Should I buy a used RX 8? Please discuss!!

why do you want it? What is drawing you toward buying it? What else are you considering?

Well, at the moment I only have a 56 Corsa 1.4 so I want something a bit sexier. Also looking at Celicas but from what I've read the back seats have minimal space and I am nominated driver sometimes! MX5 was an option but space still an issue and I think it's a bit of a chicks car and (even though I am one!) I want something a bit different.

all the cars you mentioned are likely to have small back seats... is there any reason your looking at tiny cars?

Yeah, I know but from reviews the RX-8 4dr isn't too bad. I'm only small so I don't want anything big, I tend to road rage at people in big cars, lol. I just want something a bit more original but not too showy or common. I also don't want to be a woman driver driving a cliche woman's car! I need something cool but not too cool and preferably not too harsh on the old carbon footprint! Not much to ask then?!!!

had test drive in a rx-8 the other day theres loads of room in back and its a great car

lol, you'd not like me then... I drive an '85 Crown Victoria ;) from what I've seen reading the other threads on RX series cars, Rotary motors are garbage on fuel milage... which probably means thier emissions aren't the greatest either... I've been looking at Ford Fusions... nice cars... nice fit and finish too them... they're a little common, but in a functional way... You could get a Lincoln version, they'd be less common and have a little more... Charm to them lol. plus they'd have large seats.

I'll be honest, I kinda hate the rx8s. I'm not a huge fan of how they look and the rotary just doesn't make sense as far as a daily driver is concerned. Horrible gas mileage and reduced reliability, just doesn't work in daily driver as far as I'm concerned. You mentioned you want to have a small carbon footprint, well then the RX8 is not the way to go. (The rotary's eat gas like a big v6 or a small v8... they say 1.3 l but they only count the displacement of one side of each rotor. If you're familiar with the engine you know each rotor has three sides which under go the same motion so in actuality the 1.3l rotary is more like 3.9l There is no reason a small sports coupe should get the same mileage as my 3.5 ton SUV.) Your network is 'West Midlands' and I have no clue what you have available since I'm assuming that's UK? I'd look at the Subarus though if you want convenience, somewhat eco-friendly, and sportiness... Granted they look like an econobox... If you want a compact sport sedan pretty much every make has something right now... I'd recommend looking at what available and test drive 'em all to see what you want.

i agree with the last guy i say go with a subaru WRX impreza, not the STI though, turbocharged four cylinder, not terrible on gas and it has four doors with room in the back seat plus its not you typical girl car. thats my opinion.

ok, listen, forget EVERYTHING Adam said about the 'size' of the engine, it complete bull crap and he obviously doesn't know the real workings of a 4 Stroke enegine. A rotary engine that is listed as 1.3 litres of displacement is just that, 1.3 liters. the capacity of an engine is rated as the amount of air it can displace during one complete cycle. if that wasn't the case, a 5.7 liter chev V8 would be a 45.6 liter engine (based on what Adam said). The reality of what you want to know is, it this car reliable? does it get good gas mileage? can i get my shopping done with it and also take road trips with a friend etc....? It's true, it's not THAT good on fuel, but it's not due to the 'size' of the engine, it's due to the design - the 2001 version produced between 189BHPand 247BHP (depends on where the vehicle is sold). producing this kind of power from 1.3 liters of displacement will always use more fuel (i.e a 2005 subaru legacy GT 2.5 liter TURBO makes 250BHP and 250 ft/lbs of torque). A notable issue wth any and ALL rotary power vehicles is oil consumption. Due to the nature of the design of the rotary engine, they all 'burn' oil. It's not uncommon for an RX8 (or any other rotary power vehicle) to use 1 to 2 liters of oil within 3000 miles/5000KM. If you REALLY want to know about the car, go to http://www.consumerreports.org and sign up and you can research any and all cars sold within north america. Please don't base your purchase one what someone here has said, you decide for yourself what you want in a vehicle and research it. your choice is basically half chance, and so is everyone elses ( that applies to opinions too). if you have more questions - click on my name and message me.

to add to this, I'm a licensed automotive mechanic and have raced, detailed, built/restored and done pretty much everything there is to do with a vehicle.... i'm pretty much a highly educated red neck.... i live and breathe ANYTHING with an engine!

why dont you look at a used WRX or even a EVO? are those to flashy for you? rx-8 are expensive to maintain in their lifetime so id stay away from them. what about a v6 accord coupe, toyota supra, nissan 240sx. oooo i got a perfect one for you what about a nissan 350z?

