rx8tung

hey this is my first time posting in this forum.. and there is only one purpose why im doing so.. i want the rx-8 so badly and my dad thinks its not as safe compared the bmw 325i. btw.. im still a student =). any suggestions that i could persuade my dad to take another thought about the rx-8?

his main reaons are that:
-too aggressive
-might get scratched by the jealous people
-weighs too light --> not as strong *main reason*
-rotary engine doesnt last

btw.. is that really true compared to an european car (bmw)?

thx in advance for the ones who reply =)

Outlaws eXtreme

you should be happy your dad is willing to fork over 30k+ for any car for you... just take whatever he gives you.

rx8tung

hmm.. but then its about the same price isnt it.
its just that the issues he pointed that i couldnt protest againt it.
i do kinda get to choose

Blue87Sport

How about "Excellent agility and stability control system to avoid accidents and 8 airbags if you can't".

Either car, you are one lucky kid.

Rotary Titus

you know I had the EXACT same problem plus "your mom won't like the idea of a 2 door car" which cancelled out G35c and Z350 (THANK YOU MAZDA for freestyle doors!)
first off, is your dad "into" cars? Like does he know performance numbers and stuff about the 3series and rx8? If he doesn't, then tell him that the BMW has a BIG 2.5 litre engine compared to the tiny 1.3 litre in the rx8 (also mention that even a civic has a 2 litre). And does your dad mean too aggressive performance wise or looks? Don't take this the wrong way but judging from your nickname I assume you're Chinese, and one of the very helpful magazine piece that I found very "parent convincing" was in the "One" weekly magazine. It basically focuses on how great its looks are and innovation like the freestyle doors and how the side impact beams in the doors and standard side/curtain airbags makes it more safe than other luxary cars. Plus doesn't say too much about how fast it can go/corner, etc. (oh, and make sure you pre visit your dealer so you get a sales that knows how to make a good pitch, like NOT go to your dad and brag about performance and how it could beat X car in a drag race.)
if your dad thinks it LOOKS too agressive, tell him that that's the direction most car companies are going for these days (look at the new bmws and MBs) and speaking of which, tell him that the 3 series is due a major make over soon so you might as well get a car that won't change it's look right after you buy it (unless of course your dad plans to get you a new car every 3 yrs).
-might get scratched by jealous people: which city do you live in? If you live in vancouver, ppl are gonna scratch the SL/CLK/E55s, 911 GT3s, before they touch your mazda :p (use same reasoning for "ppl would steal your car")
-weighs too light: the weight diff between the 325i and rx8 are too small to make a diff safety wise (though, performance wise it does). Plus, the rx8 is SUPER rigid with the fully boxed drivetrain tunnel "backbone" frame and is way stronger than the 325i. Plus, car makers make their cars safe by making lighter crumple zones instead of usuing heavy solid material. A car from the 60s might weigh 3 times more and they're super strong and the CAR survives accidents but the people usually die because the "heavy" car doesn't absorb any energy and instead the people inside do. IF your dad's gonna use the heavier = safer reason, then he's gotta get you at least a 4000+lbs SUV because like I said, the 300-400lbs (?) diff between the 325i and rx8 is not enough to make it safer. Or get him to go with a G35 coupe :D
-rotarys don't last: the Renesis is a brand new engine. and when engineers make new things these days, unlike maybe in the 80s, they build them to last. No company in their right mind would build a car engine that won't last at least 15 or 20 years. someone told me that rotaries don't last more than 250,000kms, but then again neither does most piston engines. I had a "european" land rover before the rx8 and it had 100,000kms on it and it was falling apart with 2000 dollars overhauls every 6 months just for the engine.
european cars, including bmw and mercedes seem to have a very good brand image where as in reality their cars are not as reliable as most ppl think. But japanese cars on the other hand are built pretty consistently. It's just that when ppl get a lemon bmw, they don't talk too much about it. In fact, european companies like bmw or land rover EXPECT their buyers to fork out money for repairs because they think that "if someone can afford a bmw, they can afford a 900 bucks brake pad change" (someone who owned a 91 3 series told me that's exactly what the service rep told him when he complained about their service price)
And if you can play price in your favor (i.e, money IS an object for what your dad gets you) for the same price of a fully loaded GT rx8, you could MAYBE get leatherette seats for your 325i and defintely can't tick off that $1000 optional cd changer and sound system or more importantly to your dad, those optional side/curtain airbags

but either way, you can't lose with a free bmw or a rx8 :D

Squidward

have your cake....

paradigm

I used to work as a valet at a BMW dealership. Now I'm not knocking bimmers. The're amazing cars, but the dealership I worked at was ALWAYS overflowing with BMW's to be repaired. In the 3 short months I worked there I saw about one new motor going in per week. The trucking company I work for now handles all of their core returns to BMW. Sure enough, about 1-3 per week, with a few transmissions sprinkled about here and there. I'm not talking about old cars either. I mean cars less than a decade old.

