33 replies to this topic

[TheRealVXed]

So I will shortly be getting my RX8 back from the ex and can't decide what to do with it. I will be hardly using the car and am worried about the battery dropping charge over the week and then flooding the engine every time I come to start the thing. I am secretly considering chopping it in for an 80s Land Rover Defender 90 SWB diseasel, but am baulking at the price of the things. The RX8 has just ticked over 55k miles as well. So what would you do? I the RX8 and all the toys, but don't want to kill it by rarely driving the thing, plus a big 4x4 appeals for towing etc. Dilemma!!

Edited by VXed, 02 October 2012 - 03:17 PM.

[wantsum]

I was surprised how the price has fallen on the RX8's , went looking at cars a few weeks ago 54 plate rex in red with red leather interior 30,000 miles brilliant condition under 2k, would have bought but having owned one a while back thought better of it. Would get the 4x4.

[fezzasus]

I know someone who might want the RX8 if you're getting rid. Although i'm not sure you'd want to part ex it for their bora!

[Nev]

Maybe turn it into a track/race car - some good potential in them in my opinion. Just stripping them out and adding a supercharger can make it quite a good car apparently. It has some good basic things going for it like 50/50 weight distribution, very revvy engine for a production car of its price bracket and lots and lots of after market bolt on kits from Japan. I was watching one round castle coombe a few weekends ago and was very impressed.

Edited by Nev, 02 October 2012 - 04:29 PM.

[Bargi]

sell it and buy the landy

[slindborg]

Aside from fuel and oil, are there any scary running costs with an RX8 if they are 'that' cheap?

[Mangham54]

Aside from fuel and oil, are there any scary running costs with an RX8 if they are 'that' cheap?

worn rotor tips that require a good rebuild otherwise the car starts to struggle to start and looses torque (nother that there is much to lose).

[Bumblebee]

The Landy gets my vote

[ghand]

Aside from fuel and oil, are there any scary running costs with an RX8 if they are 'that' cheap?

worn rotor tips that require a good rebuild otherwise the car starts to struggle to start and looses torque (nother that there is much to lose).

Is that a very expensive job as they are giving them away and they look like a very nice motor. Is it a 100k ish mile issue ?

[Mangham54]

Aside from fuel and oil, are there any scary running costs with an RX8 if they are 'that' cheap?

worn rotor tips that require a good rebuild otherwise the car starts to struggle to start and looses torque (nother that there is much to lose).

Is that a very expensive job as they are giving them away and they look like a very nice motor. Is it a 100k ish mile issue ?

When depends on how well it has been looked after. A couple of lads I know hit it at 60k and were quoted around £3k.

[ghand]

The Landy gets my vote

Would get mine if we lived in the jungle, Ban all 4x4 s clogging the roads and car parks ( ok well just the massive ones )

[TheRealVXed]

There are some incredibly scary running costs associated with the RX8. Coil packs are an annual service item on older cars (£250 approx). Rotor tips is mainly an RX7 problem but I would steer clear of an RX8 that has done lots of miles (over 80k). Also stay away from ones with a lot of owners too as they require maintenance at home and forgetting to check the oil at least once a week will kill them in less that 500 miles. Flooding is a general issue so battery condition is very very important as the flooding kills catalytic converters (roughly £1000 for OEM). In ability to start cold will idicate a flooded engine. Inability to start hot indicates compression issues (full engine re-build required). They are cheap, well specced, but the financial pit falls are massive. When you are paying (I got mine for £1600 with 48k on the clock) less than 2k for a superb handling well weighted beast they look like a bargain. They are thirsty as FCUK though! (17mpg on a long run)

[TheRealVXed]

Aside from fuel and oil, are there any scary running costs with an RX8 if they are 'that' cheap?

worn rotor tips that require a good rebuild otherwise the car starts to struggle to start and looses torque (nother that there is much to lose).

Is that a very expensive job as they are giving them away and they look like a very nice motor. Is it a 100k ish mile issue ?

Roteknics near Reading quoted me £3.5 on my old one.... I took it back to the dealer. I had part exed my Swift Sport for it 3days before! Luckily he still had the Swif!

[slindborg]

sod that then, back off the list it remains

[ghand]

Aside from fuel and oil, are there any scary running costs with an RX8 if they are 'that' cheap?

worn rotor tips that require a good rebuild otherwise the car starts to struggle to start and looses torque (nother that there is much to lose).

Is that a very expensive job as they are giving them away and they look like a very nice motor. Is it a 100k ish mile issue ?

When depends on how well it has been looked after. A couple of lads I know hit it at 60k and were quoted around £3k.

3 k, repair bill any time soon on one makes it less inviting

I would keep it , try and keep the mileage not to high and maybe look at a diy rotor replacement when or if needed,otherwise seems you have to give it away which is a shame if its a nice car you like.

The Landy may work in the snow a little better


Edit. having just seen the above ,Bin it


.

Edited by ghand, 02 October 2012 - 05:04 PM.

[Nev]

Surely the engines aren't that hard to DIY extract and split and rebuild? I was looking at the engine bay of one the other day, the engine looked so small that I could just bend over with a spanner and whip it out and pop into a Sainsburys plastic bag in 30 minutes

Edited by Nev, 02 October 2012 - 05:06 PM.

[Boombang]

Didn't one of the TA boys have his RX7 engine completely in bits at Snetterton in 2011, in between rounds? A friend had an RX8 for some time, turbo-charged it and ran some silly power, until it blew up. Think he bought it nearly new, lost many thousands of pounds within a very short space of time (not including the thousands to turbo) then sold it for comparative pennies. The buyer then stripped for bits and fitted the turbo kit to another RX8, rather than repair.

[-Dab-of-Oppo-]

I would get a compression test to confirm it is in good health and keep it considering the amount you paid for it. You could re-coup alot of that £1600 outlay by stripping it out and selling off bits as spares. There is a lot of weight that can be shed from an RX-8 and that weight saving will go along way to improving the allready good performance and handling. I really wish this is what I did with mine and am half considering picking another one up myself just to have as a track day toy. I never flooded mine once in around 40,000 miles, there is no reason to really. If you keep it on a trickle charger and ensure there is enough charge for lights etc before trying to turn it over then you should not have a problem. Also leave your foot on the accelerator as you turn it off before leaving it to stand for a week as this will prevent fuel from pooling in the rotor housings. For track use I would keep it naturally aspirated. Turbos ruin the characteristic linear power delivery and induce a lot of stress and super charging is still big money. Maybe look into peripheral porting or scalloped rotors if you wanted a little more power wise.

Edited by -Dab-of-Oppo-, 02 October 2012 - 06:24 PM.

[hainesy]

I used to have one, lost about 50% of value in just over a year - decrease at the time was mainly due to tax hike on high emission cars and rising fuel prices. Loved the car whilst I had it but wouldn't want one now with road tax and fuel prices. For what youll get for it could be worth keeping as you know the history but if you can find a buyer for the right price I would get rid!

[-Dab-of-Oppo-]

I reckon you'll struggle to sell it anyway. The market is flooded (no pun intended) with them as people are oblivious to what a brilliant bargain of a car they are for the money and are not prepared to see past a few downsides. Add to that the extortionate tax and dire fuel consumption and anyone who does not 'get' the whole ethos of the car will run a mile. Obviously the ignorant pub talk of them needing a rebuild at 60k (generally not so with the Renesis) and the massive oil consumption (hardly) plays a large part to.