i am interested in either purchasing or leasing a white water pearl 8. all i really want is a moonroof and the hid/xeon lights, and of course 6-spd manual. i have a white 94 honda accord, stick, and has 135,000 miles. if i trade it in or even sell it say at $3500 and have another $2,500 to put down- so in total i would have $6000 dollars down for the 8, how much should i get my rx-8 for? if i go into a dealer i want to have an idea of how much you guys think the dealer should be selling me the car for, so if it's too expensive and he's trying to dick me- i'll know. thanks in advance for your help.

Sounds like you want the Touring package (no leather, but all the other options you mentioned). I paid about $23k for my '04 last month with the touring package, rotary accents, and splash guards (very nice to have btw).

That's about what a used one runs with 15k miles, so definately buy new. Unfortunately, if you want the white, you're going to have to get an '05, which is going to cost you much closer to sticker than mine did ($31k sticker). Best thing to do is go to www.kbb.com and put in the options you want. Try to get a price as close to dealer invoice (less any rebates, etc) that you can get.

Hope this helps.

thanks. will do

I paid about $23k for my '04 last month with the touring package, rotary accents, and splash guards (very nice to have btw).FoxTypeR,
Do the splash guards actually work? Or do they just put the splashes in a different place that still needs to be washed?

It seems to deflect debris and water more downward. I suppose the best way to explain it would be that you don't really get anything on the side of the car as you would expect, but you get a few water splashes down low on the sides (only a couple inches up from the bottom) in the front. I don't notice anything in the back.

As a point of reference, I used to have a '94 Mercury Cougar with 15" tires and I CONSTANTLY had water and debris behind the rear tires on the sides of the car and on the front doors.

dealer will offer you a grand for you car tops.. anymore and they are being nice.. Sell your car yourself if you can.

Sorry to tell you, but you will never get $3.5K for your car. I have a mint 1997 Civic with 92K on it. Guess what... The dealer offered $2.3K for that. My car is clean in and out and it is not the dealer's fault that he lowballed me: they need to make money somehow.

Your best bet is selling the car yourself and then paying things off. Consult www.kbb.com in order to find out how much your car is really worth and pay attention to trade-in prices.

see what the dealer will give you for it, and if it's not what you want, say no thanks. A new 6spd with a touring package will probably run you 27-28 if you get someone who will negotiate. Check the good mazda dealership thread in the goodguy/badguy forum to see who the dealers are in your area you should see/avoid.

I would avoid leasing through MAC

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?p=838175#post838175