idle0ne

a woman that calls herself a chick hmmm also uses the F word in thier posts on a public forum... This shows real maturity guys i dont think she will try to show off in the least bit

Zio

rofl i didnt know 16 and 17 year olds could pay for a car thats 31,000+ with the gt package.

idle0ne

probably a gift from mommy and daddy

RogueRX8

Are you kidding... I guess it depends on wether your trying to kill him?

8_wannabe

Exactly my first thought when I saw the post. Ya gotta hope mom and dad know their little girl better than we do...

Elara

Guys, she's all of 17. Don't be jerks. And in defense of a kid getting it as their first car, if they can drive safely, great. I never had a new car until the 8, but I never wrecked anything (at least not in the normal sense of the word) until I was 24, and the two accidents I had that year weren't even my fault.

idle0ne

i am not being a jerk it is great to be 17 and have a $30k car, sounds spoiled to me though

Elara

Some people have a lot of money. And if they want to buy their kid a 30k car, that's their decision, not ours. Certainly isn't our place to judge them for it.

idle0ne

sorry didnt mean to judge but most people that have things like this given to them dont respect the car for what it is, it's more of a toy to show off to your friends

8_wannabe

A big part of this thead was judging the maturity and ability of younger people to deal with a car like the '8. Myself, if I gave it to my son as a first car, I'd feel like I was giving him a loaded weapon. It's not a toy or a plaything, it is potentially deadly. While he is the most responsible child I know, he does not have the experience you gain only through years of driving, thus I don't think the '8 is a appropriate first car. Add this to a kid who isn't particularly responsible in the first place and you have a recipe for disaster. Thus we commented on Olivia's post who, through her tone and vocabulary, did not strike a first impression of the highly responsible young person. First impressions can be wrong, but that's how she comes across. That's why I said I hope her mom and dad know best, because from the limited info I have, I see disaster looming for Olivia and her RX-8. This was not meant to be mean; it was entirely on topic and she is the perfect "poster child" to frame the discussion.

maxwell72764

The cost of the car aside (11K may be a lot to some and 50K a paltry sum to others) , a performance vehicle that SCREAMS to be taken to the limits is not something I would give to a child. No offense to the teenagers out there, but in the real world you are children. There are so many safe, practical cars out there that can limit the potential and possibly injurious or lethal consequence, I don't see how the question could remain in your mind.

OliviaVS

dont be such haters... i drive safe and act like its a gift...dont think im irresponsible just because i said a "bad word" thats stupid you guys take things so serious...its not like youve never heard it before and if anything you guys should be stoked out of all cars i think this one is the coolest...obviously anyone with this car will push the limits every one in a while but dont sit here and tell me im irresponsible for doing that... if you havent dont that than thats ridiculous...

Navybeardbb

16 huh ....i'm 18 this is my second car. I had a little accident with my first car and i learned my lesson. It all depends on the kids maturity level, you're just stereotyping that all kids drive like crap. I work 40 hours a week, done that since i was 16 now how immature can i be to do that (called in sick 1 time). If you're gunna stereotype kids stereotype adults too, anyone over 50 can't drive...for all of you over 50 you're like "what shut up *****" but that's the way it is with kids too. And man this thread is old.

241Commuter

Somehow, a person who starts life with a nice car like an RX8 will miss one of the grand rites of growing up - the care and feeding of a not-so-reliable car that always finds a way to make you humble at the most inopportune times. Now take me, for example. I can remember being stopped at the stop sign at the end of the on-ramp to the Pasadena Freeway, watching the traffic whiz by, wondering how the @%(W#%$ I was going to get my 57 Plymouth into the traffic flow with only 5 of 8 cylinders working. When I put the hammer to the metal, man, the only thing that went squealing was the smoke out the tailpipe.

My kids got something a bit nicer to start out with, but they were still hand-me-downs (and they were happy to get them!) An RX8, huh? Sheee-it.

Japan8

bernieunger...

my sentiments exactly.

gtw00

Whats with all these people having someone buy them a brand new 30k first car. Not to mention paying for college and everything else. Seems like no one works for anything anymore...

fxdsconv2000

Do you even know why your insurance is waaaaaayy more expensive than mine? It's called experiance! Yes, most of us will push our cars to the limits once and awhile. With experiance comes understanding of when it is acceptable to push your car and when it is not. And what to do when something unexpected happens.

