idle0ne

that was a guestamate with $20/week to and from work and then some leisure driving ofcourse

idle0ne

i would also like to plan to need more money than plan on less and not have enough

Q121825

Heh. I figure my monthly gas bill for a 104 mile (round trip) commute is going to be nearly $200.

I know, I know, I live in the sticks.

But, I'll be spending 2 to 3 hours a day in an RX-8!

i3man

Damn, you'd be better off buying a Toyota Prius as a 2nd car and using the 8 on weekends. The money you save on gas during the week will pay the Prius in a few years :p

Q121825

The destination isn't important, it's how you get there.

I make the commute now in a Focus. I get 30 in the winter (or about 3 months here in Texas) and 27 in the summer. But at the end of the day, I'm stressed from the commute. I think driving a fun car that goes like "stink" will improve things.

Zeltar

$230/month! I pay $65 per month (paying monthly) in Southern California. Geez, at your rate, what's the point? If you can afford to pay cash for the car, maybe you ought to reconsider the use of money. Drop the insurance cost all together by getting a bond, and then finance the car.

idle0ne

how would that help me? in vt you are required to have insurance also why would i finance the car rather than buy it out right?

Zeltar

If you're up for the risk, and can gamble that you won't have a bad accident, then the "why" is easy. Because, if you drive this car for 5 years, you'll spend $13,800 in insurance using your quote of $230/month. Where as, financing the car will cost you about $5700 over the same period. So, over the 5 year period, you save $8,100 and still have your bond or DMV Cash deposit (i.e. no depreciation).

idle0ne

how will financing a car cost me $5700 over 5 years? are you talking about the interest?

when you finance a car thru a bank (atleast in vt) they require you to have full coverage so i would still have the $230/mo insurance payment but along with that a nice hefty $400+/mo payment for the car.

maybe i am misunderstanding you maybe not.. it would help if you would explain in much more detail.

i3man

All lien holders require full insurance coverage to protect their collateral interest.

8_wannabe

btw, you don't need premium. many of us are using 87 octane. add 1 qt oil btwn changes; no biggie. the $115 plugs are not standard. major cost is tires.

red_rx8_red_int

Also some states require minimum levels of liability insurance. Mine does, you must show a current insurance card to renew your plates.

idle0ne

well the plugs will be standard or the car will stay on the lot
i am not going to pay for a car that is so easy to flood when they have a fix yet refuse to implement it. i will fight and get the plugs free of charge lol

8_wannabe

I'm surprised this surprises you. after 5 months, I've got 10k miles. at 16.5 mpg that's 121 gal/mo. In SD @ $1.60/gal it's nearly $200/mo. What kinda numbers are you seeing?

Zeltar

Think of it as self insurance. The collateral is the DMV Deposit or Surety Bond.

idle0ne

ok so if i am driving my new 8 down the road and all i have is the minimum insurance required by law, what if i get hit my an uninsured motorist? my car is gone and so will the bond... atleast with insurance if this happened i would get a new car.

Elara

After I thought about it, it really doesn't- I easily put this much in the car, but then I'm averaging 1200 miles + a month. So if you drive a lot, that's about right.

SCiMMiA

Typical with girls and math. :D

Elara

8_wannabe

Good one, Elara. Is that SCiMMiA's head you're beating on?

Careful, SCiMMiA. She's one badass moderator who won't take too much cr@p from anyone.

Elara

It's actually a bag-o-trolls, courtesy of Sputnik . But it seemed appropriately funny here. I'm thinking it may become my avatar.

Q121825

But how will that teach us the joy of buying Nordic Green?

Back on Topic: How many of you "ran the numbers" for ownership before you bought?

8_wannabe

Kinda. I asked some cursory questions on this forum back in June about expected costs of routine maintenance. Got mostly smartass replies, but the general feeling is that routine maintenance wouldn't be much more than for any other Japanese car. As far as I know that's still true for mechanical things. No one brought up the cost or life expectancy of tires.

I assumed I would be getting around 21 mpg combined city/highway which I figured was ok, esp for a performance vehicle like the '8. It's a good thing I didn't know I'd really be getting 16.5. While I can afford that, I probably could not have morally justified it since poor gas mileage is a big reason why I didn't get an SUV.

Zeltar

Yes, that is the risk. One must ask themselves how much premium are they willing to pay before taking on the risk themselves. At my rate of $65 per month, I wouldn't take this risk on myself. At over $200 per month, I probably would.

By the way, insurance will not pay for a new car. They will only pay for what the car is currently worth. Typically when new, that is below what a car loan is for, and sometime during your payment schedule, you might actually get some chunk change in your pocket after the insurance carrier pays off your lender. So, in reality, it's a sliding scale of risk depending on when your car was totalled - IF (that is a very big IF) your car is totaled.

idle0ne

well,

i really dont want to take on that risk myself because IF it ever does get totaled i want atleast part or most of the cost of the car back in my pocket rather than not having anything.

also if i finance that is what? atleast $230/mo for the car payment... so either way i pay that much a month.