After much thought since I first saw this thread, I was very interested in this idea. So I was set to find a set. Most fabric RX-8 seats were around $150 and the leather electric ones go up to $250. Since my car came with leather seats from the previous owner, I was only interested in the leather seats. As I'm still studying, $$$ is always a factor lol
About mid August, I found a chop shop trying to get rid of stock seats. And there it sat, in front of my eyes, a set of full-black leather electric RX-8 seats. No tear but only one scratch on the passenger rotary-esque headrest. The backside of the seats were plastic, but had some damage, nothing to actually put me off. Also, the driver side seat reclining button was missing. They priced it at $180 due to the damages and was guaranteed a fit on my Mazda2. I was left with a dilemma.
My biggest issue was getting rid of my factory seats. After 2 days and some of my mediocre bargaining skills, I brought the seats home with only $120 out of my pocket. The very next day, brought the seats to a metal fabricating shop to get the railings done with only a cost of $50. The seats were installed and they are brilliant. Slightly lower than factory seats but I'm slowly getting used to the inconvenience. Later that week, sold my old seats at $105. With a total spending of $65, was well worth the hassle.
