alz0rz

iTrader: (41)

Oh, yer evil!

dgs

You're 23 going on 24, strange, I would think you would be going on 35? Why do people feel the need to tell everyone the obvious? If you're 23 I think we all can figure out you'll be 24 on your next birthday.

Credit cards = bad. If you don't have cash you can't buy it, that simple. Besides a house and a car, there is nothing else you should own on credit. Actually student loans are justifiable too.

I haven't posted here in a few years, and just came back now while deleting favorities I don't use anymore. I originally came here asking questions about the gas as I was contemplating a buying a new RX-8 and worried about the rising cost of gas and the attrocious gas mileage I had been hearing about. Well needless to say, I did not get an RX-8 and in hindsight it was the best decision I could have made. I ended up getting a 2006 Honda Accord EX-L sedan I4 with a five speed manual transmission. Runs on regular gas and I get about 29 MPG average in a mix of city/highway. If I'm cruising on the highway with no traffic at 65 mph, I usually get about about 34 MPG. With the gas prices being what they are, I'm very happy I did not get a premium fuel hog like the RX-8.

In your current financial situation I would get rid of that thing any way you can. Forget about the payments, the gas will eat you alive in this day and age of $4.00 a gallon and going up all the time. I wouldn't be surprised if in another two years gas will be double that, at $8.00 a gallon. Not a good time to own a car like the RX-8.

matthew121

sell the car, buying it is one thing.
but its crazy you would spend all that money to modify it when you KNOW you cant afford it. seems verry childish, no offesnse but that seems like a 16yr olds move.

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

stating the obvious to belittle someone is also a very childish move.

Str8cold

First thing is you need transportation, and you have already purchased the car and will take a hit if you go to sell it. Take the credit cards that you have and find out if any of them have a zero percent balance transfer from other cards. Doing this will put a temporary stop to the massive amount of interest that you are being charged. Create a plan of attack on your current financial situation 1-month, 3-month, etc and stick to it. I know creating a budget for yourself is not going to be a fun thing, but it will help you get out of the hole alot faster. After you have done that import your bank statement into a free program like Microsoft Money and let it do a break down of how you are spending your money. Most people are surprised to see that they are dropping an insane amount of money on stupid things that they just did not realize.

As for buying a house right now I would recommend holding off on that for at least another 3-5 years. Get an apartment and a roommate to help with the bills. There are alot of hidden costs with owning a home that people do not fully understand or budget for, and it is not an asset.

mattm

So you actually cross-shopped a 4 cylinder accord and an RX-8??? YOU made the right choice... seriously

mattm

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/rx-8-perfect-car-price-except-96002/

The truth shall set you free!!!!!

This guy actually cross shopped the S2000, 350z, G35 and WRX STI and bought......

wait for it...

a 4 cylinder accord sedan...

I think he never intended to buy an 8 or any other sports car.


I am a longtime lurker here and sometimes I swear the average age is 13 and 80% of the people on here couldn't change there own oil. I know this isn't the case, but c'mon. If you can afford a 30k car, $4 gas is not that bad unless you have maxxed yourself out like the original poster...

LandYatch

I went from a 9mpg car to a 15-18mpg car...from my point of view the RX8 is a frekkin hybrid!

It is all point of view. If you are streached on finances and this car is stressing you, this is not your car at this time. Don't get me wrong...this car is a bunch of fun, but if you are putting yourself into the poor house to drive it, don't do it. A few years of paying off your debts, and you can buy a slightly used RX8 for cash.

You need to educate yourself early in life about debt. The credit card companies prey on the young to trap them. That is how they make their money. Credit is evil, and the terms of service that the credit card companies make you sign off on are insane.

I drove a beater car to get out of debt and is wasn't cool at the time. I survived.

GTPtoRX-8

My opinion, remember its an opinion, as a 25 year old, keep the car if you can afford the maintinance. You should consult a debt management orginazation. Your debt to income level is absurd, you have no way to pay for anything and your credit score will agree, hopefully you've paid on time for everything(doubt it) check your credit and reconsider your plan, mainly have a plan

CosmosMpower

Yes a new RX-8 might be 30K but I'd say a good 75% of the people here didn't pay more than 25-26 for their RX-8 either new or used. There would be a completely different audience if it was a 30-35K car that actually cost that much to buy. Most the cars here 04-06's are under 20K, and the 04-05 cars cost less than a new Honda Fit.

dgs

The truth has set me free. The truth is $4.00 a gallon gas prices and rising every month it seems.

