Fare well my 8 friends! I sold my 8 (Traded it in for a mazda3).. As I have owned 2 8's, I could not keep pumping gas.. The 8 was my favorite car of the 35 cars of various stature that I have owned.. I will miss it and this forum CIAO!!!!!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JoJqID-wJY

 

Well, at least you didn't downgrade too much, imo.

Stick around and enjoy the chats, still!

 

Mazda 3 is a very good car.

 

nice pick, enjoy your milage

 

At least you're staying in the mazda family. Enjoy good gas milage.

 

bye bye bye!!

 

considering how I went from an '06 Mazda 3 4door w/ the 2.0l engine, i ahve a good feeling of what you are now getting around in. It was a great car, worst thing I had to deal with was a nail I picked up, and was to lazy to plug it for about a month. other than that, it was a nice car, and great car for road trips with me and the wife. Tons of room, decent gas mileage (my wife's old scion tC got better mileage, but not by much), and with the MT version, enough power to get outta its own way on the highway. Only thing I never liked was the body roll, which after test driving an 8, it felt REALLY weird to drive home. Best of luck to ya, and hope ya still poke your head in and say "Hi"

 

I would love to hear the math behind the move.

My dealer wanted to give me 12k for my rx8. The fuel economy between a mazdaspeed3 and my rx8 means I would need to keep the ms3 for 17 years to break even. And even then I've given up a sports car for an econobox with fwd and a tc engine. It didn't make sense for me.

 

^^^I'd be interested in the math too. If you traded your 8 and still owe plenty on the 3, you got raped...way more than fill ups for the 8 would cost in the long run.

I can't blame you though. I go through the same thing all the time in my head. I bought my '04 new (paid in full) and right about now its usually time for something new, but there just isn't anything out there that interests me (that I can afford). I've test driven many others mostly in the name of better mileage (3, corolla, civic, civic si, accord, GTI, jetta) but everything seems like such a downgrade from the 8 as far as driving experience so I just can't get myself to do it. For a sportier car, I actually liked the '09 eclipse but that thing seriously has the worst torque steer I've ever experienced so I passed on that too. I do plan on buying whatever the 16x goes into but nobody knows for sure when it is coming out and I just don't know if I can hold out that long (until '10 or '11)

 

There is a mileage calculator on edmunds.com (I posted it a while back) to give you an idea how long it takes to break even. Bottom line is, unless you rack up miles like a cross country big rig, the move is not wise and leads to financial topsy-turvy. I suppose it's a psychological thing. But numbers don't lie.... bye bye bye!

 

They do mislead though. Everyone assumes they have to trade in their cars for a brand new or last year model vehicle. Compare a 2005 RX8 to a 2005 Mazda3; it's likely you come out with cash in hand and a Mazda3, so you're saving money instantly on gas. That's not so with a newer one...but you only compared the newer one. That's where the psychology comes in.

 

yeah good luck with the 3

 

Your correct..The math said (I did not owe anything) it would take almost 2 years to recoup the 5K I shelled out. The reality is I have 2 kids, now teens, and need a real 4 door vehicle for my archery/Astronomy stuff.. If I get the "need", I will take out the Vette...Thanks Again, I still love the 8....

 

I don't owe anything on my car either. But 12k down on a 24k vehicle = 12,000 difference on a MS3. So that's how it calculates out to 17 years to break even if I had traded in.

In your case:

RX8: Let's say 12k miles a year at 18 mpg. That's 667 gallons of fuel. If it's a constant $4.20 a gallon, that's $2800 a year.

M3: 12k miles at 28 mpg? 429 gallons. Let's say $4.00 a gallon for regular = $1700 a year.

So that's a savings of $1,100 a year by switching. Looks like you'd need more than 2 years to make up the difference based on fuel economy alone. It will take longer if you add in tax, title, etc, or took out a loan and will pay interest.

Most people don't keep cars for 5 years, so even with a small amount down that you put on it... it really doesn't save much if anything IMO.

 

I used an online calculator (Not that the resultant would change my mind) but I also averaged 20,000 miles/year.. Also, dont forget gas will continue go up in price over the next few years..Anyway, its gone and I estimate the 3 to get 30 MPG (based on 2 tanks fills so far)..

 

Nice choice have fun with it. I get jealous that my wife's civic can go all around town and barely move the needle on her gas gauge when all I have to do is floor it and I see the needle move.

 

why does every one go in the general forum to say good bye when trading the car in?.....

 

Hey I'm keeping my 8 since its paid for, plus I'm keeping my Mazda 3 since it too is paid for and get's great gas mileage. The 8 only comes out of the garage two to three times a week for spirited driving. The 3 is the daily driver and errand runner.

 

I feel ya. My 6 is almost paid for (should be next spring), and it's the daily driver and long-trip horse (got over 500 miles from one tank on an all-highway trip last year, so I know it gets at least 30). But I do plan to drive the 8 to work occasionally and even take an occasional road trip with it starting next year, when I only have one car payment and buying gas is less of an issue.

 

that's what NPR said about ppl freaking out and downsizing their cars as a knee-jerk reaction...

 

it works well in reverse. Instead of trying to buy a crappy used econobox that now has a rising price tag, you can buy a vehicle for cheap that people are abandoning.

Some people are buying ford trucks and shipping them overseas and making 6k profit per vehicle even after transportation because of how low they're being sold for. You can take advantage of that. Sure you'll pay more for gas, but calculate how long you're going to keep a vehicle for and how much worse the economy is and see if it is a good fit or not.

Following popular logic is only good for lemmings.

 

What do you have against lemmings??


Enjoy the 3. I hope it works out for you.




(Favre to the Vikings?? )

 

Nice combo and great color!

 

You should've got another 'vette. They have good mileage too.