Ulises

ok guys, this is my history;
Im 19 year old and im a freshman in Winona State University MN. but i do not live on campus so i drive 60 miles a day. I used to own a 1996 V6 mustang but as soon as i saw the rx8 i wanted to get one right away so i sold my car and i got a 2004 rx8 grand touring Nav. system and leather seats with 44000 miles for $15,600. I love the rx8, never had a problem, never flooded or anything but now since gas prices went up i cant longer afford to put gas on it. my other concern is that my warranty will expire soon and im afraid that is going to be expenseve to fix it if anything goes wrong with my car. so i went to the dealer and try to trade in my car they offer me $11,000 that dont even cover my dept with my bank. after two weeks of negotations they "kinda of agree" to trade even for a Mazda 3i(5sp) 2006 with only 28000 miles or a mazda 6i 2005 (5sp) with 30000 miles. which car would you guys choose? im only waiting for the dealer to take their final decision because according to them they got to be profitable. In my opinion the rx8 is a great car and provides anything you need but you got to work full time to own this car. so this is my advice to any teenager that wants to get a rx8 THINK TWICE before you do it because the gas consumption is gonna get you poor unless you are a rich kid than you have no problem. i really hope that after i graduate i can buy another rx8 because it is my dream car. this forum is awsome so keep up the good work.
thank you
ulises

staticlag

That sucks dude, don't worry after you graduate and get a job you can hopefully get the new rx with the 1.6L engine.

JRichter

tuff choice there, the 6 makes 160hp and the 3 makes 150 hp? I'd probably give the nod to the 3 on looks alone plus it's a year newer and less miles...

reaper1

Take the 3 , plus gas will be less .

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

i'd get the 3. is the i the version with the 2.0 liter engine? the 2.0 gets better mpg than the 2.3. the mazda6 gas mileage isnt too different from the rx8s, btw. i think its 18/24.

i drive 60 miles a day (30 miles one way) to my university. january gas bill: $325. february: $250.

still havent seen march yet.

SideOfBacon

just convert your 8 into a hydro car. problem solved!


in all honesty, go with the 3, less miles.

fahrfegneugen

Go with the 3, you don't need a huge 6 anyways I bet.

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

huge 6?

have you ever driven a bmw 7 series L?

xsnipersgox

sell the car urself.. 11k for fully loaded?... come on a monkey can do better

delhi

Sorry to break it down to ya. But most teenagers these days likely had their parents buy cash for an RX-8 else an M3.

superglue

Did parents magically get 3 times richer in the past 15 years? My parents couldn't even afford to get me braces, yet alone a new effing car.

CyberPitz

That's what I was thinking. I got jipped on all sorts of dental trips and all sorts of things since my parents couldn't even really afford much.

I guess these days, parents just have the ability to go get more loans than before...?

shaunv74

I would sell the RX8 outright and buy the 3. You'll get more for it.

We have a 3 as well and it's a great car and the hatchback is practical for a college guy that will be moving every year.

mike73737

I vote to keep the 8, get a second (or third) job. We've got a 3s, the 3i is going to disappoint you. It's not a bad car, but you're going to trade a sports car for an economy car, end of story. How much more does the 8 really cost you in gas a month? Like $50? Not worth the pain of driving an economy car all the time.

Edit: and I agree that he should just sell it outright instead of trade it, but the market for RX8s in MN sucks. Snows too much and people don't want to drive a RWD car.

Razz1

Get the MS 3. Better on gas.

CarAndDriver

Mazda3

Fortunate Few

iTrader: (2)

id get the 3 they're beautiful.

HockeyRX-8

iTrader: (1)

Go with what everyone said.......Mazda3

YaXMaNGTO

Okay, so, it always scares me that people make decisions based solely on "I HAVE TO SAY MONEY AND GET A CAR WITH BETTER GAS MILEAGE" when they don't do the simple arithmetic... go USA educational system.

So here you go! I'll do the work for you!
You say you drive 60 miles a day for school. Weekends, I assume, are little less.
60x5 =300 due to school per week 300x4 weeks in month = 1200 miles due to school. I'll throw in another 300 for all the weekends, so 1500 miles per month. Sound reasonable?

1500 miles / 18mpg (for the RX8) = 83.333 gallons of fuel per month
83.333 x $3.30 for super unleaded = $275 per month

1500 miles / 29mph (for the Mazda 3i) = 51.72 gallons of fuel per month
51.72 x $3.10 for regular unleaded = $160.34 per month

You'll spend $115 per month, or $1380 a year less for getting the more fuel efficient 3i.
NOW, make the decision based on how much youre going to get screwed by trading in the 8 right now because you're upsidedown after the depreciation of the RX8. Say you're $5000 in the hole... your REAL money IS GONE if you trade in, and the dealership takes advantage of you because nobody runs the numbers, screaming for better mpg. The money you save in gas over 4 years of driving a piece of shxt Mazda 3i instead of an awesome RX8 comes out to $5500. It's a wash. Keep your RX8.

Sorry if you already did these calcs, and it actually made sense to trade.

superglue

^^^^

@ 3.30 a gallon for premium

That's hysterical. Here's a local picture:

Mazdaspeed RX8 ver2

yup, the gas over in california sucks... in fremont, down mowry from 880, the gas at the shell and 76 for 91 octane is $4.05... im in heaven right now.... but just remember, other areas in this country don't have high wages with the high living cost so thats why their prices don't seem high to us living in inflated areas...

superglue

I don't even have the high wages, just the high living costs

Right now I'm happy that my rent is only going up $150 to about $1,600 a month for a 2 bedroom 1000sqft apartment.

mike73737

That's brutal. That apartment would be like $1k a month in Minneapolis. Gas here is like 3.40 or so. http://www.twincitiesgasprices.com/ (just adding that in because the OP is in Minnesota)

SideOfBacon

makes me feel a LITTLE bit better. our V-Power is at 3.79

CyberPitz

Man, we don't even have a shell around here, but the most expensive gas I see is 3.40.