As far as my desire to own a sports car two years ago, sure did, but situations change. From the time I posted that until now I ended up dating a women with a four year old daughter, and thus a two seat sports car was out of the question. Additionally I was smart enough to realize how bad the gas situation was going to get, and thus tempered my desire for “fast” and “impractical” with “slow” and “practical.” I got the top of the line Accord with a navigation system. It has all the luxury features I could want, and it’s still very sporty with the 5-speed stick and wonderful Accord suspension. It will be extremely reliable as all Accords are, it’s extremely fuel efficient, extremely inexpensive to insure, and extremely comfortable for short or long trips. I’m not wanting for anything, especially not a premium gas guzzling sports car.

Just because I can afford $4.00 a gallon gas doesn’t mean I want buy more of it than I have to. The gas companies are rich enough; I don’t need to add to their record profits by driving a premium gas guzzling sports car. Plus, since I’m not the typical short sighted American, I realize that while gas prices are $4.00 a gallon today, in two years there is a very good chance they will be double that. You still going to love driving your gas guzzling RX-8 when gas is $8.00 a gallon?

I’m far from maxed out. I don’t own anything on credit except my Accord, which will be paid off in two years. I’m doing very well financially. My cheap car payment, cheap car insurance payment, and great gas mileage certainly contributes to my financial well being. The OP should consider doing the same.

mike73737

So I'm assuming you bought tons of energy stocks like 2 years ago then? Bravo. Since you have piles of money laying around now......why are you complaining about gas.... again? Coming back to the board to tell us all how smart you are? Well done.

I propose that people who complain about mileage just start getting banned, it's been done to death. <Que someone digging up some random post I wrote about mileage... >

MTLbroker

Just my 2 cents worth.....
If you thing the RX-8 is bad on gas, my current ride 350z is just as much as a gas guzzler. I'm not talking about splitting hairs, whether one gets 18 or 18.5 mpg. I'm talking anecdotally, I know that if I drive to work and back, a tank of gas will last about 4-4.5 days.
For the record, my onboard computer says I'm getting 18.7mpg on premium fuel.....probably not much better than what I was getting with the RX-8.

dgs

Piles of cash? Please tell me where I ever said that. I do okay for myself but I'm far from wealthy. I'm pretty frugal with money, have no debt (except for my car note, which will be paid off in two years), and a decent retirement account. I went through a crazy period a couple of years ago after my divorce which is why I was contemplating a sports car to make me feel good about myself. However I'm happy I wised up and did not go that route.

And anyway, there seems to be some reading comprehension on your part. I'm not complaining about gas mileage at all. I get wonderful gas mileage in my Accord, nothing to worry about. However the OP (who seems to be long gone, as he hasn't responded in some time) is obviously in need of serious financial help. My suggestion to him was to get rid of the gas guzzling RX-8 as a start. I haven't even been here for at least two years, but as I was deleting favorites I haven't used in forever, I saw my RX8 Club favorite link and thought I would take one trip back before deleting it. I could care less about the horrible mileage of the RX-8; I don't own one so it's not my problem.

Anyway, I'm out. If you enjoy your car, and have no problems paying for the gas (either financially or morally) then more power to you. A car like the RX-8 wouldn't work for me, but different strokes for different folks. Ciao!

mdw1000

I picked up Personal Finance for Dummies by Eric Tyson on a whim when I graduated from college. Best 15 bucks I ever spent. I would highly recommend it.

Red Devil

Wow...so years later you come back to pat yourself on the back....and you're correct, you're not the typical short-sighted American. You're the typical American that has no comprehension of the oil market. Pat yourself on the back for that also.

Razz1

Get rid of the cell phone you don't need it.
Don't eat out.
Get a deal for 6 months no interest, more if you can..........
consolidate your debt, BUT.........

Make sure the normal interest rate is low.

Then wait 3-6mnths.

If that works fine.

