zika

Helo All!

Would like to say Hi to everyone here firstly.. I have more or less decided on the RX-8 as my fun drive over the weekend and all. I am now in the search of a 2nd hand manual 6 speed RX-8 and would appreciate if someone could point me in the right direction where I would have luck in finding a "good" one..

Please pardon me if you all have read this type of post before but I am serious in looking for one that would not turn out to be a lemon..

Thanks.

Michael

M-ster

hi zika,

Well for 2nd car, no one would ever be able to garantee you a good buy. Unless you know of a second hand car dealer. another option is to go to a popular car dealer where ppl get their 8 from, cause some will let go of their car back to the same dealer they bought from eg. GarageR. Or hopefully with your request here, someone on this board just happen wanting to let go of their 8 here.
Frankly, the 8 has been out only about 1 and a half year, the earlier batch of 8 are very expensive, $155000 - $140000 (higher OMV though) before MM step in at the price of $135000. Thus its tough to get a 'good buy' interms of price wise, as the 1st owner won't wanna let go at too low a price. Let presume wat's in the paper are asking about $115000, and now if you were to get from MM its about $130000. Its better off getting a new car as the different is not very great, further more, u would have a better peace of mind. Well that just mho.

let see if someone else here can give u a better suggestion. Happy hunting!

zika

Hi M-ster,

I really appreciate the reply on this and I am more concerned about getting a car that has been looked after well.. This to me is more important than getting a car on the cheap as this is supposed to be my fun car and it would not be that way if it is at the workshop most of the time. You are totally right that you can never be sure of a 2nd hand car of its condition but then again a 1st hand car may still have problems which is due to the factory itself.. I am taking my time to look for my ride and do not intend to rush into it. If I get a 2nd hand car then ideally it would be from a car lover who takes care of it.

Also I would like to know the typical depreciation per year that I should expect from a car like this so I know my position better when negotiating with dealers.. 9.5 to 10k?

Lastly besides Garage R are they any recommended PIs that I should approach if I should decide to get it 1st hand?

Appreciate any information.

Thanks.

Michael

morganoh

Hi Michael,

Mind if I ask if U buying it Cash or installment?

If buying it installment with low downpayment , then its really not worth buying a 2nd hand one.


Cos the u will lose out quite abit of money on the higher interest rate for 2nd hand car loan and u will also need to pay for 2% transfer fee base on the selling price of the car.

So if u add up the extra interest and transfer fee. U end up paying the price of a New car.

But if u are paying FULL cash or very very high downpayment. Then a 2nd hand may be worth considering.

When I wanted a RX8, a seller is willing to sell his 6mths old MM RX8 for $120K , while a new one cost $131K at that time.
Lets say the new car interested is 2.5% and used car 3.2%
and "KILL car price" = $25K

If u calculated the 3.2% base on $120K for 7 years loan, Total amount need to pay is

$120K + $26.9K (interest) = $146.9K + $2.4K (transfer fee) = $149.3K

Depreciation per mth base on 9.5yrs = ($149.3K - $25K) / 114mths = $1090
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New car loan 2.5% base on $132K for 7 yrs loan, total amount need to pay is

$131K + $22.9K (interest) = $153.9 K

Depreciation per mth base on 10yrs = ($153.9K - $25K) / 120mths = $1074
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

See what i meant? the dep price of used car is higher due to the higher interest u paid.

I u buy from 2nd dealers they would not show u the above calculations.

They will only show u the actual selling price(without interest) minus Kill car price and divide by numbers of mths remaining.

BUT if u are buying FULL CASH the above will not apply to u.

Thanks.

zika

Hi,

I really appreciate the detailed explanation on the depreciation and it has got me thinking.. I have put aside 100k as deposit for the RX-8 as this is supposed to be my fun car and would expect to sell it off 1 to 2 years down the road as I believe I may very well be itching to change to something else so not expecting to take any high loan. Regardless I would still have to do the figures to see which would be better for me..

I bet this discussion was held before but would I be better off getting a new car from a PI or MM?

Thank You and buy you kopi one day..

morganoh

If u like Auto Gear then u can only get Parallel Import Ones.

If u can into Manual Gear shift, u will have to buy the 6spd from Mazda Motor or the 5 spd from Garage R.

Some said the Auto Gear version are hav vibration problems that need to change the engine mounting after some time (around $800++)
and Auto Gear get heated up much faster.

If u are into Top Speed driving (over $200 km/h) then MM is the only one that u would want to buy.
If I'm not wrong, most PI (or maybe all PI) are imported from Japan and they are speed restricted to 185km/h

hoks

Take a look here, saw this a couple of days back.

http://www.sgcarmart.com/main/info-SFL8564C-1059.html

zika76

Hi there,

I was wondering if there is another meetup besides the one to be held on the 17th July 2005 as I would like to speak to RX-8 owners personally for your feedback and comments on certain issues.. I would be overseas on business next week and would not be back in time for the 17th July meetup hence the question...