Fred has a point... Usually I wouldn't endorse a Honda... but the '09 Accord coupe is a Decent looking car. albeit larger than an RX-8. they aren't TOO flashy and not everyone has one yet. All I've heard about them so far is good things. (as long as you get the coupe though... the 4-door is boring) can't say I'm a huge fan of the 350Z though... too many of them around, and I just don't like thier styling lol

First off, you need to read my post a little closer...My advise was to forget the RX8 if she is truly concerned with her carbon footprint, and to test drive any car she's looking at to see what fit her. And you come along and claim that what I say is wrong? Well forget the he said she said, lets look at numbers(see below), they don't lie. You may have noted the parenthesis around my statement, meaning it is pointless to this discussion, just irrelevant background information. Secondly, you may want to know a little more about he rotary because it seems like you really have only a basic knowledge of them. They measure only the displacement of one side of the rotor, you can compare this to the static displaced for the rotary engines. The rules that apply to piston engines don't apply to rotatory. Here there is actually a really easy way to figure this out. Go on the internet and look up a picture of the rotor in the block. The rotor is 3.1 inches deep, use that as a reference to figure the volume of that rotor, multiply by two for the two rotors... What volume did you come up with?... (For everyone else you can do the same thing. You'll likely find the picture where one side the rotor is practically on the case and the other two sides are fairly open. You'll note the other two sides are nearly triangular with one concave side and two convex sides. It's easiest for this purpose to treat these as flat triangles, it's slightly larger that that but hey we'll figure it on the low end... so it looks like a triangle ~6" base and ~2.5" height. Simple geometry (.5*b*h) give you the area of each triangle... ~15 in^2 area for the two triangles multiply by the depth depth of 3.1" gives you 46.5 in^2 per rotor. times two rotors gives you a volume of 93 in^3. Divide by 61 c.i. per liter... You get about 1.5L for static displacement. Hmm... you mean the engines dynamic displacement is less than it's instantaneous displacement? No, simply put they bend the rules when they measure displacement for a rotary , like i said. If you want to compare it to a piston engine it'd be that they only count every third pistons displacement. They do this because in a rotary what would be 'pistons' are the rotors and they have 3 compressing sides, unlike in a piston engine where they only have one side so they count only one side. hence a '1.3' l engine that act exactly like a 3.9l in terms of power and consumption. The benefit of the rotary is reduced weight and size at the expense of efficiency and reliability.) For more accurate numbers for static displacement, you'd need to know rough equations for profile of the rotor and the housing and double integrate to get your area and multiply by 3.1 and then add the volume of any recesses. God I miss ('# of cylinders' * ('stroke' * ( pi * ('bore'/2)^2))) (And for reference if you measure a piston engine statically you get half the dynamic displacement plus the combustion chamber volume.) I apologize if it's offensive, but I hate being called out by people who only have a base knowledge and don't question what they're told. I'm sure you heard from a reliable source that it's 1.3l but you should know it's only that if you like to play with numbers to make your product look better. (Member SAE International)

I currently have an RX-8 and I love it, but it also doesn't really follow all of your criteria. In the past I had a Nissan Maxima and it was highly dependable, easy on the gas, and fun to drive with plenty of space. The newer Maxima's also fall into the sexy category. This might not be as exciting as an Evo or STI, but I believe it might would be a good car for you to look into. Good Luck with the car hunt.

Thanks for all your suggestions. I took them all on board, considered other cars but then still wanted one! It was delivered yesterday and it's f*ckin' ace!!

Congrats.

hope you enjoy the 8, just remember to red line it once a while, and always check the oil.

Congrats Stacy! I am sure you will love your new car even if it gives you fits now and then! As far a gas.. depends a lot on how hard you drive. I tend to be a bit heavy on the gas pedal, so I am going thru a lot of gas... I have learned the hard way NOT to start this car and shut it off without letting it warm up.... but if you do it there is a way to get it running without having to have it towed to the garage and charged hundreds of dollars.... just ask the Car Guru's, they know their stuff! I have had a few problems with mine in the past year or so, but with help here, you will be just fine! Enjoy your new car!!! It's a blast to drive!

rotaries are not inefficient at all. sure they use more fuel but as someone stated its because of the design. and as far as reliability. thats straight up bulllshit. any rotor has to well maintained and cared for and it will last a long time. its a car for the lovers cars. and as far as the rx8 goes it a blast drive.

trust me stacy u will love it ,the thrill of a life time just keep on top of the oil and you hav a blast

Have u had any major problems with the car since u had it because I'm looking in to get one?

The back seat looks small, but with the suicide rear doors getting in and out is easy and once seated it has good leg and head room . Comfortable for a small space. I'm 5-10 and 165 and fit no problem.

I had a question about the RX-8 since I was looking into getting one to. Are parts harder to get for a rotary engine. I only heard rumors and speculation about the engine not being made anymore. Would I have trouble keeping up with maintanace or replacement parts in Canada? And would it comfortably seat someone who is 6'4 In height?

Ok so help me out should I get one as my first car