If no sell the car, however you never said you owned it!

CarAndDriver

I recommend getting some financial advice and reading some financial books at your local Borders or Barnes on how to get out of debt. You have too much debt for what you're taking in. Good luck and stick to that budget!

czr

iTrader: (3)

Max out on government student loans preferably on or after 7/1/08 when rates reset. Then try to take out as much private student loan debt. Pay off your credit card debt and change your lifestyle so you won't incur any new credit card charges. Then put yourself on a payment plan.

xsnipersgox

here is an asian wisdom, it ain't get to riches, but it won't put you in your situation.

1) don't buy what you can't afford now (paying with cash)
2) have only 1 to 2 credit card
3) loan are only for INVESTMENTS, not for PLEASURE

what you need to do now,
-sell ur parts on your car ASAP
-then sell your car
-purchase a 2 year old 500 CC bike and learn to ride it.
-stop eating out, i mean it, cook ur own damn food, if it's ramen + egg + hotdog + frozen veggie like i am eating out, so be it (i like it)
-pay off your credit card with the HIGHEST interest rate, once paid off, i want you to cut the card and cancel the card, do this until you are down to 1 credit card
- if possible, and if financially sound, transfer debt from high interest car to another to a lower interest car. a 20% interest card over to a 10% interest card for a 5% fee? deal.
- you are not getting a house, beg your parents to let you live in their place until you dig yourself out of this hole, at least 1 full year
- find a side job, 2400 a month is not going to cut it, i make this much and i don't think i can afford just my car and rent + regular entertainment
- pay off your cards, NEVER HAVE CREDIT CARD DEBT, have the card pay off every month, why would you ever want to borrow 100 bucks and have to pay 120 bucks back... and if not, 150, 200, it compounds really fast.

best of luck friend, you are going to need it.

EDIT, if your parents let you live at their place, do yourself a favor, hand them all ur credit card, and ask them to remind you you are in debt, pay off the 400 bucks one and save it for "Gas ONLY", and pay that off everymonth, everything else goes to paying off the highest interest card.

KimiFelipe

You were an idiot. Suck it up for a few years and learn your lesson. Ditch the cell phone, stop drinking, get a second job, and get A's in your classes.

Lose the gotta have it now attitude. Times have been good for 20 years, and its over for all of us. If you're not really really careful you will be homeless in 2 years.

Take any losses you can stand now and get your shyte together, and grow up. You have to support yourself and it will just get harder in the next 5 years.

Don't take out any more loans. Stop eating much meat, do peanut butter and jelly, carrots, apples, simple stuff that's good for you. No cokes, no beer.

Get a second job and suck it up. Park the car and reward yourself twice a month by driving it for 2 hrs, no more.

You have to realize what a spoiled brat you are before you can make a change. It's going to suck but if you can pull it off you might be a man some day.

Good luck, dude.

Falken

People PAY THROUGH THE NOSE for cars with mods on ebay because they don't want to do it themselves. The fact you have a turbo will net you more extra than the cost of the turbo kit.

Thats why people bother searching "RX-8 turbo" on ebay.

mdw1000

According to that book I mentioned earlier, debt should only be used for things that appreciate in value. The three examples he cites are a home, education, and starting a business. He is strongly against car loans and credit card debt. I think it would be very hard for most of us to get started in life without a car loan, but once you can get to the point where you have your car paid off, try as hard as possible not to buy the next car until you can pay cash.

snowflakes

iTrader: (4)

get a loan, a FAt Loan Too... pay off all the cards and now when you repay the loan, it is now a one consolidated payment witha good steady interet rate where you can be stabilizedd to payoff with in a good time frame.

keep your car...

you already spent a good amount of money on it. its either u give it back in and pay back bank which is "LOSE LOSE" or take out a loan and pay off your debts and keep your car" Win Lose" but at least you dont have to pay bunch of other interests... =]

fwo

wow. i'm in a bit of a similar situaiton, but i have less debt and make more money. but wow @ putting all that debt on a card to mod your car. that's so over the top. at least i have an ex wife to show for all of my debt, lol.


the first thing you gotta do is just stop buying crap. i haven't used a credit card in almost a year... go get a second job, live on nothing, and knock it out.