Nima

Here is the story.

Im 17 and have been driving the family fan for a couple of months. I am pretty much going crazy over the rx8. I cant stop thinking about it. You all think im a ignorant teenager. Maybe i am . But i am savvy with cars. But the biggest problem is my parents.

1. Budget.

My parents dont want me spending more then 10k, half is my own money i have been saving since i was 12. Ive found 04s close to 10k with like 70k miles. Is that weird or just a good deal?

2. Insurance

I know insurance is going to be sky high. I have the 3.0 gpa discount and everything. Have not gotten a quote yet because i want to be sure before i get my parents really involved (they know about it, but they dont know its performance capabilities, been showing off the saftey ratings ) Now, i have seen different stuff. Is it considered a coupe? Some say its considered sedan??

3. Right for me

"rx8 for teenager is craziness" I am ready for taking care of it and i wont be stupid. I have read so much about flooding, spark plugs, oil, recalls, for the last month or so my head is going to explode haha.

Anyway, just want some input. Am i a niave 17 year old?

jhoyt12788

Ok, as far as your budget is concerned that will be your biggest problem.

A rx8 with that many miles isn't going to have any warranty which is not a good thing.... other than that you can always finance a car at a higher price. If you have 10 grand to put into a car, get a newer model with an extended warranty and have a low monthly payment.

As far as insurance goes, I had an 09 corolla that and my insurance was double what it is with my rx8. My driving record is awful and the rx8 cut my insurance in half over the corolla. I've totaled a car, and have 4 tickets. My insurance with my 8 is 2,000 a year. My insurance with the corolla was 2,100 every six months.... you do the math.

As far as is it right for you? It's all about how you drive the car. I had my first one at 18 and totaled it 3 months later when I lost control on ice.

Naive, no...17 and want an rx8...yes.

Smirnofsoldier

lol i feel ya but i dunno im looking at a few that are around the 18k mark and you have to be careful and make sure you drive them! because i swear ive driven some buckets and for ten grand im not sure what you might get.....

and there are alot of people on the board that have high miles but make sure everything has been done (flashs ext) and make sure you drive it!

but honestly at 17 i would have killed myself with this car lol i dont have one (yet!) but test driving them is awesome :P and i still get all excited when i stomp on it and swing it out (icey parking lot) but ya make sure if ur in snow make sure to have snow tires because i drove one last week with summers and it was kinda scary and one today that had CRAP all seasons on it....

but thats just my opinion beautiful car tho oh ya and chicks seem to go googly eyed over it aswell :D

dshiznit1489

I got my 8 when I was 17. I don't see a problem here.

YaXMaNGTO

please just wait. you seem like a good kid with a good head on your shoulders. just wait a while.

buy something cheap, something you can fun with, and work on to learn about sports cars... but not an RX8. you can always get whatever the heck you want to get after college.

visualize your friends sitting in your nice RX8... and farting in the seats. yah. that's highschool.

Maybe something you pay for up front, like a 240SX? you can mod the bejesus out of those things. just a thought.

dshiznit1489

Elbow into face, head into glove compartment. If only I had the courage to do this to a friend.

Smirnofsoldier

lol ya i had a beater for highschool get an 89 accord it will never do u wrong :P



Edit** Not sporty at all though lol just thought i would mention that

8 Maniac

iTrader: (1)

it has the power train warranty.

I got my car a couple weeks before my 18th birthday. I had been driving my parents cars before that (which were both nice, so I couldnt complain) but I did want my own car, even if it wasnt an rx8 (though that was the top of my list and I definitely pushed for it). Obviously, I ended up getting my wish. I'm not going to say I havent done anything stupid in my car, but I dont view it as being a bad first car (for me at least). I probably could have picked something a lot faster (straight line acceleration) which most likely would have had me in more trouble, but I think the 8 was an overall good choice.

I'd say one thing that's useful is knowing if your car is faster or not... I find it a lot easier to avoid getting caught up in a race if I just assume the outcome and dont bother trying to find out from experience...

Nima

thanks for the input.

So insurance is kinda a stabbed in the dark sometimes, because jhoyt12788 seems to have it going on.

And yea ill defiantly drive the car before i buy it. I have checked out the 240sx, along with integras, rsx, wrx, old 325i, mazdaspeed3 etc. But nothing catches my eye quite like the rx8. Its got a spell on me or something and i haven't even drove one yet haha.

J wind

have you taken a look at the rx-7s'? the older brother of the rx-8s'?

as for insurance, if your using the same company as your family is, and have multiple cars under that company, and you have your dad/mom name on the registration, it might be a little easier. Atleast that how it is for me with AAA. hope it helps

Zerotide

iTrader: (1)

Budget will def be your biggest problem. 10k will only get you the car, and for 10k, it will be a very high mileage, early year 8. After that you have sales tax and licensing. Not to mention the 8 is a gas guzzler. Maintenance can get costly too.

