Farewell to my RX-8, hello E92 (lots of pics)
01-05-2009, 03:26 PM
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Farewell to my RX-8, hello E92 (lots of pics)
The time has come for me to say farewell to my 8, but not the forum. Like a addict without his drug, I'll suffer from withdrawals if I try to leave you guys.
I've copied the first part of this post from a thread I started back in September. (Making the first part of my thread a repost. [IMG]file:///C:/Users/rkaufman/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif[/IMG])
I owed a 2005 VR RX-8 MT w/ GT package. July 04 build date.
I never had any serious problems with it until June of 2008. In early June I started to notice that the car had no power below 5k rpm. My car had 56k miles on the odometer. As the month went on the problem got worse.
(LATE JULY)
Towards the end of the month I finally took my car to Galpin Mazda. Since I was out of the basic warranty I had to pay for the rental car and if the problem wasn't covered by the power-train warranty I would also have to pay a $150 diagnostic fee. (plus repairs)
After a day, my service writer calls me an tells my that I need a new engine. I was very happy because it confirmed my initial thoughts and Mazda would be covering a new motor in my 4 year old car.
It took the dealer 15 days to install the new motor. That's twice as long as they claimed when first agreed to install a new motor. The first thing I noticed upon pick up of my car was that it was very dirty. The dealer is far from my house, about 40 miles, so I drove the car home and immediately noticed that the car wasn't any better then before the new motor.
When I got home I checked to see if it was in fact a new motor. After close inspection I concluded that they did replace the motor. I also noticed many small scratches on my front bumper and fenders. I did some research online related to my power loss issues and it seems like bad coils could be the cause. The next day I went to mazdatrix and bought 4 new coils for a total of just over $100.
(AUGUST)
I installed the coils when I got home that night and right away I could feel the difference. The car had twice the power and ran great. Basically, the dealer replaced my engine for no reason....
By now I have about 400 miles on the engine. It's been about 7 days since I got the car back and it has been running great.
(MID AUGUST)
I was driving about 70 mph on the 405N going home from work around 6pm. I hear a loud BOOM and quickly look behind me thinking I blew a tire. To my surprise, I see cars serving to avoid the smoke and crap coming from my car. As I turned back around I glanced down at the gauge cluster and notice my power steering light is on, then the abs light comes on, and finally the check engine light comes on. I lifted my head to look at the front window, and noticed flames, not little flames, massive flames coming from the where the hood seals to the fender and from the wheel wells.
At this point I started to merge off the freeway and head towards the off ramp. Smoke started pouring out of the A/C vents and made it hard to see and breath. By this time I couldn't roll down the windows and the power steering went dead. I cracked open the door to let some air in. (I'm still doing about 45 mph) After making it almost to the off ramp the breaks went out and I had to use the parking brake to stop the car. (It's been about 20 seconds from the boom)
I jumped out of the car and called 911. Some motorist came running up with a fire extinguisher. Using my shirt I was able to open the hood while he muffled the flames until the fire truck came. My shirt burned up. The firemen finished the fire off with their trucks.
The fire totaled the car in less than a minute. If that motorist didn't help me, the car would have melted to the ground. As I looked back at the off ramp I could see a trail where the car was leaking fuel and scorched the payment.
I called the Galpin Mazda the next morning and explained what happened. The general manager was a complete ******* and gave me the impression that he did not give a ****. I then called MNAO and they told me that this was an issue between the dealer and me, not mazda. After several calls got me nowhere, I decided to call my insurance.
State Farm, my insurance, picked up the car a few days later and took it to a inspection lot. The car sat there while they conducted an investigation. They concluded that the car caught fire from a fuel light that was not properly tightened. Galpin Mazda claims it's not their fault.
Fortunately, I have full coverage on my car so my insurance will give me something. But either way, right now I'm without a car and the money I will get won't be able to replace my beauty. I had a lot of time and money invested in the car that my insurance will not cover.
I've copied the first part of this post from a thread I started back in September. (Making the first part of my thread a repost. [IMG]file:///C:/Users/rkaufman/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif[/IMG])
I owed a 2005 VR RX-8 MT w/ GT package. July 04 build date.
I never had any serious problems with it until June of 2008. In early June I started to notice that the car had no power below 5k rpm. My car had 56k miles on the odometer. As the month went on the problem got worse.
