JTek_55

If I were in your position, I would go for the Auto V6 Mazda6. One of my best friends just bought one in dark gray. The car is sweet. You can get one FULLY loaded (leather, body kit, wing, 17" rims, 6 disc changer, climate control, sport grille, automatic w/ manual option) for about 25k. I think you would be more than happy with it. I have driven it and I will say that it is one fun ride. Definetly way better than a Tiburon!! (What are you crazy? A Tiburon? Blasphemous!!) Go for it dude, trust me you will be happy with it.

B-Nez

Well, you could pay cash for something temporary until fall - something with a manual tranny to learn on before you get the new digs. I also agree with those suggesting the Mazda6. If there was no RX-8, that is probably what I'd be getting right now. I love those cars almost as much as the 8. I paid $1900 cash for my slightly beat up, but nicely running '93 240SX. There is a little collision damage to the nose of the car, but she works, and still pulls strong even at 140K+ miles. Plus, I've really saved a lot of cash by not having a second car payment for the last year.

red_base 95

The Mazda 6s auto is a 5 speed automatic, a little bit different that the other offerings in this segment. but a very good option at this point.

The new Accord coupe would also suit your needs.

If you really are set an the RX-8, I don't think the timing is going to work for you well regarding availability. You could buy a bit of a beater to make it through until the RX-8 becomes available.


Good luck. Glad you weren't banged up too badly.

ReX-8

I came across the same situation too. I am going to get a new car soon (although not as hurry as you are), just don’t know which car to get. I thought about the 6, Accord coupe EX-V6, WRX, RSX and TSX. But when I heard about the RX-8 and its price, I just dropped all the other choices and go for it.

bwayout

Me to, this last Jan. I also looked at the same cars, but because I have 2 carseat aged kids and at the time Mazda was offereing 0 down + 0% and had to make a decision quickly, I went with the Protege5

The MP5 is also under 18K (I was able to get mine for $200 over dealer invoice cost) plus I wasn't that happy with the "feel" behind the wheel when I drove it...

I completely agree with you. But, I almost ended up with the RSX instead of the mp5 (which at the time my wife actually would have been OK with, but I took the mp5 because it was cheeper and any extra money I could save down the road for my next car (like the RX-8) would be a good thing ... plus, I actually perfered the "feel" behind the wheel better in the mp5 than the RSX. Also on a side note the RSX has the best sized back seat when compared to the Tiburon or the Celica, and the RSX also has better visibility from looking back, out the sides.

I love this car too! Personally, I don't believe that it's in any way violating any memory of your old car, if anythjing it is the best way to honor it! Also, on the plus side it has the largest trunk size even without folding down the back seats (if that's important to you!

dittio

I too do not believe that you'll be able to get the car in may or even June (... and the mazda 6 hatchback, I'm sure will be out much later than Aug, if we use the RX-8 as a delivery example). But if you can buy a RX-8 for msrp, GREAT! Go for it! It's also, trure you could get an Accord Coupe, but it's more than the RSX ( I drove one and wasn't that thrilled with the "feel" behind the wheel and hey, if money wasn't an object I'd have got a G35 coupe!



... Or I agree with those other posts, get someting used that you like (an RSX or Celica) and plan on keeping it for a year or more, save some money and keep on following this forum - than in time you should be able to buy the RX-8 under msrp and live happly ever after!

:D

And hey, don't let these racing purist make you feel bad - I'm also like you, I perfer driving an automatic stick and also use the manual override (when I'm alone without the wife and kids)! Hey, Mazda makes a nice one too! I cant wait to drive the RX-8 with the auto paddle shifters - sweet



Good luck, keep us posted!

OmegaBob

Wow! Thx again for all the great responses!

I took your guys advice and checked out the other models offered by Mazda and ya know what? That Mazda 6 is pretty sweet! I read & watched reviews of the car and... I like... I like! (although the 8 is still better!) I configured one with all the options I wanted for about 26k (woo hooo 5 speed auto/man).

Here's what I'm planning to do tomorrow: I will print out all the info I can about the RX-8 (release dates, etc) from here and will print out the carsdirect.com pricing for the 6 and take everything to the dealer. If he's lying to me about the "end of May" date for the RX (which he has to be, right?), I probably opt to get the 6.

Thx again for all of your help!

btw - I have a question about MiniDiscs & Mazdas, but I post that in the Audio/electronics forum

bwayout

Don't let the dealer know that you'd be OK with the 6 if the RX-8 woud be available in the time frame you need, maybe walk away then come back and start talking about the 6 ... unless you trust your dealer because you should be able to get the 6 for under MSRP for about $200 over dealer invoice (I could have, but went with the cheeper mp5) ... the best thing to do is shop around and be prepared to walk! It took a little time, but I got lucky and found a great dealer and Salesman who right away told me that he'd give me a "no haggle" price of $200 over invoice for the cars that I was looking at... so I was up front about my need for a quick deal.

Contact the internet or fleet sales manager to get your best price (they usually don't deal with commisions themselves) and if you haven't PLEASE check out

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/incen...back/index.html

Learn about "dealer holdback" and also check this out too!

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buyin...86/article.html

plus do a search on some past posts here on the RX8forum.com like:

RX-8 Forum > General Topics > RX-8 Discussion > RX-8 below MSRP! Possible? Anyone?

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...RX8+below+MSRP

A lot of good advice there to read before you buy anything! Good luck.