Mazda RX8

[Mike Scib]

Well just had to tax the S2000.....

Thoughts, are they really as unreliable as they are made out to be?

Really like the idea of the 2+2 for the two little ones plus on paper its still very similar to my S2000 which I enjoy.

Just not convinced I could bring myself to buy one

[pete]

Pal had one and his view was they weren't nearly fast enough for the amount of fuel and oil they used.

[StiflerMR2]

I've had 2 and I loved them both, not mind bendingly quick and there is no torque. I don't mean no torque compaired to X car, I mean no torque at all

The problem you'll have is finding one that's not been abused and has been maintained correctly. They do take a bit to keep right and when prices plummeted a few years back they became available to enthusiast who could afford to buy but not necessarily keep (I know that sounds awful and very pretentious!).

I took both mine on track and they were great (for my non drifting low ability levels). Very planted and confidence inspiring.

Head out for a drive in one and see what you think, the noise at 9.5k revs is pretty special. If you go pre 06 tax should only be £245 as opposed to £460 for the later ones.

[Andy G]

Get ready to buy a lot of oil! Keep the s2000. A great track shed.

[jimbo]

Brother had one from new. Needed a new engine after 12 months when compression test confirmed it was buggered. And he was fastidious with the recommended running in and general engine care procedures. My 111s spanking him on a journey was what caused him to sell it for the z4m. Sounds awesome, but not quick enough. And the fuel and oil consumption is just ridiculous. When he lost 19K at trade in time you can see why it left something of a mazda bad taste in the mouth. Parts are expensive as well. In short, keep the s2000

Sent from my GT-I8750 using Board Express

[highlander]

A very good friend of mine has his for sale on EBay at the moment,think he's 2nd owner,30K with Mazda service history,2006.
I've driven it a few times and whilst I didn't like the experience the car's in very good condition,no faults and apart from oil & fuel has never needed any repairs.He's just replaced the front discs & pads,not sure about rears but maybe done recently.Don't think he'll be hard to deal with as he's already bought another car.
Car's garaged all year round in Thurso,contact Doug 01847 896646 after 5 pm( baker...sleeps all day!!)

[Homer]

I've currently got one and couldn't recommend a mate to get one. Mine has had poor compression for over 2 years. It starts fine from cold but wont start when hot which makes stopping to top up with fuel or going to the shops somewhat frustrating and makes it impossible to sell, plan has been to run it till it finally dies and get an Elise but the thing keeps going. Rust is a big issue mine has bubbles appearing everywhere, and recently required some welding to pass an MOT. As everyone else mentioned they're not that quick they use a lot of petrol and oil.

[Doc883]

The run-out R3 Version addressed a lot of the issues on the early cars and I had a brief spell with a 59 plated version. They dropped the 192hp version so the R3 is only available in 231hp spec.
Here's one very similar to the on I had. 2009 model with 17k miles for £9500 so a lot of car for the money if you can live with the economy and £460 a years road tax.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... 09/1634321

[highlander]

Think you'll probably get the 2006 in Thurso for £2.5K...it's on Pistonheads someplace.

[ClarkyBoy]

there is a cheap one on trackscotland right now...

also.. see this thread for info on them

http://trackscotland.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5714

[gorrie]

I ran a Prodrive version for a year when I sold my Elise. It was only 3 yrs old and had no problems at all. I found that every second fuel fill, it needed around 250mls of oil. The oil is not the issue... the fuel consumption is though.
It was fine on a run, but seemed to consume at around the same rate when sat in traffic, so mpg on commutes in to town were awful. It handled pretty well on track.

I've thought about picking up another since the prices are silly... but thinking back, even at 3yrs old it was beginning to rust in places, and there are a lot out there which have had compression issues.

[Mike Scib]

Cheers guys

As said I like the idea of the car being a 2+2 for the little ones every now and again, but really not sure I could face the "I told you so"

RX8 with a S2000 engine.....