NoVa

Well if you really would want to know. I am paying for about half the car and the insurance is all me. The insurance alone is a lot of money, but ive been saving up money because i DO work. i just wanted to share that before you think im some spoiled kid.

Lensman

I think you've been treated unkindly and without respect. Good luck with your car, I hope you enjoy it.

crouzer

Patronizing? We are only trying to bring people back to reality. :p I am well aware that this is not what some people want to hear. No one has been offensive or disrespectful.

I have to ask.. what kind of job does a 17 year old have that he can afford to put $15k down on a car? Oh I guess I read it wrong.

Must be nice.

LiQuiDLaM

don't worry about it Nova, play everything safe and u'll be fine! i took GLP here in Canada, they showed us tons of videos and gory scenes of car crashes , oh and they had this whole analysis of princess Diana's crash at the tunnel. I swear, some of that stuff is just nasty! but i'm glad i took it, learnt alot of good stuff, basic things like wat to do at a scene of a car accident, and mostly defensive driving skills! but all dat didn't stop me from getting into my first accident!:D
i understand what all the other guys are saying, i freaked out the first time i crashed!:p

NoVa

You have not been disrespectful, but sgc has.. Im not whining or crying about it, but i did not want this to end the way it has. I currently work at my high school managing and building the computer network. For a person my age i consider it "good money" enough to pay half of the monthly payments. Of course i dont have 15,000 to my name, but then again who really does have 15,000 lying around. I plan to pay for it like mostly everyone else.

Gord96BRG

Don't you mean "Don't judge a book by the size of it's daddy's wallet?" :D Just kidding, but that's where a lot of the flak you're getting was coming from - maybe they'll ease up with your explanation of how you're earning a good portion of the payments yourself.

As for driving ability - plan on attending as many driving schools as you can, and take up autocrossing. That's where you'll really see if you can handle a car at the limit, or alternatively find out how much you don't know about driving.

For the auto - if you must get an auto, wait a year or two - that's when Mazda will have a 5 speed auto and also a 6 speed SMG (auto-manual) in the RX-8, both of which will be fitted to the 250 hp engine.

Regards,
Gordon

Renesis08

Good call Nova. I guess some people get irritated when a young person like yourself gets a nice car. I've been out of high school for over half a decade and am still driving the same car (89 Honda CRX. Finally going to let it go but still use it as a secondary daily beater). I am now doing network administration for gov't/military to pay for this car. You have a good work ethic working/earning money while still in high school. Most kids would just party.

I look back and see my high school and so many kids have nice cars not only that, fixed up ones with kits, performance mods, etc. and the funny thing is they are STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL. I'm thinking to myself how the heck do they afford a car let alone the mods and upgrades. I have a friend in the high school I went to and she says it's mommies and daddies money. Grrr! At least I know mine is hard earned. I've saved forever for a new car and now the wait will be DEFINITELY well worth it.

Congrats on the car and get a manual (you will have more fun driving it in one).

Farsyde

my first car was a brand new '99 protege. But i was 18 and i paid for the whole thing. Come to think of it im still paying off the damn thing....and will continue to for another 14 months. Thank god it was...er...is a weedwacker on wheels cuz if it were a fast car i'd be tearing up the town. But that's what friends' cars are for :D

Revival

4 speed auto....errr...they could have it made it 5 speed at least

Gord96BRG

Like I just said - wait a year or two. By the 2006 model RX-8, Mazda will have a 5 speed auto trans as well as a 6 speed sequential auto manual gearbox in the RX-8, both with the 250 hp engine.

Reality is that there was only so much money in the development budget for the RX-8, and with everything else being all-new a new auto transmission was out of the question for this year.

Regards,
Gordon

Farsyde

5 speed auto???? Never seen one. What other cars have 5 speed autos?

Calibus

lets see i know that BMW has a 5 speed auto so do alot of other brands. Also i think that the Audi tip is 5 speed and so is the 350z auto trans. I mean the Auto trans in the Rx-8 is ancient.
I understand that a 5 speed auto or an SMG trans would cost more then the 4 speed auto but at the wholesale lvl it would only prob increase the cost by about 700-800 on the car and i would have no prob payin the extra to get the 250hp eng.
Mazda droped the ball on this one.
I guess i will have to wait for the 0-60 time on the auto and if they are above 8 sec i will either wait for a SMG or 5 speed Auto or get a diff car.

Gord96BRG

I disagree - as mentioned, there was only so many dollars available for the RX-8 project. Developing a new rear-wheel drive auto transmission was a pretty low priority for a car which will not sell in huge volumes (in terms of overall vehicle production relative to their other vehicles), especially when an auto trans in a sports car traditionally is only ordered by fewer than 30% of the buyers. Mazda simply couldn't afford to develop everything all at once. As a lower priority, the auto trans had to wait a year or two to make it to production.