(LATE JULY)
Towards the end of the month I finally took my car to Galpin Mazda. Since I was out of the basic warranty I had to pay for the rental car and if the problem wasn't covered by the power-train warranty I would also have to pay a $150 diagnostic fee. (plus repairs)
After a day, my service writer calls me an tells my that I need a new engine. I was very happy because it confirmed my initial thoughts and Mazda would be covering a new motor in my 4 year old car.
It took the dealer 15 days to install the new motor. That's twice as long as they claimed when first agreed to install a new motor. The first thing I noticed upon pick up of my car was that it was very dirty. The dealer is far from my house, about 40 miles, so I drove the car home and immediately noticed that the car wasn't any better then before the new motor.
When I got home I checked to see if it was in fact a new motor. After close inspection I concluded that they did replace the motor. I also noticed many small scratches on my front bumper and fenders. I did some research online related to my power loss issues and it seems like bad coils could be the cause. The next day I went to mazdatrix and bought 4 new coils for a total of just over $100.
(AUGUST)
I installed the coils when I got home that night and right away I could feel the difference. The car had twice the power and ran great. Basically, the dealer replaced my engine for no reason....
By now I have about 400 miles on the engine. It's been about 7 days since I got the car back and it has been running great.
(MID AUGUST)
I was driving about 70 mph on the 405N going home from work around 6pm. I hear a loud BOOM and quickly look behind me thinking I blew a tire. To my surprise, I see cars serving to avoid the smoke and crap coming from my car. As I turned back around I glanced down at the gauge cluster and notice my power steering light is on, then the abs light comes on, and finally the check engine light comes on. I lifted my head to look at the front window, and noticed flames, not little flames, massive flames coming from the where the hood seals to the fender and from the wheel wells.
At this point I started to merge off the freeway and head towards the off ramp. Smoke started pouring out of the A/C vents and made it hard to see and breath. By this time I couldn't roll down the windows and the power steering went dead. I cracked open the door to let some air in. (I'm still doing about 45 mph) After making it almost to the off ramp the breaks went out and I had to use the parking brake to stop the car. (It's been about 20 seconds from the boom)
I jumped out of the car and called 911. Some motorist came running up with a fire extinguisher. Using my shirt I was able to open the hood while he muffled the flames until the fire truck came. My shirt burned up. The firemen finished the fire off with their trucks.
The fire totaled the car in less than a minute. If that motorist didn't help me, the car would have melted to the ground. As I looked back at the off ramp I could see a trail where the car was leaking fuel and scorched the payment.
I called the Galpin Mazda the next morning and explained what happened. The general manager was a complete ******* and gave me the impression that he did not give a ****. I then called MNAO and they told me that this was an issue between the dealer and me, not mazda. After several calls got me nowhere, I decided to call my insurance.
State Farm, my insurance, picked up the car a few days later and took it to a inspection lot. The car sat there while they conducted an investigation. They concluded that the car caught fire from a fuel light that was not properly tightened. Galpin Mazda claims it's not their fault.
Fortunately, I have full coverage on my car so my insurance will give me something. But either way, right now I'm without a car and the money I will get won't be able to replace my beauty. I had a lot of time and money invested in the car that my insurance will not cover.
Last edited by Rotary Rasp; 01-05-2009 at 03:31 PM.
01-05-2009, 03:27 PM
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(SEPTEMBER)
I started selling all the mods that I removed from the car. Fared pretty well on this forum. I sold almost everything.
(MID SEPTEMBER)
After two weeks of fighting with state farm because they insist of fixing my car
I finally get a call from the insurance informing me that they will total my car if I would like them to.
I agree to have it totaled and a few days later I get a fairly large check in the mail. Considerably larger than what the car was worth. Let just say I could have bought a new RX-8 with it. Unfortunately, Mazda left a bad taste in my mouth so that wasn't an option.
I had been looking in to the new BMW 3 series coupe for the past year but never really considered it because of the price. There happens to be a BMW dealer very close to my work so I decided to stop by on my way home. 2008 was the first year of the 1 series, a cheaper car than the 3 series and something that I could afford.
The dealer had a few of them on the lot, but to be honest, the 1 series was kind of ugly. The 3 series they had on the lot had waaaaay more sex appeal.
I went home and did some research on the car and found a way I could save some money, nearly $5,500. BMW offers a program called European Delivery.
