04RX8man

I'll admit right now I'm 18 and just BOUGHT my 8. I do think however that the MOST young people will stick with their civics, eclipses, (ricers) etc. I know when I turned 16 I bought a 98 eclipse and I put an exhaust intake ecu lowering kit neons etc all the "Fast and the Furious stuff" Now I'm 18 I just want something nice that not very many people have. There is only 2 or 3 RX8's in my county. The 8's will always b rare. 8's are not really in the range for young people to buy theirs. I picked my 04 MT with 14400 miles on it for 19000 here in PA. And parents are not going to buy their kids/teenagers a sports car like this. Just my 2 cents. I don't think the older people need to worry there is just a select few young people that can afford to have a car like this.

Tyguy

cant help but think this is somewhat directed towards me. Its better to ask questions now then be sorry later though.

I wouldnt really consider myself a "young" driver, i would think around 16-20

N rider89

the only thing that could really be positive is a larger following leading to more aftermarket

Skythe

From what I've seen, most young'ns are more interested in going fast in a straight line and anything that doesn't is a waste of time. For example, I own a Saturn Ion Redline now, a few people have brought up the RX-8 becuase the think it's a cool car and have interest in buying it.

Not soon after are the posts about how slow the RX8 is and how it's not the RX7 and how you're going to have to rebuild at 100k and how it's not reliable and how Mazda sucks because it's being recalled and how you can't turbo it and how the renesis can't handle boost and how it's dumb to buy car that cost X amount of dollars and not be fast.

But all that stuff is what I typically hear from random people who i talk to as well.

I don't think it's an entirely great thing for the community (yes, that was sarcasm). AS with other cars, like the 3rd Gen eclipse, many of the "old school" owners there are very bitter of how the younger crowd came in and "took over" the community.

I really don't like speaking in generalizations, but younger individuals with respect to cars, tend to be overly-eager to supe-it-up, ignorant of what their getting into, parrot ignorant information as if it were fact, and don't have a higher level of appreciation of cars that older people tend to have. You just can't deny trends.

If I had to vote.......I'd say, bad thing.

SleepeR1st

iTrader: (2)

I'll have to join the flame wall here, i too am very young, 17, and will be purchasing my 8 soon. For myself i find my preferences to be more stylized, luxurious, and unique, compared to the typical "ricer" kid who just wants to have a street car that goes 0-60 in 6 seconds so he can show off his giant ego. I like the 8 because it is obviously unique, i've only actually seen THREE in person in my state, which is New Hampshire. Power is not a huge thing for me, i'd rather have nimbleness over 300+ HP numbers. But then again where i live the roads are VERY windy :P Yes i will be paying for my 8 by myself, no help from parents. I suppose i'm a responsible driver, no tickets, do 5mph above the speed limit in the country, normal in city. I hope i, like some of the "younger" drivers on this forum can break the typical "boyracer" ego that younger drivers tend to have, but i for one am not one of them, and most people on this board at this age with IMMENSE knowledge of the car will fit the category that i sit in, civilized. I truly am fascinated by the Mazda RX8 everyday, i dont think i would want anything else other then the car i have now if i could not get an 8. It seems every post i read that the RX8 has it's own persona that carries with itself, not the attitude of the driver. I am really looking foward to owning mine.

Tyguy

I found that a few months after I got my license I had no interest in going as fast as possible as often as i could. Got a ticket once, that did it for me. So I would say im a responsible driver, but that doesn't void the fact that I would love to tear it up in mine.

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

^go do it at a race track, you'll have a lot more fun and won't be a menace to the public

dmc27

There seems to be a major hole in the logic on 2 concerns here.

1. If the 8 is used it stands to reason it has already been on the road. And since nobody in their right mind goes cross country to buy a car, the 8s in question have been on the road in the same area they are w/the new owner. It's not like there's an influx of 8s on the road - it's just a different person behind the wheel.

2. Insurance is not going to change much. Your rate is your rate, and the insurance companies don't change your rate b/c some other tool wrecked their car.

anywho . . .

well played mysql101 - lmao! Oh, wait - no I'm not - it's impossible to laugh when the sky is falling!

^Do your best not to take anything to personally, or seriously here.

