Astral

After talking to my brother, I decided: you only live once! Screw consumer debt: let's spend money.

Tomorrow I'm working out the financing for this car:


VIN: JM1FE173340105395


WINNING BLUE M

BLACK
2004 RX-8 6-Speed $26,680
238-hp 1.3L Rotary Engine Standard
6-Spd Manual Standard
GRAND TOURING PKG M/T $4,000
APPEARANCE PACKAGE $970
ROTARY ACCENT PACKAGE $139
NAVIGATION SYSTEM $2,000
IN-DASH 6-DISC CD CHANGER $500
MOONROOF WIND DEFLECTOR $45
REAR WING SPOILER $355
Total MSRP: $34,589*


NAV, baby, NAV!!! And winning blue! Oh so good looking! Mmm mmm mmm!

The invoice was ~31.8K, I get a $1K off ($500 college grad + $500 previous owner), so that's $30.8K for this fully damn loaded rx8. However, being upside down on my previous car (due ot high miles), the loan being financed is a mighty $36K.

On the bright side, the insurance is expected to go up from approx $2800 to $3100, which isn't bad at all.


I can't wait.

Twice the car payment (more, even, heh).
Higher insurance cost.
Lower mileage.
More expensive gas.
New winter tires.

BUT damn if it ain't FUN!!!


I managed to get a free tire mount & balance out of the dealer, so once I get my winter tires, they'll be coming on for free. It doesn't matter what the winter tires are, the TPMS should still work, right?


Can't wait until the winter. This car will be so much fun. RWD! Can't wait to go ice racing in New Hampshire and Vermont. Before that, many scenic drives to NH and VT and ME await!


I average 145 miles a day on my trade in. 45K in one year, 62K since mid-May 2003. So this RX8 will see a lot of miles fast. I'm hoping that the reliability will be up to par. I'm taking a gamble, I know, but it's a 6-speed, so no lack of reliability due to the automatic tranny, and I hope that I can drive it to at least 150K. I'm hoping for 200K.


I could've gone for a base RX8... but I figured that If I'm spending so much more money anyway, and losing that money on the trade-in anyway, that I might as well go for all the nice options, like leather and heated seats and NAV! (did someone say NAV? GPS NAV? yes, someone did.. OK, fine...)


Excited!!!! :D


This VIN number---how many TSBs will they have to apply? Hope not too many. I'll check for the M flash and if it's not there, get them to apply it.


w00t!

w0rm

I just got my white '05 yesterday and I was afraid the most of having 'buyers regret' but once you start driving it- that feeling is nowhere to be found.


I love this car.

cgrx

congrats ! TPMS will work with any tires....


ENJOY !

Astral

spoiler


6-speed

nav



OH YEAH!

Thanks I'm glad TPMS will be OK.

G8rboy

Congrats... but take a real close look at that car- unless I'm reading it wrong, that is a really old VIN to still be sitting around the lot. I'm guessing it was built in July of '03, so most if not all of the TSB's are going to apply to it. How many miles on it? (wondering if it was a dealer demo or much abused test drive car, which I wouldn't touch with a 100 foot pole)...

Astral

66 miles on it. I know the VIN is somewhat old, so I'm going to make sure that they do the TSBs. If not the first time, then on another visit. Although I bought my Mazada Protege with 12 miles, 66 miles is still acceptable to me. There's a slight ding on the left door, which they said they'll fix. Otherwise, the body looked really clean (I didn't do a super-thorough inspection though).

The car was sitting in the showroom. Since it was the most expensive RX8 they had, I suppose they haven't had too much interest in it, but also since it had the nav and the appearance pkg, it was great for the showroom. My guess is that it didn't see much test drive action.

The car that I test drove at another dealer had 217 miles on it!!! The VIN was pretty recent and the dealer said that he only had the car for 2 months.

mysql101

I too wouldn't take that car.

Not only is it really old (having been on the dealer's lot in excess of 6 months), but you're not getting that much of a discount on the car.

Just my personal opinion, but if you're heart is set on this car, go for it...

G8rboy

That makes sense... sometimes the dealers let the "showroom queens" sit around a long time, especially if they're fully loaded. Mine was probably destined for that duty as well, but I snagged it off the floor 2 days after the truck dropped her off. 66 miles is a little high, but hopefully it wasn't test drive mileage.

Just hold them to the TSB's before you drive off (http://finishlineperformance.com/rx8/docs/index.html)... and enjoy it!

