I'm looking at paying I'm not that bothered if it blows up, I can pick up a 2003 car with 39000 miles on it for £1750 which seems pretty reasonable to me and I have a feeling that it's not going to be as bad as people say (plus, if the engine goes I'll have an excuse to put a V8 in it ).

So, what do I need to check on one of these? Are there many common failure points? How do I check them? Am I barmy for wanting to buy one? Any personal experiences?

All advice/information is appreciated!

Thanks guys!

Adam

I'm kind of in the same boat as you in being between tintops.

Just for info I was at my local auctions last Friday and there were 2 rx8's went through, both were less than 60k miles and had mot, they were the 231hp versions. The highest price one went for £850 even with fees they were less than 1100 quid. I actually was annoyed with my self for not having a bid.

Isnt 60k miles pretty much engine rebuild time with these RX8 rotarys.

have a look at this site he'll give you all info you need/want he's in doncaster has loads of spares and cars for sale
:-)


http://www.rx8rotaryparts.com/

I had one for about a year, it was a great car 231 model in red with black leather.
Really quick if you revved it!
gearbox and trans great
can get 4 adults in
looked great
handled well

bad points
drinks fuel - averaged about 18 mpg!!
likes a drop of oil - no biggy
absolutely crap in snow / ice etc. RWD combined with low profile tyres means very little traction in bad conditions. Had a few bum clenching moments in bad weather also
engine can flood really easily. basically if you start it up to move it off the drive and back again for example. dont turn the engine off! Mazda are renowned for dumping fuel in from cold to get the engine up to temp quick to comply with EU emissions. (we had a mazda 6 that would flood easily too)

the good old AA or RAC will hook up their jump leads and crank the motor till it fires. this can strain the starter motor so look for a weak starter if you are looking for one

twin rotor dual spark plug set will cost you around £100 for 4 plugs!

never had any issues with engine wear but mine only had about 60K on it when i sold it




shouldnt have started looking back at my old photos as i want one again


crikey just been looking how much these are going for now!!! I could spend that much on a guitar

BTW dont go for an auto or the 192 version

oh and the alloys tend to corrode as well

[Edited on 18/11/13 by skydivepaul]

[Edited on 18/11/13 by skydivepaul]

I nearly bought one last week off ebay for £500 bin with hot start issues and a bmw 3l diesel engine/box for £400 with ecu etc

Unfortunately, till the garage extension gets done, it'll have to wait

Friend had one, really nice car, but now fairly worthless. Good basis for a project as was discussed on here fairly recently. Don't buy after 2006 as rfl is approx. £460

ATB

Simon

there are plenty of cheap rx8's out there but the VED tax band is as high as thay go and i have had report that an ls7 fits for more power and econ but your stuck with the tax band for its life

RX8 is(was:-) imo an abysmal product. Even Teenage boys laughed at those.
It pleased No One and consequently sales were truly poor, except perhaps inna UK where anything can be sold on :-0
Best thing about it was the goofy 'third' door.
IF you consider that enough motivation to buy an underperforming, overpriced, orphaned dinosaur of a vehicle.

Yawn

Don't Do it!!

My wife had one, flooded the damn thing on a number of occasions which lead to a number of coil packs giving up, and a lot of fuel corroding the CAT.

So £2k later, we got rid!!

I agree with skydivepaul, well apart from the don't buy a 192 bit!
Had mine for 3 years as my daily, I only do about 4-5k a year (trip to work is only 3.5 miles)
It has only sort of let me down once, took about 5mins to hot start on a hot day and had a bit of a misfire when pushed. New plugs cured this.
It's an 04 plate 192 with 48k on the clock.
At the end of the day your getting a lot of car for not a lot in the grand scheme of things so therefore don't stand to loose a lot should it go pop....

Would an engine swap not put you on to the non emissions based tax system and effectively half your tax? Or get a Q plate...

Great car for an interim

Lots of fun, only get engine problems if not maintained properly (quite a lot are seeing 100k+)

Look up cold and hot starting issues, get it compression tested and have some fun!

18mpg is what my friend got from his

I know a couple of folk who maintained their 8's to the letter and still ended up with hot start issues around 60K. Just not worth the gamble unless it's free IMO. Was offered a mint one for £500 with hot start issues, from a friend, and decided to pass!

[Edited on 19/11/13 by coyoteboy]

quote:

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Originally posted by morcus
Would an engine swap not put you on to the non emissions based tax system and effectively half your tax? Or get a Q plate...

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