I was at my dealer last night picking up my car (woohoo!), when the sales rep told me a horrifying sick story:

A 16 year old kid....son of a diplomat (I live near Washington D.C.), came in with his dad. They picked out an RX-8, bought it at full price in CASH with no haggling, and drove off. Less than TWO DAYS later, the kid had wrapped the car around a tree. He came in and got his tags off his car. The sales reps were surprised and asked him why. He said: "...because I'm getting another one".

They were shocked, but didn't believe him. Sure enough, 48 hours later, he was in with his dad again. His dad bought him a fully loaded RX-8 to the tune of $35,000, again payed in cash.

The reps were, of course, happy about the seventy grand the dad had payed in cars in cash in less than a month, but frankly, disgusted too.

By the time they left, the reps were all asking if they could be adopted:)

Stupid kid. He should be slapped around for mistreating such a vehicle.

Don't put the blame on the kid. Blame the dad. The 8 is too much car for 16 yr old, they do too many stupid things, it's the nautre of the beast. All kids want something cool to drive when they turn 16 but few if any are mature and responsible enough to handle it. This is where the parent needs to step in and if his dad is that rich and can afford to buy him a nice car fine. Buy him a civic or a hyundai at 16, let him beat it and buy him a nice car when he graduates hs or college or at least does something to merit it. Hopefully he would be a little more responsible by then too.

Oh yeah, Congrats on the 8. I'm at 525 miles and break in is killing me but all the looks I get is still great. :)

My god! The father must not care too much about his kids safety!

No kidding.

It's roughly equivalent to handing the kid a handgun with no safety training and telling him to go have fun.

No, I still want to pimp-slap the kid for being stupid. I still blame the father for 99% of it, but that just goes to show what the father should get...

I wonder how much of that money comes from the Taxpayers ..

AS they say, its good to be in politics...

Z

I wonder how much of that money comes from graft . . . depending what country the kid's dad is a diplomat for!

A story

I once rented a car at Laquardia Airport, NYC after a biking trip to Eurpoe. I needed either a Caddy Seville or a van, preferably a van, to move the three bikes back to Philadelphia along with the three of us. I was worried because my brother had reserved an Oldsmobile Cutlass to do this job, which obviously wouldn't work, but I could sort of understand. The cost of the full sized van was the same as the round trip air flight to Ireland, around $600. It was a little high. Anyway, I was all geared up for my best haggling skills, and I got into line behind this Saudi Arabian guy wearing a USS Carolina hat. He had just driven up from Florida at the end of a two month's vacation with his family, and put around ten thousand miles on the rental. He looked as if he had had a lovely time. Anyway, he gets the bill which the counter woman can hardly say. He owed something like $6,400. A large chunk of change to you and me (or at least me). He pulls out his traveller's checks and wishes to write two $5,000 traveller checks for the balance. The counter woman sort of looks at him, and says, politely, that she can't make $4,600 in change. He becomes irate saying that that is the smallest traveller's check that he has, and why can't she make such small piddling change. After some anger from him she suggests that he gives her one traveller's check and puts the $1,400 of small piddling change onto a credit card, which he does, and leaves. I walk up to her and say "Well, I wish that I had the same problem that guy does, but I have too LITTLE money." We both cracked up, and she rented me the van for well under half the normal rate.

It just goes to show that there are parts of this world (for some people) in which the US dollar is just laughable small fiddling change, and two RX 8's for $70,000 isn't even worth batting an eye lash over.

Originally posted by Llathos
No kidding.

It's roughly equivalent to handing the kid a handgun with no safety training and telling him to go have fun.

No, I still want to pimp-slap the kid for being stupid. I still blame the father for 99% of it, but that just goes to show what the father should get...


I will have to disagree here. Yes, the Father should be blamed. Most 16 year olds, including myself at that age, are mature enough to know the difference between right and wrong. Right=drive responsibly. Wrong=drive wrecklessly.

The kid knows, or at least should know, what to do and what not to do with a car.

I have to disagree, just because someone knows what's wrong or right, doesn't mean they will follow it.

"Most" teenagers know the difference, but lack the maturity for coontrolling their impulses. That is why the leading category for accidents remain Teens. I use to work for an Insurance firm, and on average we would receive reports of accidents caused by teens at around 65%-70% per month. Lack of experience and lack of maturity is the main causes for these accidents.

If you are 16 right now, the odds are you will have an accident in the next 3 years are relatively high.

