Little background:

I'm 18 years old, I commute to college everyday (Florida International) in my '02 F-150 XLT.

With the traffic on Florida's Turnpike every morning, the 150 (I call it the ******* Wagon) is not really suitable for DD to campus. Not to mention its like 16/18 mpg. Anywho, I've convinced my mom that an RX-8 would suit my needs and she's given me the all clear to sell the truck and we'll go ahead and purchase an 8 when I'm ready. I actually wanted an FD but the RX-7 Club says you should have prior experience driving RWD and the only cars I've driven for lengths of time are a '91 Acura Legend and the F-150. So I need a little guidance from the RX-8 Club on how to go about purchasing an RX-8.

First I'm going to sell the 150, more than likely a private sell, its an '02 F-150 XLT 4.6L with a shade under 30,000 miles, great condition. Estimates from cars.com and autotrader give me the impression I can get between $15-18k for it. So I'll have a minimum of $15k in cash.

Now, how to go about purchasing a new '05 RX-8. When exactly do the '06 models come out? Will the rebates on '05's be better when the '06's come to the dealers next year, or are there better deals for the year-end blowouts right now?

Secondly, with $15k on hand, how do I go about financing the RX-8? We have adequate funds so it's not that big a deal, but does it make sense to give them $15k down and then finance the rest? How can you leverage a large down payment in your favor? New '05's should be around $25k I'm assuming with rebates and the new '06's coming out. So then hypothetically, I'd have $10k left to pay on the RX-8. What kind of interest rate or whatever should I be looking for?


I really don't know crap about that type of stuff, my dad passed away and I don't have anyone to ask for advice. Even if you're going to send me a link to an older thread or some external website, thanks for taking the time for reading this.

 

help anyone?

 

Are you getting rid of your F150 because of the gas milage issue? I noticed you mentioned it so it has to be a concern. How much do you know about the RX8? Have you done some research?

 

I get about 18-22mpg in mixed driving in my 8 (20mpg avgerage).

My 97 F150 4.6l V8 get 13-17 in mixed driving (15mpg avgerage).

If you drive 12,000mi/yr and pay $2.35/gal, you'll pay $1410/yr to fuel the RX-8 versus $1880/yr to fuel the F150. The difference is $470/yr, so you'll save a whopping $39/month driving the RX-8

It's the full coverage insurance that will kill you, I assume you own the F150 outright and pay liability insurance. RX-8 are especially pricey to insure for under thirtysomethings

At 18, your probably going to pay $1400 to $2200/yr in Florida to insure the RX-8 and half that for the F150, unless your on your parent's policy. This is just an estimate

 

Ramjus,

If I were in your shoes, I would get a 2005 loaded 8. The 2006s are coming out in January I believe and with that knowledge you can use that to bully the dealer. The differences are minor if you are going to buy a standard transmission (which I highly recommend for this car). If you are getting the AT model, I would get the 2006 which has a bump in hp, and a 6 spd automatic tranny instead of the 4-speed. All the difference are on a sticky here: https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/us-2006-model-year-info-75344/.

The 2005s right now have some incentives from Mazda and you can get it well below invoice. Remember to work off invoice first then add rebates!

If $15k is all the money you have now saved up including the equity from the truck, you should put as much as you can because you are paying 6% and up on borrowed money. If you don't need it, drop it down on your car. Also, only finance with the dealer if they can give you some rebates by financing through Mazda credit and a decent interest rate, otherwise dealer rates are higher than if you would finance through them. See what payments you can afford but the longer the life of your loan the higher your interest rate. I would look for a credit union to join as the rates there are usually cheaper. The interest rate will be determined by your credit score. If your mom has good credit, you can have her cosign for even better rates. Check your options with the dealer and go to multiple dealers for the best price. You can always go the the closest dealer for your warranty maintenace even if you purchase from a dealer far away. Another bonus is insurance rates are usually cheaper for the car because it is considered a "4-cyl". Good luck!