Here is the way it works:
-The car is bought here at my local at a reduced price. (about $4,000 less before discounted options)
-The car is custom built in Germany.
-After 5-6 weeks I go to Munich, Germany to pick up the car. BMW has a two for one deal with Luftansah. Non-stop trip cost $625 round-trip for each of us.
-BMW pays for your tourist registration and insurance for two weeks on the car.
-You are presented the car at the BMW Welt in Munich, Germany.
-After you are done driving the car for 2 weeks or less, you drop the car of with BMW where it is shipped back to the States. Shipping and marine insurance are included.
-You fly back home and wait about 6-8 weeks for your car to arrive at your local BMW dealer.
A few days later I stopped by the dealer again and talked to the sales person who handles European Deliveries. We ran my credit and to my surprise I was approved for their lowest financing at the time. (3.9%)
(EARLY OCTOBER)
After thinking about it for a few days I decided to do it. Once again, I stopped by the dealer after work and placed an order. (No deposit was required, which was kind of nice)
(LATE OCTOBER)
BMW has a pretty nice website that allows you to see the progress of your car from when the order is placed all the way to your driveway. 3 days before my trip to Europe my car started production.
On October 30th, after a 13 hour flight, we landed in Germany. The next morning was the pick up date for my car so we went right to bed. (or at least tried to)
The next morning, at 8:30am, we took a taxi to the BMW Welt.
Once inside, someone came and checked our baggage. (they took it from us to put in my trunk)
We were given a personal assistant for the better half of the day. He lead us upstairs to the waiting room while they got the paperwork ready.
I started selling all the mods that I removed from the car. Fared pretty well on this forum. I sold almost everything.
(MID SEPTEMBER)
After two weeks of fighting with state farm because they insist of fixing my car
I finally get a call from the insurance informing me that they will total my car if I would like them to.
I agree to have it totaled and a few days later I get a fairly large check in the mail. Considerably larger than what the car was worth. Let just say I could have bought a new RX-8 with it. Unfortunately, Mazda left a bad taste in my mouth so that wasn't an option.
I had been looking in to the new BMW 3 series coupe for the past year but never really considered it because of the price. There happens to be a BMW dealer very close to my work so I decided to stop by on my way home. 2008 was the first year of the 1 series, a cheaper car than the 3 series and something that I could afford.
The dealer had a few of them on the lot, but to be honest, the 1 series was kind of ugly. The 3 series they had on the lot had waaaaay more sex appeal.
I went home and did some research on the car and found a way I could save some money, nearly $5,500. BMW offers a program called European Delivery.
Here is the way it works:
-The car is bought here at my local at a reduced price. (about $4,000 less before discounted options)
-The car is custom built in Germany.
-After 5-6 weeks I go to Munich, Germany to pick up the car. BMW has a two for one deal with Luftansah. Non-stop trip cost $625 round-trip for each of us.
-BMW pays for your tourist registration and insurance for two weeks on the car.
-You are presented the car at the BMW Welt in Munich, Germany.
-After you are done driving the car for 2 weeks or less, you drop the car of with BMW where it is shipped back to the States. Shipping and marine insurance are included.
-You fly back home and wait about 6-8 weeks for your car to arrive at your local BMW dealer.
A few days later I stopped by the dealer again and talked to the sales person who handles European Deliveries. We ran my credit and to my surprise I was approved for their lowest financing at the time. (3.9%)
(EARLY OCTOBER)
After thinking about it for a few days I decided to do it. Once again, I stopped by the dealer after work and placed an order. (No deposit was required, which was kind of nice)
(LATE OCTOBER)
BMW has a pretty nice website that allows you to see the progress of your car from when the order is placed all the way to your driveway. 3 days before my trip to Europe my car started production.
On October 30th, after a 13 hour flight, we landed in Germany. The next morning was the pick up date for my car so we went right to bed. (or at least tried to)
The next morning, at 8:30am, we took a taxi to the BMW Welt.
Once inside, someone came and checked our baggage. (they took it from us to put in my trunk)
We were given a personal assistant for the better half of the day. He lead us upstairs to the waiting room while they got the paperwork ready.
Last edited by Rotary Rasp; 01-05-2009 at 05:47 PM.