Originally posted by rotarymagic
I Most 16 year olds, including myself at that age, are mature enough to know the difference between right and wrong. Right=drive responsibly. Wrong=drive wrecklessly.

The kid knows, or at least should know, what to do and what not to do with a car.

I disagree...most kids may know right and wrong but the best driving teacher is experience. I know I am a much better driver now then I was at that age...even though I "thought" I knew it all when I first learned to drive. No 16 yo should have this type of car to learn how to drive in. Enuff said.

Flatso, I totally agree with you... Its a huge responsibilty (Im 17) and I dont think that just any kid should get a car... I know (and according to my parents) that Ive shown a great deal of responsibility, thats why they are getting me my 8. They also see how much parents trust me as well, parents who would never dream of letting their kids taking out their cars, trust me because I dont speed, and Im full aware of my surroundings as well as making sure EVERYONE in the car buckles up and I dont turn up the music too loud, they call me grandpa while Im driving, I tell them I rather be a Grandpa while im driving then be dead for good... Many teens dont seem to grasp the concept of this, I dont think they deserve their cars or licenses, because they are not only a threat to themselves, but a threat to all people on the road, walking on sidewalks, and even inside of buildings sometimes.

Maybe someone ran him off the road.
Maybe he had to choose between a tree and the moron that pulled right in front of him.
Maybe he hit a patch of ice.

maybe they are just money laundering?

That only works if the you get the money back after it has been laundered. Mazda and the dealer getting it . . . well, what's the point of that?

We have the same topic come often in my E46 M3 group. Although there are always a few execptions, we all agree that quick powerfull cars and young, inexperienced drivers simply don't mix !

Originally posted by Haze
It just goes to show that there are parts of this world (for some people) in which the US dollar is just laughable small fiddling change, and two RX 8's for $70,000 isn't even worth batting an eye lash over.

True and that coming from Saudi Arabia. I worked a contract there for two years and actually watched a TCN under the direction of the Saudi owner wash down the front stoop of a gas station with...you guessed it...gasoline!. It was about .99 cents a gallon compared with the 2-3 dollars a gallon for the water!

Yes, there is a slight disparity in wealth in all parts of the world, although in some parts the disparity is greater than others. Gasoline huh? I wonder what the EPA would say about that? ;)

Saw something similar in high school. There was a guy who totalled 3 (count 'em, three) new BMWs, two rolled. THEN his dad stopped buying them. Can't remember why, maybe the kid lost his license.

Hey, got to teach him a lesson, right? I kinda knew the kid, a dolt. The parents, well, go figure.

I wish I was this kid...

Hey Llathos, which dealership?
Was it Congressional in Rockville?

The RX8 airbags work. Yippeee!

I just wonder how the kid could get insurance after they had to fork up the money for a new 8.

Who needs insurance? Diplomatic immunity, remember? They can violate any laws they like, including the law requiring drivers to carry insurance.

In the case of not having car insurance, they probably can get away with that.

Diplomatic Immunity, on the whole, is a bit overrated. If you are a Western diplomat in a lesser country, you can get away with much. In the U.S., however, it is more difficult because of our International clout. Nobody wants to piss us off by letting their representatives run wild and unchecked through our cities.

And unless you are the actual diplomat, which the son is not, your host country is less likely to put-up a fight for you.

well i am 17 years old and i own a black rx-8. When i truned 16 my parents got me a 2000 2.5 rs impreza, and i totaled it because i was cut off on the highway in the snow and i slid into the wall. My mom drives a infiniti g35 and lets me take it out whenever i want. There is nothing wrong with a person my age owning a nice car as long as the realize what they have. my parents got me the car because i knew the thing inside and out, and the respected me for knowing so much about what i wanted to buy.

I bet you my RX-8 that you will get into another accident in the next 4 years.

I'm 14 and can't drive yet in FL(duh...), but once a year I go vacationing in Brazil(whooole family from there) and I get to drive as much as I want to with a "driveable" car(vw golf, fiat "wagon") for about 2 weeks in my dad's really big farm. I get alot of experience there, and HAVE gotten in an accident though, where I almost fell down a "cliff"(really steep hill) when I was going up a road, and the car couldn't handle the hill, so the engine died. This was on a dirt road, and I couldn't see a thing behind me(dust). I pressed hard on the brakes, but that didn't help me all that much, since I still, slowly slid. I tried going up again, but there wasn't enough power, it died again. This time, the car darted backwards, and I hit a small dirt bunker on the side of the road. That practically saved my life, since I was 20 minutes distance from another human, and rolling down a hill wouldn't be good. With my inexperience at the time, I turned on the car, and tried getting it out, I just ripped all grip from the tires, to the point where it was bare, practically blew the transmission, and dug dirt for a long time, before giving up, and looking for help. This happened when I was 12, but now I'm a better driver, I suppose. I love the Rx-8, and it is practically my favorite car. If I am to get this car, ever, then I'm getting it when I'm 17-- at least. I would never, after getting in an accident like that, go out and spend that much money on a new Rx-8(when you leave the block, that's 1k you just lost.).
Thanks, if you read this. I'll be posting more often now, even though I've been a member for a little while.