Thanks in advance.

Michael

Daverx

Hi

Our PR Manager Coupe07 will assist you :D :D :D There are meetups on Fridays..... :D :D :D

coupe07

nvm, give me ur contact no...

thanks ah, bro dave...... i suddenly become PR manager liao.... :D

sqflyer

Suddenly meh? I tot all along?? :p :D hiak hiak *sabo*

zika76

Hi again..

I am just curious if anyone considered the MK5 Golf GTi when purchasing the RX-8.. Been for a test drive and it was great... Now got to make a decision.. Would appreciate any comments or feedback..

Thanks again in advance.

EBS

Hi

Be4 any comments, just ask urself why u consider the RX8 in the first place?? For most, it is the LOOK! No other car look as sexy to me and performance etc comes in second.

Now to the Golf. Many friends test drove and said its a great car. But a Golf is a Golf and never turned heads like the 8 If u want performance, then loads of others at the price range comes into the picture.

Happy deciding.

sqflyer

Well said... a lot depends on what you value in a car such as power, handling, comfort, appeal, reliability, etc. The RX-8 may not be the most powerful car, but it's certainly no slow-po either. Done up (legally) and launched properly, it can do the century sprint in 6+s which is pretty decent for a N.A. car. The thing that most people overlook is the handling quality of the RX-8. It's certainly one of the most fun cars to drive around right out of the showroom, and with a few simple bolt-on mods it makes a thoroughly fun drive even more enjoyable. Finally, like EBS said, it never fails to turn heads. I've lost count of how many times I've seen people taking a sneaky snap shot with their camera phones or digicams. It was an easy decision for those of us who own an 8. Hopefully your's is just as easy... C'mon, you know you want it... just listen to your inner child :D

zika76

I appreciate the comments.. For me performance and mod potential is what I am looking for in a car as it would be my 2nd car for fun and weekends.. Driving a executive type car for my daily trips to the office when in town.. Of course head turning looks would be a plus anytime! And totally agree that the Golf will not turn heads like the 8 but nothing some nice imported aero kits or BBS rims would not fix..Of course could consider the STi and EVOs like many others but there are just way too common..

Thanks for the comments regardless and will probably make a decision while in India next week...

Oh and regardless of car I choose, it would be headed for workshop for progressive mods immediately after the showroom...

EBS

If thats the case and u can live with 2 seater, my personal favourite Honda S2000!!! Rare and very performance oriented.

Peterpan

Hi, can anyone comment about Rx8 from MM and PI? What are the differences in specs? Will there be any support problems if we buy it from PI? Assuming that the 8 is not a "lejey" car? Comments pls.....thanks.

Neon

Dood,

Don't expect major gains like Rexs or Evos in terms of money spent between them and N.A. cars. Even Hondas can get good gains with simple swop of engine n cams and most importantly - ECU. If u really love 8 because of how it looks, then by all means...

Fly-By-Wire system is really limited and complicated to modify as compared to drive-by-wire systems like in the cars mentioned above. Alternatively, do up handling first and wait a couple more years for more promising mods to be avail which i really doubt so....

My 3 cents,
Neon (believe me, i have spent quite a bit on Mods and tested a myraid of possibilities to give some good power - so far 'yuks~')

REX8

HI Michael, If 2 seater also part of your consideration, then this one might worth considering as well.

http://www.sgcarmart.com/main/info-2AYQ33fR-1059.html

good luck and happy hunting!

Mockngbrd

SGcar mart has a beautiful white JDM 6spd on sale. u can check it out.

zika76

Hi guys,

Been monitoring the SG carmart site as well and have yet to check out the white RX-8 in person but I think it had a total of 3 owners already when it was first posted but it shows just one now.. Going down over the weekend to check it out though. If I buy the car then the first thing to go would be the exhaust think it looks awful in my opinion..

Thanks alot for the heads up!

M-ster

hey zika,
why dont you just call them and find out about nos of ownership. if 3 dont bother, you'll have a hard time selling infuture. There was a yellow one recently as well, looks like in very good condition, not sure still around or not tho.
Think our active member NEON is trying to sell his :D, and he got lots of goodies in it, pm him if you interested!

zika76

Haha thanks for the headsup! Will see how it goes... To be honest I am more inclined to get a brand new stock 8 and then mod it up bit by bit.. Get to feel the difference then getting a car with all the works.. That is the whole fun of car ownership ain't it? However we shall see.. haha

Genesis

Owning an 8 is kinda like kids with lego sets...build it up, then take it apart, then get a new set and do it all over again. Too bad forced induction kits aren't as cheap as lego :D

zika76

haha and NEVER look back at how much you spent...