I'm 52 and have had the 8 for 5 months- best car I have had other than the Trans Am convertible I owned 10 years ago. My wife is my age and can't stand the car-too low to get in and out of she said. As long as your knee joints hold out, I recommend the 8. She drives a PT Cruiser Turbo and we use that as the family car.

I am 38 and everyone accuses me of having a midlife crisis car. Isn't 38 kind of early? I listen to modern metal not because i want to be young again but because its who I am. Do you have to change as you get older? No thanks! My Dad is 58 and says he would look silly in it. I said, no way, alot of people your age are drving them and this thread kind of confirms that. He bought a Caddy :( Nice car though but I won't change myself for anyone no matter what they say. Rock on! If you love the car who the hell cares what anyone else whispers? I bought it to impress myself not the gossipers.

57 year old boomer checking in here.

How did I get my RX-8? Well, I didn't really set out to bargain for it. About 3 years ago I screwed up my left shoulder pretty bad, and while I've made a 90% recovery, I started thinking about replacing my trusty 14 year old Nissan pickup with a better truck (read, power steering, etc.).

Meanwhile, we acquired a "new" house that badly needed some remodeling, including a complete new kitchen. I did a lot of ground work with my wife that resulted in a kitchen to die for, among other things. This will probably be our last house and I really wanted her to have a beautiful kitchen (she's a very, very good cook, BTW).

Anyway, after the remodel was complete and we moved in, we started shopping around for my pickup. One day, she mentioned that it might be a good idea to just keep the old pickup and buy a car (she was sitting in a new Miata MX5 at the moment). I thought about it for a second and went yeah, what great idea!

After considering many different vehicles, I settled on the 8. My wife never drives it, but loves going for rides with me.

Short answer: we enjoy making each other happy :D

1.3L

How dare you call me respectable!
 

I may change myself, or I may hire a nurse to do it....Depends.

:D S

glassetcher, usually all the teenagers and 20somethings here make me feel old (I'm 34). So thanks for starting this thread, old man :)
When I got the RX8 a year ago, my wife remarked, "What is this, you third mid-life crisis?!?!" (the first two being my WRX and Integra).

Everyone assumes my RX8 cost $40k and is totally impractical. The main reason I traded my WRX wagon in was it only had one child-seat anchor (RX8 has two). And once people get in, they're always surprised at how spacious it actually is (it's no minivan, but it's fairly utilitarian). And it's stylish, has amazing driving dynamics, and my 6-speed cost $24k. I still can't believe Mazda can offer this kind of car for so little cash... hell most reasonably equipped FWD econoboxes cost $17k-23k.

43 yrs old here, with a young family... one four year old. It makes my day to hear my daughter say "daddy, let's take the race car". As much as I've always loved the 8, my lovely wife of 16 years was the one that was really excited about getting it. Who was I to disagree! She looks fantastic behind the wheel... one day, I'll actually teach her how to drive a 6 speed!

Thank goodness some kindred spirts! I'm old but love the car! The kids are fighting over who eventually gets the keys when I'm too old to drive!

Doug DeBug

LOL :<)

If it's a pretty nurse, let them do it! LOL!!!

1.3L

What if the nurse doesn't want to change your Depends?

46 here with very s&p hair. Love the 8 but got a 94 civic for rainy/ snowy days. The kid is grown and gone, the ex too. I love the way the 8 helps me meet younger women. It is like a magnet that draws them to it. I am really thinking about tinted windows though, they always walk away when they get close enough to see who is driving it!

Wow! I've NEVER had such a response to a post on any forum in the last 10 years!!

From most of the posts I've read here over the last few days, I thought most of the frequenters were under 30. These posts make for some very interesting reading, and some good suggestions. However, the anticipated problem may have resolved itself.

This morning, while we were waiting for our Navy son to call from Dubai (all's well), I sat down at the kitchen table and showed her the RX8 brochure, saying this is a car I'm considering for the replacement of the 626, while trying not to show how much I liked it after the test drive yesterday. Said it is a sporty car, although Mazda considers the 2 seater Miata their real sports car (hows that for not making the 8 sound TOO sporty?) Pointed out the rear seats and how most reviews say full size adults can actually sit there. I did hedge my bet on that one though by saying that I'm not sure that I buy that story after I saw the car yesterday, although at least the seats are there, unlike other "sports cars".

