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Originally Posted by Adam
Question for the original poster. You said that you are also considering an S2000 and Rx8. Assuming you also visit those forums are there ever any reports of engine failures on those vehicles or is that completely unheard of? Just curious.
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to all you who have continued to respond to my posts - a big thank you.
to answer the above - i would say engine failure on the s2000s is practically non-existant. I think those things are about as bullet proof of a motor as you can have. I have never owned an s2000, but when i just graduated from law school and bought my "first" new car on my lowly gov't atty salary - i bought a 99 prelude SH. it had 200hp...VTEC...a lot like the s2000 only in a heavier car... i was 26 then, and drove that car HARD. i am NOT exaggerating when I saw I probably redlined the car every shift! okay, a little exaggeration, but I drove that thing hard. drove it from new to 55000 miles and sold it. it felt/drove like it did the day i bought it when i sold it.i think the honda vtec motors are pretty solid.
RX8s - different story. a fair amount of motor failures there. some flat out die, others experience power loss, or other odd problems and htey replace them. if you know much about rotaries - I do, as I used to have an rx7 way way back in high school - the motors are not really easy to work on. the way they are constructed, if a seal (such an apex seal - which is on the tips of the rotors) or a seal that lines the "pieces" of the housings, or a coolant leak develops - you pretty much have guaranteed a motor replacement - and to take the motor apart it MUST come out.... but you can get a brand new rotary engine, installed - for probably close to or under $3000. if you did have to go down the motor replacement route on an rx8 there are quite a few shops that can port them, beef up the rotors, seals, etc and make a more powerful and much more sturdy engine. the downside is rotaries are not that common so finding those shops is harder - and even the dealerships sometimes are clueless as to how to diagnose and fix problems.
bottom line - even an rx8 is more reliable in terms of flat out engine failure than the boxster. the s2000 is like a civic in terms of reliability.
the rx8 is a neat car. it has a very cool sound and a 9000 redline. but like the s2k it has no torque and it feels a tad slower than the s2k even at redline. i thin in a flat out drag race - which is not my goal here - but for sake of comparisons, the s2k would beat out the rx8 easily. the rx8s real strong point is that it is more livable than the s2k. more roomy even up front, rear seats give it that "pracitcality" that a 911 would have - nothing really practical, but you can stuff some bags or small kids back there for short trips. the rx8's dash reminds me a bit of the porsche - a big huge analog tach - the way it should be. very sporty feeling car. albeit a bit soft. the suspension allows too much body roll in stock form. the rx8 - if you added a set of coilovers or high performance shocks/springs/sway bars, with good tires woudl probably do a good job keeping up with the boxsters in the twisties. and you could stick two kids in teh back when you took it around town for a drive or to the store.
the big problem is that since this is a third toy car - i'm not really focused on getting something ultra practical. i have a brand new MDX as our "family" car. i also have an older, but well maintained and paid off beater for me to drive locally for short trips or to commute to/from work. it's an older boxy volvo... 130k on the clock but i have had it since almost new and have maintained it well. if you know those old true volvos - they go forever. my parens had one that went 500k...
original motor and tranny! it's a T5 with a cat back exhaust and a suspension upgrade.
IPD sway bars and it honestly is pretty fast. gobs of torque. it would blow a base model or S boxster off the line. in the turns it is an absolute pig and NO FUN. but it runs and runs, is paid for, and still looks good - and is a great commuter car.
the boxster or s2k, or rx8 would be purely for fun. i'd probably wind up using it part time to commute to work.
i've HONEST thought about selling my volvo - i could maybe get 5000 privatelyf or it and then just buying a new sedan. like an is350, 335, etc.. but i'd be spending much much more than 20k to get something that would be practical AND fun and reliable/new. i looked at the TL type S...a good compromise car...and good lease deals..but honestly, it just didn't get me excited. i dn't like my volvo..but the prospect of spending even 400-500/month on a lease for a car like that, or even an new is350....didn'tm ake me "want" to do it. i used to have a high hp volvo S60R...modded...it was as fast or faster than a stock E46 M3..b/c i overtook one and outran him on a straightaway at buttonwillow the one time i tracked it.
chip, dp, exhaust, springs..blah blah blah... i got bored of it and sold it. i'd done the big hp sedan thing and it jsut doesn't excite me. i know what i really want is a small sporty car. i've drien s2000s, rx8s, and boxsters. of all of them, the one I realy really enjoyed the most was the boxster. i did enjoy and like both the s2k and rx8...but none of them had the same feel as the porsche.
i'm not blind to the financial realities though. i'm comfortable spending 15-20k, but that's about it. i do alright financially, but i'm also a married father of three working as a gov't lawyer. decent money, great pension, good benefits, but i'm not rich either. not the private practice high roller driving a 911 turbo.
but i'm home at 5.
life is all about trade offs right??
anyway. buying a used car as a toy is something i've decided to do - with approval of my CFO - the wife. but i agreed to the 15-20k limit. if i can find a nice used boxster in that range that I COULD warranty - maybe i'll do it.
i know in that price range i could get a 2005 S2000 with 20-35k miles still under factory warranty. the same rx8 of that vintage, fully loaded with nav, leather, full OEM body kit. is probably like 15-17k.
here are examples.:
RX8. cool color (at least on the rx8 it is) fully loaded. msrp was probably around 34-35k when new. with some negotiating, you'd be down to 15k or so.
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=p&car_id=247223542&dealer_id=62875809&car_year=2005&model=RX8&num_records=100&systime=&make2=&start_year=2005&keywordsfyc=&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&keywordsrep=&engine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&awsp=false&search_type=both&distance=200&marketZipError=false&search_lang=en&make=MAZDA&keywords_display=&color=&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&min_price=&drive=&default_sort=priceDESC&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&sort_type=priceDESC&address=92591&advanced=&end_year=2006&doors=&transmission=&max_price=&cardist=56
s2000
tons of these. you can probably make offers all day long all weekend long until someone gave their car away
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=p&car_id=247441003&dealer_id=62894735&car_year=2005&model=RX8&num_records=100&systime=&make3=&make2=HONDA&start_year=2005&keywordsfyc=&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&keywordsrep=&engine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&awsp=false&search_type=both&distance=200&marketZipError=false&model2=S2000&search_lang=en&make=MAZDA&keywords_display=&color=&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&min_price=&drive=&default_sort=priceDESC&max_mileage=&style_flag=2&sort_type=priceDESC&address=92591&advanced=&end_year=2006&doors=&transmission=&max_price=&cardist=52
BUT... NONE OF THESE are a boxster.
after having driven my dads around quite a bit - the feel and the sound and the overall experience is far more fun in the porsche.
i guess i need to take a long hard look at the budget and what I really want. i know i can find a nice boxster in my budget..but i may be nervious about repairs. it COULD be possible to find somoene selling an 00-01 or 02 that HAS AN EXTENDED warranty on it that is transferable..it won't last the full 5 years, but it might be there for a year or two to give me some peace of mind.
or wait a little bit longer before i buy.