No matter how responsible you are, it is impossible for you to have the experiance of an older driver.

kbull

I drove my parents' truck when I was 16. When I was 17, I drove it off a cliff in the rain. Talk about a lesson learned. I didn't have a car until I had to live off campus in college, when I was 20. My dad bought me a used Accord. What a perfect car for someone that age! Front wheel drive, no power, room for 5 and some trunk space. Not to mention reliable and economical. Call me sentimental, but I kept that car when I bought the 8. Hell, I drove it to work today. Sure saves me some gas money Bottom line is: I wrecked a car when I was young and inexperienced. Everyone that age gets in accidents. My next car wasn't anything resembling a performance vehicle. Now that I can afford it, I have the 8, and I believe the way in which I accrued my experience has been most beneficial to the driver I am today.

zitch

My first car was a 3 year old 1994 4-cyl Honda Accord at the age of 17. I've abused the heck out of that thing. The mid-90 Accords make the perfect first vehicle, IMO. Moderate power (has enough pickup to drive safely, but not enough to get into trouble quickly), good handling (Enough to get out of the way of trouble), good size (It's a midsized sedan. Makes it a little more crash worthy than the compacts), a smooth ride (I took that 94 Accord past 110 MPH, it did not feel unstable at all. I might as well have been going 60. Yeah, I was young and stupid) and excellent reliability.

Used it though College, and through the first 2 years in the workforce. Had no problems with reliability. I had "bought" it with money that my dad basically went "Here's $40,000 to help with a car and college. Have fun." Spent around $10,000 on the car, and went though college (I did get tuition and some paid for through scholarships), moved out of my parent's house in my Junior year, and purchased a $2000 computer system, and the only jobs I had was refereeing hockey games for $10-$15 an hour (which most of it was spent to pay for equipment and league fees to play hockey ) and tutoring athletes (which was an "interesting" experience). And I still had $5000 of that money after finishing college. I feel that I could have gone months without finding a job with my spending habits at the time, but I ended up pretty much getting a job right out of college.

I ended up trading that 94 I4 Accord in for a 03 I4 Accord last year. More power, more room, better handling, and better mileage.

My girlfriend has a 93 Toyota Camry that would serve well as a first car. Less power and not as well handling as my old Accord, but a much more confortable ride and the same excellent reliablity. When we get married, we'll probably keep the Camry and buy an RX-8. If you want more to that story, lookup "My Story" in the general discussion.

Riccio

There is something to the thought that if YOU pay for something, you respect it more.

I tend to agree - a nice Accord or Camry, three years old or less, is probably a great first car.

Ya know what's scary??? All the young kids out there in the V8 Mustangs. They are all over the place, dirt cheap, and in a young driver's hands, a recipe for DISASTER, at least IMO.

Rather see them in an RX8 than one of those!

Overport

I Agree with you guys

Overport

I am going to be completely honest here....the RX-8 IS owned by my dad, but he lets me drive it whenever i want and he will pass it on to me once i graduate high school (i will be 19 when I graduate)

affenage

Ahhh. Don't count on it. When I was a freshman in HS my dad got a BMW 2002 (this was a LOONG time ago) I loved that car, and back then no one had b-mers. In fact it was before they were cool and then not cool. He promised me that it would be mine at graduation. I learned how to drive on it - and then one day, being that it was a b-mer and all, way more car than he had ever owned before then - he took it out on a rally and smashed up the front end. After that he decided it would be too much car for me, and sold it .
Moral of the story - make sure he drives responsibly, acts his age and doesn't find out just how much car the 8 is!

Spazm

I am 20 years old, and in the next 1-2 weeks I will be purchasing an RX-8. It will be the 3rd car I will have owned, all of them purchased by me.

My first car was a 1990 Nissan Sentra with over 200k miles on it. A 90 HP 4 speed that tended to jerk spastically while driving through parking lots...but it was still the greatest thing in the world when I put MY money down on it. Finally, after I got out of school, I purchased a 97 Accord for a great deal from a neighbor. It is my current car.

I think that parents giving their kids such a large gift such as a car does devalue it, and gives a sense of entitlement. Although I am 20 years old, I am now a service manager for a major national bank, looking to run one of the busiest branches in Northern California in the coming year.

I earned my RX-8...your child may (will, actually) love the car that you purchase for them, but how much greater will the appreciation be when they have to wait, and put some hard work and sweat into it?

heckreck

i think its a fine car to start out with. I'm 16 now and will be getting the 6 speed with GT package and other options....But i feel confident enough in my driving ability that i wont get it into an accident