irish

I bought my beautiful black '04 RX8 in early August, 2003. Despite several recalls and several trips to the dealer for various nusances (check engine light, rattle, etc) I love driving the car and look forward to almost every trip. Last Monday night I was driving home from work at 1AM when I came to a stop in gridlocked traffic on the Kennedy Expressway in Hubbard's Cave (for those familiar with Chicago). As I sat in traffic I noticed a small trickle of water in the left lane of the highway. Over the course of the next hour and a half (with no where to go because of the stopped traffic) the small trickle of water grew larger and larger until the water was leaking in the car and up to the pedals. At this time I decided to abandon ship and wade through knee deep water (in 30 degrees and snow) until I could climb out of the expressway and find my way home. My car has been towed to 3 different places around the city and is now in a slavage yard. When I went today to say my last goodbyes and take the last of my belongings (and my winter wheels and tires) there were still 4 inches of water inside the car (after being towed 3 times). I am awaiting the settlement from my insurance company. I will probably buy another 8 and I'm deciding between buying an '05 or waiting for the '06 (not much difference as I want a MT). I just needed to get that story off my chest. This isn't my car but you get the idea:

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/slideShow...676514&slide=5[IMG]

knight7

iTrader: (1)

wow thats just crazy. first im sorry about your car we all grow attached to them, second of all, i be super pissed off if i had to walk out the car to a knee high flood, i know there is nothign yhou can do but i would just **** me off... i think i cry.

NgoRX8

iTrader: (1)

Sorry man... sucks to lose an 8, but hopefully you will be back in one soon.

LiveBlues

Sorry to hear this. What caused the flood?

Raptor2k

That sucks man...go for the '05 and see if you can get thousands off

m477

What happened to the tunnel, did it totally flood? Were you lucky to get out alive?

Anyway if you are going to get another 8, I would definitely go for an '05, they have some pretty good discounts now. Or you could check out the new MX-5, they're pretty nice too and you could even get a hardtop for it if you wanted. I think if they were out when I bought my 8 I would have had a tough time choosing between them...

timbo

Wow...what a bummer! It must have been really bad, just sitting there and feeling so powerless.

I'll be interested to see what you decide. I will probably roll over my lease in the next 6 mths, and so far it's hard to go past another 8. I just wish they would make some minor updates, like proper iPod integration and a more informative computer!

Macius8

iTrader: (3)

That sucks man, sorry about the 8. Hope you get a new one.

Some water main burst I think, flooding part of the highway. A freind of mine was actually stuck in traffic because of this. Bad day huh?

rx8wannahave

Gosh, that stinks...like watching a pet slowly die in your hand or something, that sucks!

What happened? Details...??

I hope the best for you and agree that you will probably get a great deal on a 2005.

irish

There was a water main break about 200 yards in front of me (which I found out early the next morning on TV). As it turned out there were only about 30 cars that needed to be towed out of the tunnel. Most of the vehicles around me during the incident were large trucks and semis as well as SUVs. I was one of the first to bail as I'm sure my car and the Jaguar convertible next to me were the first to flood. When I got out the driver of the Jag just shrugged his shoulders and looked hopeless. I think he left shortly after me.

Barry Gross

I was very sorry to read of your loss. I know you must feel somewhat shattered and numbed by the experience. As far as whether to get an '05 or '06, I got my '05 out the door at $24,500.00 and that included the rear spoiler and cd changer. Whichever model year you get, I'm sure it'll make you feel a lot better!

BlueEyes

Sorry to hear this man.

I often wonder, in situations like this, why nobody backs up. I mean, surely the authorities knew what was happening. Close the highway, and let everyone back up to the previous exit.

8 Maniac

iTrader: (1)

damn Bush! he should have known that there wasnt a levee to stop the water from flooding if that water main broke! it's all his fault!

Ike

That's one of the busiest freeways in the world, by the time they got to the point where people could back up it would have been too late.

Sorry to hear about your car man

jormatom

Wow.

Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sorry about your wheels. Even though its on the other side of the world, no one likes to hear about stuff like that. It's almost like losing a member of the family.

Greg

loco4rx8

Sorry to hear about your car. I also bought mine in August of '03. How many miles did she give you?

spieder

If you have somethign else to drive you might want to wait for 06. It's not that it will be different, it's just that you'll save 1 years depreciation.

irish

I had 21,000 miles on it.

I just got a call today from the insurance company. They're giving me 25,400 for it. There is an internet add from a local dealer for 0% financing or $7000 off MSRP. If this ad's for real I can replace my car (manual trans, grand touring) for what the insurance company is giving me. I was thinking about waiting for the '06 (for the depreciation factor) but I also found out that if I buy a car within 30 days of the settlement the insurance company pays tax, title, and licence on the new car. Our sales tax is 8.75% so this is a big deal.

Racer X-8

Another August '03 owner reporting-in. hehe Sux to hear of this. Hope you didn't loose much in options / mods. $25.4k sounds pretty decent. I guess you better jump on that 30 day deal. Good luck with that dealer deal.

flip

sorry for your loss bro... i know exactly where that happened.. i lived in Chicago for almost 30 years before moving out to the West Coast.

irish

All's well that ends well. My insurance company upped the settlement (they originally had the car priced without leather seats). I just bought a new '05 GT manual transmission for $26,000 (plus tax and doc fees). My insurance company gave me more than $27,000 for the old one. The papers are signed and I should pick up my car next week (I am awaiting the accent package to be applied). Thanks for all the condolences, but I'll be back in a replacement 8 soon enough(without the small ding in the passenger front door and with 20,000+ less miles). My only difference is my new one has all black seats (the old one was black/red).

czr

iTrader: (3)

That's great news and turned out great for you too. What insurance company do you have? Basically got 2 years worth of a free car - sentimental value, mods.

irish

My insurance company is Liberty Mutual who was more than fair regarding the value of the car. The sales tax is a separate issue. I paid the tax and the insurance company is obligated (under state law) to reimburse me for tax and licence fees.