If you end up getting one make sure you get it inspected first at a Mazda dealer.


Sorry I'm just really down on my f#cking 8 right now.

rglbegl

Insurance is cheap. Super cheap. (4 door 1.3liter sedan)

If you think you can handle a sports car without wrecking it . . . . go for it.
About half the teenagers in here crash their cars. The other half seem to do just fine. So if you can do basic work on a car, and can keep yourself out of ditches, you will love this car.



BTW, that spell the car has on you, we call it the 'addiction' here

So welcome to the addiction

Nima

im really glad to here about the insurance. that was a big factor.

I have actually 15k to spend on the car, my parents are only letting me spend 10 and keeping the rest for gas, sales tax and all that good stuff. I think thats to much to save cause i will have a job in summer but hey, its what parents do i guess.

I have looked into rx7 for sure, beautiful. but that defiantly a coupe for insurance companies and considered more sporty than the 8 i think.

Now mileage is a big deal when buying an old 8 right? Lets say that guy, http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/ctd/1003701928.html.

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

insurance is not cheap. i have geico.

i have zero at fault accidents. zero speeding tickets. i have multi drivers discount. good student discount. additional driving instruction discount. blahblah.

before i was 21, my insurance was $4600/year.

after 21 it dropped to $3400/year.

JRichter

^ Holy fvck. I think at past age 25 with that driving record you will see much cheaper insurance with 8 (mine cut in half w/ a different car at 25). I'm 31 and pay around 1200/ year with about 1 or 2 tickets per year - no accidents - no discounts. It was about 950/ year before I moved to CO. Insurance for the 8 is cheap for what it is IMO, but probably not for anyone under 25.

DubbsLuvs8s

iTrader: (1)

I have a little knowledge about insurance, my entire family works for Geico, as I have in the past.

Insurance is VERY complicated. It's got to do with not only your driving, but your credit score, your occupation, age, everything about you that they can lawfully find out. Then, based on trends they find amongst those certain groups of people, they place you in a "Tier" and each tier includes a group of drivers with a similar driving risk. If you end up in a lower tier, your insurance is going to be high because the rates are higher for lower tiers. By separating the tiers into separate companies, they can charge different rates. So theoretically, the people who are least likely to be a liability will have much cheaper insurance, but those that are not in the highest company will have much higher rates.

alfy28

buy it (maybe a ntoher rx8), your still young. you will be in out of cars any ways. but if me, i would buy a first gen miata (94-97) and mod the crap out of it.

Razz1

I think you are going to get a piece of crap for 10 k

You shouldn't get a sports car for a first time owner/driver.

Get a Civic. Keep it for a year.

then after you have the experience you can look at an RX8

DukeDerox

10k may cover the car but not the upkeep. I was too lazy to read if you had that covered.

04RX8man

my insurance is about 1800 a yr for the 8 and I have had my fair share of trouble

However I still am saying you get something to learn and work on to learn all about cars and maintenance....a 240 with the SR20 motor swap is a nice ride but turbo'd may scare off the rents!

Renesis07

iTrader: (1)

Got my rx8 when I was 18, paid for it myself. Worked 2 jobs while in high school, it was hard but I got through.

I say go for it, I have memories Ill never forget from highschool and college with the 8.

Now mine is at 72K miles and I retired it and am driving a grand prix for a DD, looking into an FC now to add to my collection.

ZachLegend

I'm 17, and bought my 8 a few months ago for around 14 grand with 48k miles. I love this car so much, and like you I was OBSESSED with it before I bought it. I put a down payment on my car and make payments. You should probably do the same thing and get a newer one, since you have so much money to put for a down payment. The insurance on the car isn't a problem at all. I had a saturn before I owned this car and now I pay $30 more a month than i did with the Saturn. (with the 3.0 discount) Just make sure you have a solid income coming in to pay for the gas, that's my only problem at times.

Being 17 and having an RX8 is amazing, don't listen to the people that discourage you. You feel so accomplished when you buy your own RX8.

04RX8man

oh yes^listen to Zach if not me or anyone else on this forum about gas...b prepared to buy and feed this thing gas....16mpg when going easy on it.....for me it's about 30bucks every 4 days for gas so that's over 200 a month in gs and that's going to school/work no going out or anything usuallly ends up being about 300 a month in gas ontop of insurance, payment, etc etc

ZachLegend

That's about how much I get. Sucks so bad. haha

XAreXAteX

I wouldn't buy an 04 w/ 70 k on it. There are great deals on 04-05 models with far less miles for not much more.