The Mazda RX-8 is a car we’ve personally tried to like many times before, but there are just so many red flags. But this one we ran across for sale on Facebook Marketplace might be more questionable than most, or it could be your dream ride. We’ll present our take but by the end of this article you might decide this is the car for you.
Check out a Mazda RX-7 with four rotors and all-wheel drive.
There’s a strong cult following for rotary-powered cars and they can be downright fanatical. We’re not saying that’s a bad thing; we get it, rotary engines are cool things. But even among the rotary diehards there are many who aren’t so hot about the RX-8, although a lot of times they don’t want to openly admit that.
When it comes to this RX-8, let’s just say there are probably some good reasons it’s listed for a mere $2,000. First of all, it wears a rather… interesting body kit. That sort of thing was cool like 20 years ago, but today, not as much, especially this one.
Worse is what appears to be Bondo on the body. Why is it there? Has this Mazda been in an accident? That’s something Anyone interested in it should be asking.
Moving to the interior, it looks to be in good shape, other than the dash crackling. However, the steering wheel is triangular and is wrapped in electrical tape or something we can’t quite figure out just from the photos. That’s got to make driving the RX-8 awkward, although we suspect it was done as an homage to the rotary engine. Like we said, it’s basically a cult.
There’s also a strange little switch in the center console just in front of the automatic transmission gear selector. Is that for NOS? Underglow lights?
The owner says this Mazda RX-8 has “trouble” but it turns on and stops. We see a check engine light illuminated in the gauge cluster, so that might be the issue.
Would you go with this cheap RX-8 or is this a hard pass?
See this car’s listing here.
Images via Renato de Maiu/Facebook Marketplace