As for who uses 5 speed autos - you're right, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, VW, Jaguar, etc. etc. all have 5 speed autos available now. BMW and Jaguar also have 6 speed autos in production, and Mercedes just announced that the first 7 speed auto will go on the market later this year!

Regards,
Gordon

Goldenhue22

It is ashame that some people on this bored have to rip someone for getting a nice car that someone in their family is paying for. SOunds like jealousy to me. We all strive to give our kids better lives and I see nothing wrong with buying a car for your kid...as long as the kid's attitude remains good and does well in school. IF the kid starts to have a spoiled attitude and wants and wants and wants some more, then there is a problem. But for all of you that jumped on his back, just for getting the same car that you've saved up for years to get, then it's just too bad for you. You don't have to be so bitter.

Haris

Are you 100% sure of this? Can you proove this someway? If they wanted good auto tranny , they probably would have put it on the first release of the car.

crouzer

Golden, I'm afraid you've missed the point entirely.

A kid could have good grades and attitude, but he still doesn't have the practical every day driving experience.

Like I said, we see a wrecked RX-8 in the hands of a minor simply because most of us (including the insurance companies) are familiar with inexperienced drivers getting themselves into fender benders or worse.

Apparently some parents are willing to ignore these facts and pay the price if/when the accident occurs.

Thats all there is to it. I'm done repeating myself.

NoVa

Calibus, when i received my book about a week ago i read the specs sheet. 0-60 is 9.5 seconds with 210hp 4 speed automatic and manual is 6.6 seconds. Okay, so road and track got it at 5.9 seconds. Shave about 1 second off the actual time because some independent tests might get faster and you still have a 8.5 second car. I was a pre-order until i saw this horrific test.

Farsyde

while common sense tend to agree with you this is rarely the case. Because this is a new model, and i mean brand new, they really have no basis to test there parts as if it were a "parts bin" car. Therefore the first year of rx-8's will likely be the "test run" for mazda. They will listen to feedback and change things as they see fit. If a 5 speed auto truly is what the public wants and it is better and will not harm the cost or reliability of the car then it will prolly show up in a later model. i have a '99 protege. First year of the redesign and sooo many things should have been put in that car IMO that werent, but were then added to later models.

Stu C

Hi guys

I drove a nippy (ish) BMW 318IS when I first passed my test (don't get me wrong, I was 22 before this happened, but still youung)

I thought I was a great driver, but looking back on it I was cr*p when I started. However, I was sensible and did not crash the car, or drive like an idiot, but i definitely had a few hairy moments due to lack of expereience. So, yeh, being careful/sensible is good, but it is difficult to be aware of your limitations without hindsight. That said, no one should be stopped from getting a great car just coz they are young.

By the way, i currently have mitsubishi FTO with 5 speed auto/tiptronic and it isn't bad, but i do sooooo want a manual again.

Stu in the UK

Hercules

You guys are forgetting to realize that a 4 speed auto or 5 speed auto would not make a difference in the 0-60 time which is the whole question in this debate.

A 5 speed auto while probably a better choice, would also increase the cost of the car OVER the 6 speed. And if you think with a little common sense, why would Mazda want to have a 210 horsepower car that costs more than a 250 horsepower one?

Common sense people. I know most of you have it. Use it!

crouzer

Ok. Common sense tells me someone needs to start a new thread cause this ones gone in a totally different direction.

Anyways.. It does have 40 less HP, maybe its a miss print, maybe its greatly underestimated. Common sense?

Calibus

Well a new type of 5 Speed Auto can handle more power and more rpm so they can give us the 250 HP motor with the 5 speed auto or at least give us an SMG with an Auto mode .
i would shell out 1500 extra for an SMG with the 250hp eng.
it would be shift if i want or in traffic use it as an Auto saves ur left leg.

Goldenhue22

No Crouzer, people on this board don't have any common sense, as proven by the safety of the sports cars v.s. SUV thread(s). However, people started bashing him because they thought that 'daddy' (as they put it) was paying for the car. Sport cars, with youngsters is a totally different issue and that definately was not the case when people started showing their jealousy and bashing him for getting this car at 17.

ThinQuE

i've been working for a good year now and i mean working my *** off and im going to put a 10k down payment and pay each months note.. do you think its irresponsible for my parents to pay the insurance? after all the work i put into paying for it... btw im 16. and it will be my very first car.

crouzer

PLEASE let this dead horse die!!!

They/he was "bashing" him because daddy makes the decision of which car Jr. will be risking his life in (and insurance policy). Even though Jr. is putting money towards the car it is being bought and final decision by Daddy. :p

We are arguing with the logic of this decision, nothing more. Lets use our heads people and think outside ourselves, I try.

I won't be replying to this topic anymore its ridiculously obvious.