To my fellow youngsters..
 

"We don't want you to get that car."

"It's too small. It's too expensive."

"You're going to get yourself killed."

Blah blah blah.. Has anyone else had this problem with their parents? Geez, it's been a month since we first looked at the car, and still nothing much has happened. Finally we are selling my current car (2002 Dodge Intrepid) so I can gain a little more money. Money is not really that much of an issue for me though. I have been working since the day I turned 14 years old, and have saved up quite a bit. Now, at the age of 16 1/2, I have almost 3/4 the amount of money to buy the RX8. Unfortunately, my parents are trying to talk me out of the decision, and they are being totally unsupportive. Hopefully, after I sell the Intrepid (hopefully sometime this summer), my parents will be a little more cool with the decision. They just want me to pay full in cash! :eek: Silly parents... tRiX are for kids..

Any other "hints" to talk them into it?

As a parent I can say - no way I'd let my kid have a brand new RX-8 even if you CAN pay for it in cash! I've never known a 16 year old mature enough to drive a car like that responsibly. Some day, if you are lucky, you will be a parent and then you will understand. Until then, listen to your parents and repect their wishes. They just might know a thing or two that you don't.

point out how safe the car is.

and that its a practical 4 door that you can have fun with.

and promise your dad that he can drive it every once and a while.

works for me.

hehehe... promises are meant to be broken... are they not?

Well im 15 and i just cant wait to get my rx8 :D and truth is my parents havent told me ne of that in fact they support my decision and agree it is a very fine car :D, also im not the type of kid to be irresponsible and my parents are very down to earth and i totaly support their decision... plus im pretty sure i can handle one...

man, i thought i was lucky with my intrepid... but you're only 15 man! and you're getting an rx-8... dude, you don't even have a license yet! :D

yah promises are ment to be broken... but ill wait until i get my car to break my promise.
my dad supports my decision and my mom is just kinda taging along

Re: To my fellow youngsters..
 

No offense, but if you seriously have that money saved up from when you were 14, the dumbest thing in the world would be to buy a car with it at this point. A car is a depreciating asset, its a negative investment. You are seriously throwing all that money and hard work away if you pay cash for an RX8. Think of all the hours upon hours of your life you spent working only to give it all up. Put the money in some stocks, go in on some housing contracts with people who have the credit to qualify, do SOMETHING with it that generates a return. Use some of the money thats generated from the investment to pay for the cars monthly payments, and invest the rest.

Or even use the money for college, theres a good potential ROI (return on investment).

well im 17 and i have an 8. my parents were fine with me getting the car. they actually wanted me to get the g35coupe or an s2k. something that looks more sportier and a two door. my dad has no desire to drive my car, my mom cant drive stick, and my brother is far far away from home at college :)

if you can be responsible and mature enough to drive this car, go for it. But yeah sometimes i find myself zooming past traffic and driving it like i stole it, but does age really have to do anything with that? im sure people from age 16-65 people are driving this car like they stole it :D

I am 19, I love my 8, my parents were very indifferent about the manner but they really had no say in it anyway

I can only say be careful and enjoy. I had 8 points on my license in 2 months . . . . and I had a Toyota Corolla. I couldn't imagine having a 8 when I was 17 - would have loved it - but couldn't imagine it.

dag

i'll ask my parents if they will buy me one for my birthday...

actually, i'll force them! :D

If you'd be my kid, you couldn't force me to do anything.

being a part of the 'under-20' crowd myself i understand the skepticism of giving such a high performance vehicle to such a young driver.

however it really depends on the person. in general younger drivers are more dangerous due to lack of experience and 'big-balls syndrome.' this is why i take it up the butt in insurance rates as a member of the 18-25 male demographic. (dosen't help that i live in OC either).

another view......compared to the other comprable cars in that price range id say the 8 is a damn good choice. it is fairly fast but not nearly the speed demon that the evo or sti is. nor is it the hardcore performance oriented machine the s2000 is. all of these cars would be far worse for a young driver to get their hands on compared to the 8. the 8 is really safe......mazda did their homework when they integrated the suicide doors. the dsc and tcs systems are also great.

about the size the car is very roomy and can fit 4 adults pretty comfortably. suicide doors provide great access to the rear seats. ask your parents if they have ever sat in the back seat of a 97-01 prelude. now theres something ridiculous to call a back seat.

