I had my vin looked up on my 04 Titanium automatic (30000 mile sport package and in need of minor body work) by a friend on Saturday who's searching for used cars ...and I thought he was screwing with me when he told me my car was actually branded with an accident flag (http://www.carfax.com/cfm/check_order.cfm?vin=JM1FE17N040106456&partner=CFX_S_DEC_30&zipcode=&ClickID=&SiteID=&suggest=N&FID=27297&PopUpStatus=0). Apparently it was from the small smash I was in back in October 03 (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=14950) when the front of my car was backed into. That's just friggin great. :mad: I never should have called the police for that tiny crash but I guess it was because my car was barely 3 months old and I was so pissed. Now I guess I am somewhat screwed if I want to sell the car and get decent money for it.

I went back to another dealership to see what I could get done now that I have this permanent stain on my car. Well I found another left over 2004 6speed RX-8. This one was yellow w/986 miles on it. It had a pretty unusual package too: navigation system, rear wing spoiler, rotary accent package, spare tire kit, cargo net, front/rear splash guards (when I saw these on the yellow I thought the car had been dropped), and oddly enough...this was only a Sports Package. I had never heard of a Sports Package RX-8 w/the nav...coupled with the car being yellow..and that made this RX-8 pretty uncommon.

Unfortunately though I looked on the inside of the driver door and found the build date was 06/03 (just like my car). This car has obviously been on their lot for as long as I've owned my car! But I just saw all of this as bargaining power if I were to swap. MSRP was 31k or so. They automatically took 4k off of that so we were starting from 27k.

We did the paperwork and they appraised my car - they didn't really seem to mind the minor damage until they saw the blemish on my vin lookup. To keep a long story short the best they could do for me after two visits was 6k out the door. That's after I got up and left ...for a few hours... and then came back again at night to their surprise. They would be selling the yellow for $23,000. I'd get $17,000 for mine, which they said was extremely generous for a 30,000 mile automatic RX-8 in need of paint work and w/an accident report against it. They weren't sure about the gerber rebate I showed them (have to get it verified on Monday) so if that ends up being valid then the final price would be $5,500 out the door.

What do you guys think given my new circumstances?

If you got the $5,500 to spare for it--I say do it. I definately would--not a big fan of yellow though.

AT sucks.. do it

is your current 8 completely paid off ?

Completely

The yellow is not for me, but the NAV would be nice. I have seen some of these equipped odd ways like this too, and this is the reason it is left over. No moon roof but a $2k NAV system in it.

The "stain" on your car may affect value down the road, but that might be a long way off. The value difference would be less that what you are having to pay to get into a new car - but you get some of that back when you sell it later (with 20k fewer miles). How much depends on how long you keep the car.

Since your car is paid off - then it just comes down to if you have the $5,500 in pocket. If so, then why not? Brand new warranty and 19k less miles on the car - and the best part the 6mt.

If you are going to finance it, then I would say keep your AT car.....

Dennis

MT > AT. Plus you get a whole new warrenty. Think of it as a $5500 extended warrenty + paint job + bigger engine + clean title.

I would go for it.

Do it dude im crossing into the dark side by the end of this week too!

Dude for 5 grand...you get a new car again, upgraded to a 6 manual, start off fresh for the warrenty, 19k less miles, and no hassle about trading in an accident vehicle down the road. You already know the negatives of the car but never knew the superior version of the car. All for 5K.

I guess the real question would be is " if your car were totaled, would you buy another 8 again"? I think if the answer is yes, you should get the car.

Well the rebate isn't valid anymore on the 2004 RX-8s so its actually going to run me $6,000 now. But I'm still leaning towards making the swap.

I know they're making a shitload of profit off me at that price but it's definitely the lowest I can get from any of the scummy dealerships we've got down here in Miami. It'll cost them next to nothing to clean up the exterior damages on my car, and then they'll probably make around $3,000 off of what I'd be trading it in for. And this yellow 04 RX-8 w/nearly 1,000 miles on it...is probably only worth $21,000 - $22,000 since it's only a Sports Package (though it has the navigation and a couple other accessories on it) but they're not budging from $6,000. $5,000 would sound a lot more realistic to me but I guess the stain on my car's title/brand new warranty/switching to faster engine is worth an extra grand eh? Oh well...I've fought my hardest.

I'll be heading there this evening after work and if I decide to do it then I'll be the owner of the yellow tomorrow morning.

By rebate I guess you are talking about the Gerber? I know folks have said it will not work on an 04 or will not work on an 8 - but it does not SAY that anyplace on the certificate.

Saturday is the end of the month and the BEST day to get a deal on anything. Although you are talking about an 04, it still might be the best day to hammer some more out of them. With a long month of possible selling days ahead of them they tend to be "tighter" at the first of the month. On the last day, they know this will add to their count for sure and should give you the best deal.

Dennis