After spending £25,000 on purchasing the 231ps model, from new with factory fitted extras I was let down time after time. 16000 miles-catalytic convertor packed in(warranty claim) 1st mot-newbrake discs required all round due to corrosion. Paint rubbing off interior sills due to bodyflex(warranty claim) Window winder mechanism replaced(warranty claim) 23,000 miles and 3 months out of warranty auto leveliing headlights packed in (£800 for sensor mechanism-Mazda paid 70% of bill as good will) 25,000 miles and oil cooler pipes started leaking oil-£1300 to repair (later refunded by Mazda when they issued a recall) lucky I found out about the recall as I sold the car after the repair.
On the plus side the car was great fun to drive, but let down by its reliability. Also running costs are quite high.
For the best drive(at least in the dry),the traction control needs completely turning off, the car really drive well with this turned off and has got to be one of the best handling cars available. In the wet it can be a bit twitchy, but a change of tyres does help. The original Bridgestones are fantastic in the dry, but drain your confidence when its wet. A change to Pirelli zero rossos resulted in high grip levels whether it was dry or raining and also outlasted the Bridgestones.
While Mazda claim a possible 25mpg, I very rarely saw above 20mpg and on one rather quick trip on the Isle of Man fuel consumption dropped to under 15 mpg and only 150 miles on a full tank. Apalling consumption, but guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.
I also suffered a front tyre puncture, no spare wheel and to cap it all the AA couldn't tow the car from the front, had to take the wheel to the tyre shop for a replacement.
Dealer servicing is a must, but comes at a price. For instance at 36,000mile/3year service the sparkplugs require replacing. You guessed it...Mazda make their own special plugs for the RX8 and at £160 for a set of four they should be extra special.
Personally if you are considering one of these, I would shop around for the best new price and get rid of the car before the warranty runs out, but be prepared for massive depreciation.
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