01-05-2009, 03:28 PM
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Here is the view from the waiting room, if you look closely, you can see my car:
After the paperwork was taken care of, we were taken to watch a hologram video of my car being built. It was pretty cool. Next they lead us to a driving simulator where they enabled/disabled all of the cars safety features so I could see how the car would behave.
Next we were escorted down a long stairwell and low and behold... my car.
Our assistant spent about an hour going over every feature the car had. He paired my phone, programmed my seats, mirrors and even set our first destination in the GPS. (which was loaded with European maps)
After the car was shown to us, we were allowed to take it for a victory lap around the inside of the building. After our lap we handed the car over to their valet and we continued on with the rest of our schedule.
Victory lap:
Following handing over the car, we were given two gift cards to eat at one of three restaurants inside the building. These are separate from the food in the waiting room. That food was only for owners. The restaurants are for anyone who wants to pay.
After lunch we started our factory tour. The tour took 3 hours they showed us how every part on the car was made... from the rolls of bare steel to the installing of the emblem.
After the tour we headed to the BMW museum.
After the paperwork was taken care of, we were taken to watch a hologram video of my car being built. It was pretty cool. Next they lead us to a driving simulator where they enabled/disabled all of the cars safety features so I could see how the car would behave.
Next we were escorted down a long stairwell and low and behold... my car.
Our assistant spent about an hour going over every feature the car had. He paired my phone, programmed my seats, mirrors and even set our first destination in the GPS. (which was loaded with European maps)
After the car was shown to us, we were allowed to take it for a victory lap around the inside of the building. After our lap we handed the car over to their valet and we continued on with the rest of our schedule.
Victory lap:
Following handing over the car, we were given two gift cards to eat at one of three restaurants inside the building. These are separate from the food in the waiting room. That food was only for owners. The restaurants are for anyone who wants to pay.
After lunch we started our factory tour. The tour took 3 hours they showed us how every part on the car was made... from the rolls of bare steel to the installing of the emblem.
After the tour we headed to the BMW museum.
Last edited by Rotary Rasp; 01-05-2009 at 07:48 PM.
01-05-2009, 03:28 PM
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By the time we finished the museum it was 5pm. We retrieved the car and headed to our first city, Salzburg, Austria.
After one night in Salzburg we headed to Vienna, Austria.
After 3 nights in Vienna, we headed back to Germany. At this point we had broken the car in and was ready to drive it to its potential on the autobahn.
We arrived, in record time, to Neuschwanstein later that day. This is the castle that Disneyland is modeled after.
After one night in Salzburg we headed to Vienna, Austria.
After 3 nights in Vienna, we headed back to Germany. At this point we had broken the car in and was ready to drive it to its potential on the autobahn.
We arrived, in record time, to Neuschwanstein later that day. This is the castle that Disneyland is modeled after.
01-05-2009, 03:29 PM
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Our last city was Munich, we had only stayed for one night earlier in the trip.
We stayed in Munich for 3 more days
And finally, the airport as were leaving to come back home.
12 hours later we arrived back in Los Angeles. It was a great 11 day trip.
After 7 weeks the car arrived at my local dealer.
One last thing, did I mention that this car is insanely fast?
We stayed in Munich for 3 more days
And finally, the airport as were leaving to come back home.
12 hours later we arrived back in Los Angeles. It was a great 11 day trip.
After 7 weeks the car arrived at my local dealer.
One last thing, did I mention that this car is insanely fast?
Last edited by Rotary Rasp; 01-05-2009 at 05:53 PM.
01-05-2009, 03:39 PM
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Options I got:
2009 Monetgo Blue 335i Coupe w/ prem, sport, nav, comfort acess, pdc, ipod, black leather, alum trim, and logic 7
I ended up saving about 5,300 off what I would have paid to buy it normally. The trip cost me about $1,400 including airfare. We stayed at hostel which kept the prices way down. In the end I got 3,900 bucks off, a trip to Europe, and an incredible story.
Lastly, the price is cheaper because it doesn't come out of the dealers allotment of cars they can import to the US. BMW can only import so many cars per year. By having me sign for it in Europe, this sale doesn't count towards their limit.
The 335i makes 300hp and 300ft/lbs torque from 1350-5500 rpm.
The motor has been engine dynoed by a few companies at it consistently makes between 325-330 crank hp/torque which means BMW under rated the engine.