Talked about the 8's excellent govt. crash safety rating and the 6 airbags enveloping the occupants. Gas mileage, while not great, was nearly comparaable to the 93 Camry and 02 Honda Van we also have. That didn't get any great reviews by her, but somewhat acceptable.

Anyway, to make an already too long story short, she was at least mildy receptive to the idea! I tried to hide my excitement, but I almost fell out of my chair!

So, I called the dealer and he agreed to let me have the car for the balance of the weekend and I went to pick it up.

After taking the LONG way home from the dealer, and another drive after dinner, I think I am falling in love with this 8! (oops, I think my wife heard that)

I did take her for a 15 min ride after I first got home (she was on call, so couldn't be away too long). You would have been proud of my restraint from doing any 8 grand power shifts or taking any 20 mph curves at 50. Just a quiet, conservative "ride".

Although she generally seems to like the car, one of her concerns is for the safety of rear seat passangers. She wonders that, since you can't get the rear "doors" open if the front door isn't open, in an emergency maybe the rear passangers would be trapped. Anyone heard this one before and have a plausible solution?

Rear door question crossed my mind as well, but I let it pass. Sounds like she is buying into your plan...hahahaha... Its a great car. Have fun with it.

Rear doors.....
 

Have her sit behind the passenger seat, and down by her ankles, near the centre console is a little strap....when pulled the seatback flips forward, just far enough to reach the front door handle.

While she's still sitting, don't forget to mention the EIGHT airbags, including that one that would protect her head back there! ;)

S

You should get some insurance quotes as well. You should be pleasantly surprised how your quote does't remotely resemble the cost of insurance for a sports car because of the 4 doors. This is a positive.

However, I wouldn't bring up the gas mileage unless you think it will be an issue. You probably won't approach the EPA numbers, unless you are constantly doing highway miles. Expect to average around 18mpg at best, in my opinion.

The insurance cost IS another issue that came up. I said the cost is obviously going to be higher in going from a '97 626 to a 2004 anything, just because it is newer (praying that it is not going to be out of sight because of some generic "sports car" rating by the insurance companies.) What have you found for relative insurance costs for 55 year old "geesers" with an 8?

Geezer fees....
 

Insurance for me & my 8 = $700, ($550US)

:D :D :D :D

S

I'm 56(just turned). Geezers are entitled to a little fun too. Go for it!!!

Geezer Partol
 

I'm 45. And I also want to thank you for starting this thread. I bought my 8 a month ago. Since then, I've seen what seems like an endless parade of teenagers post about their parents buying them their 8 for their birthday (Geez... Don't get me started. )

The short story for me is that my wife and I had an '89 RX-7 Convertible and loved it. We looked at the 8, but I was leaning toward the S2000. My wife nix'd the S2000- only 2 seats. So, the past history with the RX and the 4 seats did it for me. I'm glad it worked ut that way. I'm happy with the 8.

My 11 yo daughter loves the car. Especially when I drop her off or pick her up from school. She's already plotting for the day it becomes hers (we'll see... When she proves she can handle it.)

The cabin is a little small, but fits like a glove once you limbo your way in. Just turn on some early Stones, hit the gas, and let 'er fly.

Rock on!
Bob

Cool! My post was #45 - matches my age!
BOb

I'm 47 and have been driving RX-7s for almost 25 years. I *HAD* to have the 8.

Four seats, the rotary engine, the interior and exterior styling make this car one elegant yet exhilarating ride. It can be both a sports car as well as a practical and confortable cruiser.

Read more through this site and you'll be assimilated, I mean convinced. :)

There's a lot of people on here claiming their insurance is quite low relative to the cars they came out of because a lot of companies classify the car not as a sports car, but as a 4-dr vehicle.

I found my insurance for this car is rather low, but on the other hand it's classified as a "pleasure vehicle". I've got 2 other cars currently on my policy. So it would not be a good comparison. But I think in general, insurance is quite affordable on this car.

Two things to think about: how often will you have passengers in the back seat, and how often will you have accidents that are that serious? For me, life is too short to be basing a car-buying decision on something that has a very low probablility of happening.

The fact that rear-seat passengers can exit the vehicle by flipping the front seats forward should address the concern to some extent.

Go for the 8. Your wife will love it. Just don't teach her to drive manual, or you'll never get to drive it.

Just realised I misread your post. Since your wife drives manual, just let her take a test drive and she'll be sold.