This is serious question, I too started work at 14 and I was making 2x the salary of any of my friends. But there is no way in hell I could have put away $20k plus within 2 years (you say your 16.5) all the while buying and keeping an Intrepid (even used) on the road. I was teaching and playing gigs, what kind of job can a 14 year old get that can pay that kind of money. Again I'm not being condecending I just would like to know. :confused:

Much appreciated.

BTW, most guys I remember back in HS who had muscle cars (bought by their parents, unless it was an old beast that they rebuilt) were a menace behind the wheel and managed to crash their ride at least once, 1 lost his life and 1 was crippled (crashed is crotch rocket) both due to excess speed :( That said, there were others who were very responsible. A very good friend got an brand new RX-7 for her sweet 16. So it all comes down to your personality. If it's easy to push your buttons, my suggestion is keep the Intrepid for another couple of years. If you got a really long fuse then go for it.

Buy a cheap car and fix it up. You'll learn more about cars that way. Save your money. There's plenty of ways to be cool around school without dropping 30 grand.

good luck
it all falls on your parents i think do they trust you with this car
ex.speeding tickets,wreckless driving,etc.
give some reasons why your parents are not going for it ?

I'm working at a highly-grossed theater in the bay area (AMC Mercado 20 Theatres). I've been working there for over two years and have already received two promotions. And right now, my current position is Operations Coodinator (assistant manager). How would you like to speak to a 16-year old assistant manager? :D

it's not that they don't trust me (i've never gotten a ticket before)... i'm very responsible (4.2 Gpa, good job, etc.)

they just don't want me throwing down 30k for car, especially after i just bought a 15K intrepid in march 2003... they think i might get sick of the car just like i got sick of the intrepid... i mean, i guess i can understand their point of view... but... I JUST WANT IT SO BAD, yunno?

dont force your parents dude. thats the wrong move just be nice to em cuz really they know best, and im saying this as a 17 yr old. The main reason my parents kinda held off in buying me this car was because of where i was gonna go to college. They were afraid that i was gonna go to college somewhere far and wouldnt be able to take my car or it would be in the garage the whole time, but since im going to a college only like 40 minutes away they got me the car. Be patient. Dont bug your parents cuz ultimately they get the last and ultimate word.

good, strong advice... something i can relate to... cool.. thx

Well why even debate this issue... if the kid is offered something, they'll take it. Most kids at that age has no true value of money. They don't have mortgage payments to pay, insurance, maintenance..etc. I'm sure some people at that age has thought it through... but they wont have any concept of real life expenses since they wont be making those. I had about 25k saved up by 18.. and instead of buying a new car, I paid for college with it. Now I don't have any student loans to pay, my parents don't have to pay for my education, and I can say I bought my car myself.

Besides, 87% of all kids 16-19 will get into an accident. That is a statistical fact from the insurance agency report for 2003. 79% will get a speeding ticket. 93% will get another ticket violation.

Keep the Intrepid for a couple years unless there is something actually wrong with it. Put away more money. Invest part as you go. Then when you are a couple years older put a nice downpayment on the 8 and finance the rest. This will help you build a credit rating, hopefully rates will still be reasonable and you will be beginning to set yourself up for a lifetime of proper money management and allocation of bills, savings and investments. Just my opinion--take it or leave it.
Not to mention that you would be getting a 2006 to 2007 Rx8 that will probably be superior in many respects to the first couple model years.

I think these kind of threads are repeated as much as the bad gas mileage ones :)

Well, i am 18, just got my rx-8 a few days ago. (had my civic for a year, and giving the civic to my sis).

I am not a irresponsible driver (never got a ticket in my 1.5 years of driving, no wait, a 50 dollar fine tho for going 8km over, but thats it :p). I wouldn't call myself a responsible driver either.... done some stupid things which i was lucky to get away with. anyhow, i managed to convince mum to buy me an RX8. hehe.

of course i had promised to drive carefully and etc etc. but i know i prob wont be able to keep my promise for long. But hey, we're young, enthusiastic, and its no better time for have some fun. yes, its risky, but as long as u dont do extraordinarily idiodic things with the car e.g. speeding excessively, street dragging dangerously and etc..... u should be fine.

i know i luv driving meh baby :) and it hasnt let me down in terms of exitement and fun. If you dun need the money somewherelse, or is not interested in investment, I'd say go for it mate, it's worth it. but however, if money is hard to come by..... then u're better off investing the money and buy it later on when u're out of school and etc. coz i know paying for insurance, car care, and petrol for this car aren't easy.