We used to joke around that every 5000 miles or so, a dollar sign would light up on the dash instead of a check engine light, telling you to break out the wallet and take the car in for service.


Again, I don't knock BMW's, but in my experience..........quite a few of them are shop queens.

now to address your dad's list of concerns....
1)looking agressive doesn't mean much. I see more dumb kids driving stock bodied civics like maniacs than I see people in actual sports cars.
2)he thinks a BMW wouldn't make poeple jealous? *rolls his eyes*
3)see if you can find the pics of the rx8 crash tests floating around here. Show them to him. There's not much intrusion into the passenger compartment. The car holds up astonishingly well. Tell him that cars don't have to be as heavy as they used to be to maintain saftey. A lot of your extra weight in the BMW comes from all of the luxury equipment. Those beautiful leather seats and dash won't do much when an SUV T-bones you.
4)BOOSTED rotary engines don't last. The old naturally aspirated rotaries lasted as long as any piston engined car I've seen.

I think that about covers everything. Good luck, and welcome to the forums.

Haze

First, you have a nice dad, and I'm glad that you will have such a nice car. Good for you.

I would suggest doing a little research at the dealership actually. If you tell a salesman that you need crash test data to convince your dad, he should be happy to run around and get it for you. Manufacturers are very keenly aware that safety is an issue with every car purchase. Personally, I think that it is the safest car that I have ever owned, and I have always owned sedans before this the last one being the Nissan Maxima which I also bought new. It has airbags. It has great stopping distances. It has side impact protection. It has DSC, an option but one that he should get you if safety is an issue. Car crashes have less to do with the weight of a vehicle than they have to do with crushability of the chassis while protecting the occupants, and that's why you need to get the hard data on the crash tests. My understanding is that the tests were quite good on the car, but I don't have that data. Also, when you make the argument, it isn't a question of which is better Bimmer or Mazda. It's whether they both protect their occupants . . . that is unless you have something which shows the Mazda to be better than a BMW then that IS the argument. Maneuverability and ability to brake to avoid an accident is a safety thing, but it works lousy on parents. They just see that as justifying a race car. You don't want to emphasize performance because parents are also thinking about how you will act while you are driving the car meaning that you would be telling him implicitly how hard you'll be cornering it at the same time you are trying to emphasize safety, and dear God don't let him see the estimated top speed. You'll be dead in the water.

One thing, if you do end up with it, don't race it around until you have a good idea what it can do. Drive responsibly, and get snow tires. The stock summer tires are extremely dangerous on snowy or cold icey roads.

Best of luck.

Rotary Titus

you can also use the fact that if you HAVE a sportier car, you'll feel you "have nothing to prove". It's like if you drive a 911 turbo and some punk in an echo starts revving his engine at a stoplight, you're not even gonna be tempted to race him. However, if you have an echo or a civic, you might be tempted MORE to "prove something".
anyways, it all boils down to self discipline, if you show from your regular routines that you are responsible, it'll be the best argument for your dad

oh and on your test drive, if you test an auto, tip it over to manual/tiptronic mode and drive around in 4th gear and show him how slow it is even when you press the throttle all the way down :p

93rdcurrent

As long as dad is buying tell him you won't settle for less than the M3.

Rotary Titus

LOL, yea I hear the M3 has more STANDARD airbags and is slightly heavier than the 325 (?) :p

jniamehr

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...threadid=20050

Read that it should help a lot, also print out the safety features from the Mazda website, and show it to them, as well as a the story about the guy who got into an accident and totaled the car but was un-hurt. It will show them the quality of the car (it worked for me Im 17)

MyRxBad

iTrader: (1)

This is the biggest misconception of the rotary engine. I just parted out an 85 Mazda Rx-7 with 350,00kms on it, cuz the body went! The engine still started up in the dead of winter on the first try! and I used to rev it up to redline at least a few times everytime I got in it.

A rotary engine is like any other in the sense that "If you take care of it and due the regular maintenance" it'll give you many troublefree miles.

Nubo

The press kit has some good information on safety features

http://www.media.mazda.com/press_inf...tsmanship.html

winter

Ask your dad if he wants to buy me a car?


Sheesh.

rx8tung

hey nubo what do i use to open the file within the zip folder after i have downloaded?
thx for the site =)

Nubo

on the Mac I use Stuffit Expander (aladdin software). On PC I think the popular program is PKZIP or PKUNZIP (i think). There are various programs to expand compressed files but these are the most common.