Astral

How much of a discount can they offer? I'm getting 1K under invoice, their holdback is probably expired completely, and I don't know of any other incentives available in MA right now.

Do you think that being on the dealer's lot in excess for 6 months qualifies as "really old?" Am I to expect random maintenance and reliability issues because the car has been sitting around? (and shouldn't a modern car be able to take it?)


BTW, thanks for everyone's opinions. I am indeed pretty set on this car... it looks clean, doesn't look like it's been used a "demo"... but any input is appreciated.

irish8

That VIN is as old as mine!! I'm shocked the dealer did'nt move through that particular car a longtime ago. You will get that deal at most dealerships, why not push for a more recent VIN or grind for a better deal. The VIN speaks the reality, the car is over 1 year old!!!!

- Irish

mysql101

Well, I've seen several members on this board get 2 grand off invoice on a 2004 car. This may be in part due to a $1000 dealer inventive to get rid of older cars from the lots. Then since you have the two $500 rebates, you could possibly do 3 grand off.

It's not your fault the car sat on the lot for such a lot time, but with that said, you should be able to get as good a deal on a newer vin car that hasn't been sat in by everyone who visited the show room. A newer vin car will also be a lot less likely to have the poor mileage issues that some had. Would you be upset if your car got 12 mpg no matter how you drove it? It's a reality for some who had the earlier models.

mysql101

Something else to consider is that the moonroof deflector typically isn't a useful item (the car has a built in deflector that pops up automatically), the mp3 player can be bought for around $250 and plays more songs than the 6 disk player, rotary accents can be bought from rx8fun for $30 each, and the app package will get tossed if you ever get an aftermarket kit. Just food for thought.

I went through the same decision process myself, and decided to get a 6MT with GT and Navi, nothing else. The rest I've added as time went on (mp3, rotary accents, etc)

Astral

Now you got me worried with the mileage.

Unfortunately, Mazda only lists three cars in the area (within 150 miles even). This one, the 217 miles one with scratched fenders (no way in hell), and another one at Gallo with a slightly newer VIN. JM1FE173840112911 ... maybe I should ask the dealer if I could get that one.

Astral

Unfortunately, navigation is really rare. There are only three cars in winning blue, and one of them has navigation. So, I pretty much have to take what's out there.

mysql101

VIN doesn't have to be all that recent, something in the Nov 2003 and newer range should be decent.

But keep in mind your car may not have any issues at all - I don't mean to worry you, but you should be aware of all of this because once you buy you don't get to change your mind so easily.

Do you think your dealer would let you top the tank off, and drive it down the highway for about 50 miles to see what it gets? As long as you can do 16 mpg or better on the highway, you should be fine.

Astral

Are you having mileage issues on your car?

mysql101

I know that well - I never really got to decide what color I wanted. I still had several I liked, but the only car with *ONLY* GT + Navi was a silver one. My wife liked the color, so I went for it.

Astral

I don't know, I'll ask. 50 miles is a lot on a car that has only 66. I'm afraid, though, that anything less would be way too unscientific.

The car is sitting int he showroom. They'd have to cart it out and stuff. I guess they can suck it on that one, though.


Also, Massachusetts has the lemon law that says that if there are more than 3 attempts to fix a substantial issue within 15K miles or 1 year, that the car can be returned under the lemon law. In that case, could I complain about 12mpg on highway being a substantial defect/issue?

mysql101

They've been unable to sell this car in a year, I'd hope they'd go the extra mile with you to make the sale

Astral

I think I'll try 40 miles. With 80mph, should only take half-hour. Is 75-80mph a good enough speed for highway mileage determination?

G8rboy

I would recommend a little slower- like 65-70mph.. that way in 6th gear the revs will be lower than 3750rpm (and the secondary intake ports haven't opened). You should be able to get at least 20mpg, if not higher at that constant speed.

mysql101

I would try to do anything you can to save gas. In city, even with a normal car you could get lousy mileage. So highway driving at a constant speed should give you better numbers. If you still get crappy numbers, you know to walk away.

Astral

This is a somewhat encouraging post. In that post, cars closer to my VIN range seem to be getting decent mileage:

104226 ...... 15 to 17 (city)
105069 ...... 16 to 20
105899 ...... 22 to 23
105730 ...... 17 to 22

ayap888

Yeah, it's an older VIN that needs M calibration (reflash) and the aircondition amplier? Test drive it and see how it feels. Also check for rotor rust.

If you like it ... doesn't matter ... get the car if everything in it fits your wish list.

Tayninh

How do you know from the VIN if the RX needs the M flash?