Hey guys, well my friends looking to buy a used rx8 for around (most likely below) 20k.
Doing some research it seems many people have made it to the 100k mark on the same engine with little to know issues. Gas mileage is an issue. Most report about 15mpg. He does not mind much about gas mileage anyway tho.

Anyway my question is, what are comparable cars in this price range? He wants something around the same speed as an s2k, and about the same handling ability. BUT he wants to be able to seat more than 2. He does not really like evo/sti but I think he may want RWD, but if not no big deal.

Just trying to get ideas

 

Go for it! Nice car!

 

If thats what your buddy is looking for the RX-8 is as close as hes gonna get.

The 8 isnt as quick as the S, handles about the same and weighs a little more but it does have a softer ride + more quiet on the inside and 2+2 seats

Oh yeah and tell him to prepare for adding quarts of oil every 2nd fill up.

 

A quart every few thousand miles is more like it.

 

The RX8 is a nice car. I drove one back to back with the S2000 and liked it. I did not like the interior. However, it feels like it rotates pretty well, and if your buddy is interested in autocross, the rx8 is the car to have (stock).

And the rotary really isn't much of a problem these days. Even old NA rotaries regularly hit 180-200k miles. I'm past 130k on a boosted rotary from the 80s that regularly sees autox events. Top off 1 qt of oil every 1000 miles or so due to design (and a good amount of leakage), and it's good to go.

 

Great car, can be had for around 13 000$ used....a steal!

 

exactly! why the poor resale?

 

Maybe just a HUGE exaggeration? An S2000 is no different with the amount of oil consumption, except the rotary is meant to consumer oil and the S2000 isnt.

 

Tell him not to buy an 04' That was the first year out, and they made a few fixes in 05'. With the new flash gas mileage isn't bad (around 20 mpg), and the previous flooding issue is largely gone. Get a stick. Do not turbo it. Rotaries react poorly to turboing (especially the Greddy unit from personal experience). NA it will run for 100K+ miles.

A car that the RX8 has been compared to is the Infiniti G35. But that won't give him the lightweight feeling of the S2K. It is a 2+2 though in nearly the same price range.

 

my g/f has an 06 6speed shinka edition. its a nice car, its comfortable yet sporty. it handles the bumps on the road well, but its still stiff enough to have fun on the back roads or an auto x. it could use more power though. the s2000 does everything a bit better than the rx8, but if he wants something close to the s2000's performance, back seats, and rwd there is nothing else i would recommend.