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

^difference is, people that bought (or most likely, leased) them new kept them in garages and only drove them on sunny weekends, while the 2nd hand owners bought them cheap and are probably driving them around more, so they're seen more often

Drkdelfi

I just recently turned 19 and have had my 8 for about 7 months now, I go to UCF, and I notice maybe around 5 more 8's in our 40000 student population lol, but I do notice alot, ALOT, more STI's and EVo's and those a bit more costly. But Overall I think if a younger person were to get this car and sign up on this board they will be overall more responsible simply because it means they are learning more about their car.

SleepeR1st

iTrader: (2)

In order for a young person to buy this car, they HAVE to have lots of knowledge about it. Or else it just can't happen. The reason why i started looking at MAzda RX8's is because a friend mentioned the Mazda RX7 and Mazda RX8, comparing them in a conversation. Then i saw the 8 in an ad, noticed it had a 1.3L engine, but churned out 238 HP. That got me on my track to learning all about rotary goodness

Aero8

Thanks to dmc, #1 was something I was thinking.

I'm sick of this young drivers are worse drivers stereotypical ****.

I'm 21. I bought my car at 20 after wanting one since I first read about them in while I was still in high school. I researched it for a long time and wouldn't have been able to get it had the resale prices not dropped.
That doesn't mean I am some eager kid looking to mod the hell out of it.

I liked the car for a long time, no matter how many people say this car is slow, it is still a quick car. I wasn't looking for the fastest thing in the world, I was looking for something more refined and unique and still a decent amount of power.

I drive in the chicagoland area, and I see drivers that shouldn't be on the road all the time, yet there is an equal amount of young drivers vs adults.

for the young people you are concerned about, even if they buy the car without researching, they will sell it when they find out it is "slow". there are a lot more stories of srt4's/lancers/evos/ that are older and cheaper and definately faster that will steer them away from the 8 anyways.

As for new people on the site, I have only been here for about a year now, and I have seen adults join this forum asking stupid question along with the young ones.

For all the "adults" on this forum bitching about younger drivers raising your current insurance rates...were you a shitty driver when you were young? did you make the mistakes that you claim young people make now? if so, stop bitching. all of this young drivers are worse drivers mentality started long before I started driving, which would only lead back to all of you. the trends started somewhere, and even if they started before your time, your generation didn't do anything to change it when you were young.

laythor

Actually, that is incorrect. All insurance companies take into account the rate at which a particular vehicle is likely to have an accident. Age of driver, miles driven, area driven, etc are also taken into account.

If RX8's start to have a higher rate of accidents per mile driven, you can bet your insurance rate will go up. Most people won't see this as an increase because it will happen the next year when your insurance would usually drop slightly in relation to the depreciation of the car.

tiltmode43

iTrader: (15)

Some kids are foolish while others are more responsible.

I'm a senior in high school and I can't lie, people love my car. Kids will come up to the window at lunch and say things like, "Light up those tires yo!" Its these kinds of people that would be bad behind the wheel of an 8.

I cannot believe I am about to say this, but we are lucky the 8 lacks in torque. From first hand observation, most of my peers would take something turbo'd or low-end torque-ish over the 8 any day.

edit: As far as the young drivers being worse drivers stereotype, we have to suck it up. There are more bad younger drivers than older due to lack of experience. Nothing can be done, denying it only makes a young driver look more immature. What can be done, however, is autocross/track your car so when emergency comes (ie: car spins out in front of you on ice ) you know how to react properly rather than slam the brakes. Tough luck, most young drivers are either immature or lack a great deal of experience.

SleepeR1st

iTrader: (2)

I think the general consensus here is that a kid will more than likely not purchase this car because they will probably know nothing about it, and hear about it's lack of torque compared to other cars to sell it once they have purchased it. Around my area, which is seriously lacking in the automotive scene, the idea is that if your car doesnt have the "*****" to pull with other cars half its price, then there is no point buying it.

Herblenny

I'm an RX7 owner and looked at an 8 when it came out in 03. I might pick one up for my wife next year...

Personally, I think they are great all around car and wouldn't mind having one.. And like FD RX7s, more and more young guys are buying 8s. And I'm sure good % of them are being wrecked first couple of months of owning them... Just like the FDs... like this guy who just bought it and wrecked the day he bought it (I'm going to stereotype and say he was a young'n).