The kid's insurance I'm sure paid for the new RX8 since the old one was totalled, what's the big deal?

Kids like that don't have "insurance" It is the parents insurance that is carrying the child. Hence the kids couldn't give a damn what happens as they are not the ones footing the bill. That is one of the reasons why kids today don't know a thing about "personal responsibility" or "taking responsibility for their own actions"

When the money starts coming from their pocket then they will start thinking twice about shit like this.

I know not all kids are like this but it is a growing trend and some kids actually think that it is their god given right that their parents put them on their policy so they have more money to party with!

One of the things we need to teach our children is that there are responsibilities (not rights) to owning and operating a car. This includes FINANCIAL responsibility! Most kids do not realize that if they are on their parents policy and gets into an accident and causes property damage or god forbid injures or kills someone then it is the parents that are going to pay the price not the child. The parents are the ones that are going to get sued for damages ect...

Originally posted by Rotary Nut
Kids like that don't have "insurance" It is the parents insurance that is carrying the child.

Yeah but my point was that the parents arent paying for the new car or the property damage or any of that stuff, the insurance is.

I would disagree... The Parents will indeed be paying for the new car..etc + more insurance. The kid's rate would be sick after that first accident in a new 30k+ car.. The insurance company isn't here to lose money, someone has to lose the money, and that's the parents...

Plus in less they had gap insurance they are probably paying a couple of thousand out of pocket for their little brat.

Where's the love?

I got your love right here Noah!!!!!

Originally posted by noahprtlnd
Where's the love?


In the parents pocketbook!

Originally posted by rotarymagic
I will have to disagree here. Yes, the Father should be blamed. Most 16 year olds, including myself at that age, are mature enough to know the difference between right and wrong. Right=drive responsibly. Wrong=drive wrecklessly.

The kid knows, or at least should know, what to do and what not to do with a car.

but if you've been spoiled like that through your WHOLE life, then it's hard to tell right from wrong

Ugh, speaking of wreckless driving...

One day, I was riding home from school and this early 90s, green, Ford Probe behind us gets on the opposite side of the road and passes us on a double yellow line. He then continues driving on the opposite side of the road against oncoming traffic after passing us, and goes through a blind (forgive me if I am using this term incorrectly, by "blind" I mean foliage was too thick to see if there was any oncomming trafic), sharp turn. Luckily there weren't any cars going through that turn on the opposite side. Next, he gets back on the right side to let a chain of cars pass and gets back on the left side again, until the next oncoming car approached. For the rest of the ride he drove on the right side, but did so at around 15 mph over the limit. Incase you're wondering, yes, we were right on his tail (in our '96 Nissan Quest) the whole time until we stopped and threatened to call the po-po (police) if he drove like an idiot again. This student had 3 passengers with him that day.

The following day, we were almost home when this maroon gets behind us again, with another passenger. Since we live pretty far out in the country, the roads are pretty narrow at this point, and have no lines marked on them. So, he does it again, also into a blind turn, although not as sharp as the turn previously mentioned. He was so far out, his 2 left tires were in the dirt, I guess you could call it a shoulder.

So, we called the po-po and reported him. They said they knew who this guy was, and promised to arrest him. They haven't and won't even give him a warning, they want to catch him in the act.

This idiot was obviously trying to impress whoever was in the car with him. He doesn't deserve to be behind the wheel of anything until he can't get an erection anymore. It's because of people like this that my insurance will be so high.

By the way, I will be 16 this upcoming February 29.

Oh man.. you said "Po-Po"... ok that was funny to me for some reason... I gotta start using that term now.. "Po-Po"

Originally posted by MRX_Rotary


This idiot was obviously trying to impress whoever was in the car with him.



In BC, we're trying (already?) to impose a law on new drivers that prohibit them from carrying more than one passenger within the first 2 years of getting their licence (anyone more up to date correct me if I'm wrong).