shakRpahX8

Hi I'm trying to get good deals for my RX-8 '05
Im thinkin about 6 speed titanium grey or black or even silver
what's the best deal i can get for it?
how much did u pay for urs?

Apophis

Guy, you've gotta be specific and at least tell us the package (i.e. "Sport", "Touring" or "Grand Touring") and major options (i.e. appearance/spoiler and/or navigation) As someone who has spent some time working in auto sales, I'd always do the following when buying a new car:

1. Make sure you know what car you want. Do your homework, research, test drive, everything.

2. Figure out exactly what options you want.

3. Call a bunch of dealerships in the area and get price quotes. You want to get price quotes on the gross price, not the down payment/ payments. This will keep them from trying to mess with you on residual values and payment structures and what not.

4. Go to the dealership with the second best price and negotiate them down a little by telling them that "another dealership in the area" (don't tell them which one) quoted you $X. Be ready to leave if they don't at least match the price the other dealer quoted you. Just always be ready to walk away and go elsewhere. If you know the VIN number of the exact vehicle you want, the other dealership will get that exact vehicle for you.

I used this general technique and got my 8 for about $4K less than sticker, '04 incentive ($1K) included.

BTW, the '05 and '04 are the same except for 5 things:

1. The '05 has a cooler switchblade-style key. (Note that you can get this key for an '04 for a couple hundred bucks)
2. The '05 has available XM radio
3. The '04 will cost a little over $1K less than the '05 due to the manufacturer's incentive
4. The '05 will have a SLIGHTLY higher residual and resale value just b/c the year is later.
5. The dealer will be much more eager to get an '04 off the lot, giving you a slight bargaining edge.

I'd suggest you consider the differences and weigh your priorities and be sure that you want the '05. It'll cost you a little bit more but, depending on what you're looking for, it might be worth it.

Good luck.

Mr. Samurai

One thing I noticed. If you dont ever have gas money, or cant ever afford gas, this car may not be the car for you. Other than that this car rocks.

Outlaws eXtreme

Also consider your age/experience driving, because you'll have to get full coverage, and see if you can afford that. Then also whether your APR% is too much for you to handle. If money is no problem, just go out there and buy one. If you are in the middle range, consider saving enough that JUST in case something happens, you can still pay the car off. If you are thinking of getting this car with a month to month pay.... I'd be weary of that, could screw your credit and lose your car.

Gas.. expect at least 250-300 bucks if you drive a lot with it. My average monthly gas bill is about 300... drive it M-F mostly.

8_is_enuf

Outlaws.... You spend $300 a month on gas? You go 3000 miles a month?

Icemastr

Consider the RX-8uses premium, which is about 2.20-2.40 a gallon here in California right now, if your RX-8 is averaging 16MPG then thats about 1800-2000 miles for $300 in gas.

8_is_enuf

Since when do you have to run premium?

8_is_enuf

That just seems like all the worst case... Bad place, bad mileage and most expensive gas.

mysql101

i can live with the poor gas mileage - just factor in insurance savings over owning something like a porsche

Secondly, while a 2005 may be worth slightly more down the road over a 2004, the fact is, you can get a 2004 for $3,000 under invoice. That's more than what you'll get in 6 years when you sell your car when comparing a 2004 to 2005.

To answer his question, I'd say you should be able to get a 2005 at invoice or a few hundred over.

ZGlide

ok. Let me be a little more specific and please help me on this. I'm thinking of picking up my 2nd RX-8 tomorrow.....

pearl white
6 speed MT
GT package
Appearance package
rotory accent package
navigation
6 disc changer

I'm being offered at $31580, or about $38,700 otd. How does that sound to you guys? That's about 6 hundred less than the one I bought earlier this year (don't ask what happened to it, I was just driving and minding my own business then all of a sudden a stupid telephone pole had to jump out in front of me).

Please let me know if this is a good deal. Thanks guys

markd

Uh oh, I'm smelling another 'which gas does the 8 use?' discussion.

Although I am currently fueling up on mid-grade unleaded (89), I highly do not recommend using 87. Just bad for the engine. I started to develop problems at just 4,000 miles. Lotta engine knocking, lotta jarring, and a whole lotta lack of performance. It's worth the extra $2 to fill up with premium unleaded.

BTW, Shak, Apophis's advice is sound and I would follow it to a T. I know I did.

markd

I don't know at what price the '05s are starting, but anything over $30,000 sounds a little high for me. With everything you want, a fully-loaded '05 8, though, maybe that isn't too far-fetched. Check kbb.com to see what the dealer pays for it and start your bargaining from there.

Sorry to hear about your prior car. Damn telephone poles. Gotta watch out for those rogue utility guys placing them in the most suspect places. :D

jsh1120

At $31,580 it appears to be a good price, about $700 less than invoice, according to www.edmunds.com. It's about $3K less than "what others are paying" according to Edmunds.

However, the $38,700 otd price which includes, I presume, tax/title/license, is, imho, absurdly high given the $31,580 price. What are they charging you over $7000 for? From your figures it appears the dealer is packing a huge margin into additional charges. Don't know where you live, but even in Washington, with a 9.1% sales tax on new vehicles, this is a way high price.

Two pieces of advice in addition to what was stated above by others.

(1) ALWAYS contact dealers through the internet. This almost always results in a lower price and less hassle since the dealer assumes up front that you know the invoice, any incentives available, and the prevailing price. In the Seattle area, at least, most dealers have "internet sales departments" that allow you to bypass most of the bulls**t usually associated with negotiating a sale price.

(2) This time, keep an eye on wandering utility poles.

ZGlide

ha! thank you for the advice regarding the pole. I made a mistake...instead of $38700 i meant $34700. I'm in california which has a 8.25% sales tax. So is this a good deal?

mysql101

I paid invoice for my car, so I happen to know that a base 6MT with GT and Navi will already run you about $30,000 alone. App is another $750ish, rotary accents are $120, 6 disk? I think that's around $300.

It sounds to me like you're paying close to $500-700 over invoice, but you'd have to look up on edmunds what actual dealer cost is for the car.

TODreamer

You should also secure your own financing.... DON'T do it through the dealer

However If you really must do it through a dealer... at least know your credit rating because they might try to screw you on interest.

mysql101

Do both. Secure your own, then go to the dealer and tell them you'll finance through them if they can beat whatever the best rate you could get. I recommend looking to local credit unions. Remember that once you have an inquiry, additional inquiries within a short period of time don't further reduce your score.

TODreamer

wait a minute... I thought it did reduce it

mysql101

Not for a short period of time, this allows you to shop for rates. But if you do stuff like keep applying for credit cards and being turned down, or there are inquiries all the time, it makes you look suspicious.

jsh1120

At $34.7K otd, it looks like a good deal. BTW, here's a tip. Before you sign anything, ask the dealer to supply the purchase order for the car so you can supply it to your lender. (Whether you have/need one or not.) That will give you an opportunity to review each of the items for which you're being charged without having to do so in the pressure of the dealer's dreaded FINANCIAL office.

Doing so enabled me to identify an extra $150 charge for a tax that didn't apply to me. I simply indicated I wasn't willing to pay it and the dealer canceled it. I would probably not have caught the item had I first seen the purchase order when I was ready to write the check.