My brother-in-law just bought an RX-8 in New York. The NY motor vehicle department is telling him it's a two-door, which, apparently, costs more to register in New York than a four-door. Has anyone been through this before, in New York? Is there a simple way to give these guys a clue? Thanks in advance.

It is a two door. The two half doors don't count for anything as there is currently no class of vehicles listed as two + two half. The Saturn Ion is also a two door when it comes to insurance and whatnot. My insurance lists the car as a two door. I highly doubt that anyone will let you say this is a 4 door sedan.

My insurance company regards the RX8 as a four door and consequently it is MUCH cheaper to insure than a 350Z for example. This was one of my many deciding factors...

In CA it's classified as a 4 door (at least that's what it says on my registration). That sucks elsewhere if they're classifying it as 2.

I just checked the NY State motor vehicle website and it says the registration fee depends on weight and doesn't mention the number of doors unless I missed it on thier webpage !?

Here is the link

http://www.nysdmv.com/regfee.htm

In FL it's a 4 door luxury sedan (due to cost).

TownDrunk's right about CA, it is a 4-door. The actual class is "subcompact", which is what the Corolla falls into. Nice to know I'm paying the same insurance rate as a Corolla owner, even though I'm driving my 8.

Weird. My insurance still isn't that bad (on a two door RX-8) due to all the safety features that are on the car.

It really isn't a 4 door vehicle since you must open the two front doors to access the rear doors.

Georgia (State Farm) classified my RX-8 as a 4 door sedan...My insurance is $5.00 extra dollars over my Nissan Altima.

Ohio is classified as a 4 door also. Thank god!

Mine is a 4-door sports sedan or something.

MTCD01 said:

It really isn't a 4 door vehicle since you must open the two front doors to access the rear doors.

Funny ... oxymoron I'm thinking

IL is a 4-door

If it only had two sets of hinges, it'd be two door, but it has four sets. A door is a door, it swings open, it lets people through.

and as I recall, my car is listed as a subcompact 4 door, but my previous insurance had it listed differently.

my registration says it a 4 door coupe too. looks like your brother-in-law's insurance company is smoking crack.

It's similar in nature to the classification of a Bedroom in real estate. A Bedroom must have an egress point other than the door (read window large enough to escape a fire). Many houses have finished basements with a room that has a bed, however, this room cannot officialy be listed as a bedroom unless it meets all the criteria. A 4 door car has 4 doors that can operate indepently of each other. The 8 is a two door + two half doors (similar to an extended cab truck with access doors vs. a crew cab with 4 doors). If they are letting it be insured as a 4 door that's cool but they don't have to and many companies won't.

In Texas it's a 4 door. Insurance is low, much less than the Z, the G35 or the Maxima. Only a little more than my Sebring was.

Originally posted by MTCD01
I highly doubt that anyone will let you say this is a 4 door sedan.

Obviously you're wrong, as many people have now posted that their vehicles are registered (not insured, the original question is vehicle registration) as 4 door vehicles. In Alberta, Canada, my RX-8 is registered as a 4 door coupe.

Regards,
Gordon

Thanks for all the replies. I have forwarded this thread to my brother-in-law. I'm gathering that the employees in the NY motor vehicle department are not treating the RX-8 consistently. (You'd think they'd have a database that treated the issue the same way for each given car model, but I guess not.)

(I let this thread percolate for awhile, and it was nice to see how many people defended my opinion that it is a four-door car. I have nothing to add except that, if it's a portal that opens for the specific purpose of human ingress or egress, in my mind it's a door, regardless of any interlock function.)

Originally posted by Hard 8
if it's a portal that opens for the specific purpose of human ingress or egress, in my mind it's a door, regardless of any interlock function.

Bingo - it's a door, whether it has hinges at the front or the rear. In fact, it's the government regulations for rear-hinged doors that require some sort of interlock function to prevent the rear-hinged door from opening independently. Those regulatory requirements do not disqualify it from being a door! ;)

Regards,
Gordon

bungle--

where are you in GA? Im in Loganville (near Stn Mtn) and have a black MT also. same thing here -- State Farm, $75 less per MONTH than 350Z -- defiintely MY deciding factor.

Originally posted by MTCD01
I highly doubt that anyone will let you say this is a 4 door sedan.

I'm with Gord on this one. The DMV told me that it was a 4 door. The insurance company told me it was a 4 door. Neither of them ever asked my opinion. If they did, I'd have told them it was a six door to see if I got an even bigger discount.

My insurance company says it's a 4 door, 4 seat, FAMILY car. I love it... and since I'm 27.. even better. Lower the better. :) I'd hope Ferraris and Porsches are going to be built with this in mind... Family Ferrai Modenas, and Family Porsche 911 Turbos... cool.

Originally posted by whosyourbaba
IL is a 4-door
Confirmed.

mercury took mine as a four door

My Virginia DMV registration says it's a 2-door coupe. But I believe my insurance (Liberty Mutual) calls it a 4-door.

BTW, when I applied for the extended warranty, the insurance company did not have the RX-8 in its database. The person taking the application asked me, "How many cylinders?" I answered, "None." She asked, "Coupe or sedan?" I replied, "yes." The computer spat back my premium for the warranty, by rating my car the same as a Geo Metro. I paid about $500 for a six-year warranty, IIRC. :D

Its a 4 door according to my insurance company (ALL-STATE)
I'm 21 and Insurance on my RX-8 was cheaper then that on my Ford Contour, LOL

hey im from NY and my registration says 4DSD - 4 Door Sedan same with insurance they insured it as a 4door

tell ur bro in law to get geico

In MO, my car is a 4 door 2 cylinder vehicle. The certificate of origin came from CA and it said 2 cylinder, so I blame CA.

my ins policy (mercury) says its a 4 door coupe.

Mine in North Carolina is classified the same as a Nissan 350Z.

it's a four door.