0-60 comes up in 4.8 seconds
2009 Monetgo Blue 335i Coupe w/ prem, sport, nav, comfort acess, pdc, ipod, black leather, alum trim, and logic 7
I ended up saving about 5,300 off what I would have paid to buy it normally. The trip cost me about $1,400 including airfare. We stayed at hostel which kept the prices way down. In the end I got 3,900 bucks off, a trip to Europe, and an incredible story.
Lastly, the price is cheaper because it doesn't come out of the dealers allotment of cars they can import to the US. BMW can only import so many cars per year. By having me sign for it in Europe, this sale doesn't count towards their limit.
The 335i makes 300hp and 300ft/lbs torque from 1350-5500 rpm.
The motor has been engine dynoed by a few companies at it consistently makes between 325-330 crank hp/torque which means BMW under rated the engine.
0-60 comes up in 4.8 seconds
Last edited by Rotary Rasp; 01-05-2009 at 03:55 PM.
01-05-2009, 03:42 PM
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I know this story has a happy ending so I'll let Rodger finish up... (I'll relocate my post if this ends up in the middle of the story)
01-05-2009, 04:09 PM
#13
Huge hole is huge
This story makes me sad mixed with a dose of happiness. GREAT story, sucks how it came about, though. How the hell didn't Galpin Mazda get it's *** chewed hard for that?
On a lighter note, if you can't say how much you got for the car in public, mind a PM? I'm just being a curious cat.
On a lighter note, if you can't say how much you got for the car in public, mind a PM? I'm just being a curious cat.
01-05-2009, 04:37 PM
#16
My cousin just bought one of these fully loaded brand new and it came up just shy of $60,000. I was like daaaaamn for a 3 series? Wtf. She was 10G's shy of a 7 series that my buddy just bought.
Very nice car btw, just too expensive for my taste/wallet. lol Enjoy.
Very nice car btw, just too expensive for my taste/wallet. lol Enjoy.
01-05-2009, 04:58 PM
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I always knew you were going to get a Bimmer :D
But Dayum, Thats crazy that you went from a 30k car to nearly double that price!
Well atleast you found a car thats almost as fun to drive as your Rx-8...
Good Luck with having the car!
*******, you made me jealous...
j/k
But Dayum, Thats crazy that you went from a 30k car to nearly double that price!
Well atleast you found a car thats almost as fun to drive as your Rx-8...
Good Luck with having the car!
*******, you made me jealous...
j/k
01-05-2009, 05:06 PM
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INSAAANE story my friend. I'm glad everything worked out well for ya in the long run. So I guess it was'nt really too necassary to sell the footwell LED's?? 
Nice ride bro.
Nice ride bro.
01-05-2009, 05:25 PM
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Wow!
It's certainly one happy ending to a horrible, tragic story. Sorry to read about your RX8.
However, you had one hell of a shopping experience in the end.
Congrats on the new ride!!! It's beautiful!!!
It's certainly one happy ending to a horrible, tragic story. Sorry to read about your RX8.
However, you had one hell of a shopping experience in the end.
Congrats on the new ride!!! It's beautiful!!!
01-05-2009, 05:29 PM
#21
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I logged 758 miles in Europe. Made it from Vienna to the castle in about 4 hours.... it's about a 425 mile drive!
I have had the car back in the states for a week now. The odometer just hit 1400 miles last night. I did my first oil change last weekend!
01-05-2009, 05:35 PM
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This story makes me sad mixed with a dose of happiness. GREAT story, sucks how it came about, though. How the hell didn't Galpin Mazda get it's *** chewed hard for that?
On a lighter note, if you can't say how much you got for the car in public, mind a PM? I'm just being a curious cat.
On a lighter note, if you can't say how much you got for the car in public, mind a PM? I'm just being a curious cat.
I paid $46,235 for the car. This is before taxes.
I compared my price to edmunds TMV at the time of purchase. The same car would have been about $51K if bought normally according to edmunds. $51k was slightly below MSRP at the time.
01-05-2009, 05:37 PM
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01-05-2009, 05:40 PM
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Keep in mind that autobahn merely means freeway in German. There are many autobahns just like we have many freeways.
Also, there are speed limits on it. Only certain sections are not governed by limits. (also, if the weather is foul, you cannot drive faster than what is safe)
Last edited by Rotary Rasp; 01-05-2009 at 05:42 PM.