Driver parks sports car up a tree

11:05 AM PDT on Monday, March 19, 2007

Incredibly, the driver of the car had only minor injuries.

KENT, Wash. - An out-of-control driver parked his red sports car halfway up a tree Sunday evening.

Neighbors said the driver of the Mazda RX-7 bought the car the same day.

Witnesses said the driver was speeding in excess of 70 mph down Woodland Way around 8 p.m. when he lost control on a curve.

Pictures show a slight berm, which may have helped launch the car nine feet up the tree. The car came to rest in a nearly vertical position against the tree.

Witness snaps photos of crash scene

Witnesses said if not for the tree, the car would have ended up inside the living room of the nearby home.

Incredibly, the driver had only minor injuries.


Regarding insurance.. To a degree, I agree with you. But at the same time I agree that if statistically more 8s drivers cause accidents, the rate will go up. Insurance companies just don't go by "YOU" but also accident rates in your city, state, car models, gender, age, etc.... All they do is crunch numbers so they could make more money!

Drkdelfi

Lol all he needs is a rocket booster in his trunk and he is ready for take off!

Aero8

We may have to suck it up, but there there is only so much of it I can take. I am not denying there are young inexperienced drivers that f8ck up a lot, but I see a lot of adults doing the same stupid sh*t.

When I come onto the forum and read about people crashing there cars, if they are young they get criticized for being a young ignorant driver and the trend continues. yet when it is an adult, they still get the criticism, yet any comment about there age is mysteriously lacking?

why, when someone 25 gets into an accident does the "young driver" age need to be raised to include them? maybe because the adults don't want it to seem like people their age get into accidents and do stupid **** too?

Rems31

Well statistically speaking young drivers are the worst drivers. It has more to do with the amount of driving experience they have rather than their age, though their age is still a factor.

dmc27

No, insurance companies exist for our benefit, don't they?

But I do agree with you. It seems like the basic idea of some of the posts was that all of a sudden the ins. company will be calling to tell you your rate has doubled, which just isn't true.

Nice pics btw. what a waste.

Rems31

Yes they do. Insurance companies go by the experience/history of the losses in their book of business and the industry data as well. So if accident rates are increasing, your rates may increase as well even if you have never gotten into an accident and never made a claim.

dmc27

2 key words: in my post, the word "much". In your post the word "may".

Rems31

In your post it also said "Your rate is your rate, and the insurance companies don't change your rate b/c some other tool wrecked their car."

You should have put the word "much" in there... :P

NoTears316

good job

BullitHockey

Ahh this is an interesting and controversial thread. Let me start off by saying Im 18 years old so I would fall into the "young" driver category.

Let me also say that since I turned 16 until now I have had zero tickets and only a minor fender bender and parking lot bullshit (both were in the first 5 months of getting my license). My first car was an AT Honda Civic. It was a good and economic car but looking back I think it was not a very good first car for a driver simply because it was so easy of a car to drive and did not require as much focus as a new driver should give to driving.

I bought my RX-8 almost one year ago. I pay for the car, the insurance and the gas, which is unusual for the town I live in where kids at my school drive SL500's and M5s. Ive had no accidents or tickets with my 8.

Ive found that driving a car like the RX8 you two things. How to respect a car and how to control one. Going from an AT to an MT was the best thing I could have ever done to help keep my attention on the road versus the other 50 distractions available in a car at any time.

I think that the RX8 can be a car for some younger drivers but not all. It depends on the individual. I love my car even though its not the fastest car it is just a unique car to drive.

I do agree that younger drivers are more prone to get into accidents. But thats to be expected. Experience does matter, any simple lesson in psychology could teach you that. Once you learn the process of doing something, this is stored in your brain. So the next time you do it you dont have to think about it as much. This is why whenever you do something like tie your shoes or brush your teeth you really dont have to think about it. Now the difference between an unexperienced driver and experienced driver is that experienced driver has much more instinct and is able to react in situations that a new driver would react wrongly in simply because the experienced driver has possibly been in the situation before and does not have to think before acting. So yes experience does matter. Anyways thats all I have to say.