Honda Accord or Mazda RX8

Sebastian Dangerfield

Im buying a car in the 4-5 grand range. I was only considering an Accord, but then I realised I could get an RX8 for that price. Now Im leaning towards the latter.

Any advise?

colm_mcm

Do your homework on the rx, there are downsides.
Even a quick google will show a lot.

Supergurrier

Two very different cars

jimgoose

Two cars I like. The Accord is a solid, unburstable oul' horse that won't disgrace you anyhere, and the RX8 is a revvy, thirsty, exotic little beast with a Wankel rotary engine that will terrify mechanics and possibly your bank manager should it prove grumpy and tempramental, and that is quite possible in that price range.

Sebastian Dangerfield

Well I do about 5000 miles a year and am looking for something low maintainence, so looks like Honda for me.
Ive just put thousands in repairs into a BMW so 'unburstable' sounds good to me!
Cheers

Ferris

In before MM :P, OP the search button is your friend.

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

OK, I had time to search and here it is copied and pasted. NB - Since I posted this, Mazda have since said to use mineral oil as opposed to synthetic. Also, I don't have the MPS any more



It's a great car but you really do have to be an enthusiast to own one. They are not for the fickle hearted, but by the time I sold mine, I had it set up like a normal car other than the mpg.



By that I mean it started first time every time with no hesitation at all. I did have trouble with this issue for a year and half of ownership but I sorted it myself. I did some research, bought all the parts I needed and fitted them myself.



2003, 2004 and early 2005 models came with crap starter motors. Mazda couldn't have done a better job at almost destroying the reputation of the rotary because of this. Once an RX8 has the upgraded starter motor, upgraded battery, ignition coils, HT leads and the hot leading plugs (RE7C-L), and has no compression issues, it will be fine.



A well looked after example will have very few issues if any. Your best bet is to buy one owned by an entusiast i.e. someone on irishrotary.com or the likes.



With regard to oil consumption, the harder you drive it, the more oil it will use. It burns oil as part of the combustion cycle in order to keep the rotor tips lubricated. When a rotary is starved of oil, the tips aren't lubricated and this causes them to fail hence compression issues. It's not what some make it out to be by saying "oh jaysus ya have to put more oil in than petrol". Simply not true. If you're looking at one and are wondering if it's been taken care of, the owner will keep a bottle of oil in the boot or in the boot access panel.



Try to get a compression test done on the one you're really thinking of buying. Drive a few of them and settle on the one you're happiest with. Thing is, there's only a few rotary engine compression tester machines in Ireland which all the mazda dealers here have to share as apparently, they're wicked expensive. You should book a few days in advance with your nearest dealer to make sure they have it on site when you show up.



They are very nice cars to work on, albeit a little cramped in the engine bay but once the engine is cold, nothing to worry about except if you're doing an oil change.



Unlike normal cars, the 8 uses 2 types of plugs - 2 leading (RE7C-L) and 2 trailing (RE9B-T). To buy them from a dealer is rape but I used get mine from the US for $80 + P&P.



I never bothered with calculating MPG when I had it, nor do I bother with the MPS. I just drive how I want and fill up when I have to. "It's nice to have money like that" you say? Well I don't, I just think that calculating mpg takes the fun out of owning a performance car. And if it's a performance car you're after you should get used to this way of thinking too.



The claimed figure of 25mpg is in a simulated environment. If you're expecting to get that in the real world with either the 192 or 232 models, stop thinking that right now



I must say, I really, really miss my RX8. The MPS is great but since it's a big saloon with a 2.3 piston engine, it's not as light or nimble as the 8. I miss not having to slow down in order to take bends



If you are interested in buying one, I would be more than happy to help by answering any questions you have.



Here's a video showing the difference between the original starter and upgraded starter. The starter used in this was manufactured for MazdaRotaryParts but the OEM Mazda one is identical:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt8_7dl98cY

scamalert

theres at least dozen topics on rx8,but when its all broken down accord is way better long term,get vtec engine and youll be trouble free for most of the cars life,as its no1 engine in the world,for a reason.
as rx8 is nice sports car and all,but you cant do short drives with it,like to the shop and back in 5 mins.Engine has always to warm up,also it drinks oil,needs good maintenance,and eventually most of them require rebuild at some stage,early models had lots of troubles with alternator being to weak,and other issues also best buy is 230hp ones as other tend to give more troubles.
Saying that i believe there are people who know all ins and outs of the car,and how to maintain,that it would go well as any other car,but involves lot more time and money,then upkeep of a honda.

jimgoose

scamalert wrote: »

theres at least dozen topics on rx8,but when its all broken down accord is way better long term,get vtec engine and youll be trouble free for most of the cars life,as its no1 engine in the world,for a reason.
as rx8 is nice sports car and all,but you cant do short drives with it,like to the shop and back in 5 mins.Engine has always to warm up,also it drinks oil,needs good maintenance,and eventually most of them require rebuild at some stage,early models had lots of troubles with alternator being to weak,and other issues also best buy is 230hp ones as other tend to give more troubles.
Saying that i believe there are people who know all ins and outs of the car,and how to maintain,that it would go well as any other car,but involves lot more time and money,then upkeep of a honda.

In short, it is the four-wheeled RG500 Gamma, a.k.a. "Satan"!

scamalert

no in short as Ferris said its enthusiasts car .Joy with huge expenses.

jimgoose

scamalert wrote: »

no in short as Ferris said its enthusiasts car .Joy with huge expenses.

That's what I mean.

Ferris

scamalert wrote: »

no in short as Ferris said its enthusiasts car .Joy with huge expenses.

Its not that expensive to own if you don't do many miles. Also I do a lot of the preventative maintenance myself which is pretty easy to do to be fair. Having said that there are specialists in Dublin and Gorey who will look after one for you.

In saying that if the OP wants a coupe with vtec why not get an Integra DC5, coupe styling and sportiness with reliability.

MetzgerMeister

A car you won't get bored with is never painless or cheap. I don't think I need to say which I would choose from these 2 :rolleyes: