She's gone.
 

Just like Hall and Oates sang. I sold my 04 RX-8, which I had since August of 2003. :sad: Only 23k miles on it despite that it's been my only mode of transportation for over 3 years. I'll be forever grateful for the years of absolute fun and smiles she gave me each and every time I drove her. I really hold no hard feelings about the car, but I will have a bit of a sour taste in my mouth about Mazda...I was there for the horsepower figures fiasco, free service agreement, multiple recalls and PCM reflashes, all that fun stuff. In my opinion the car still gets unacceptably low gas mileage, and the timeless "rotary engines are not fuel efficient" doesn't really placate me. I think Mazda should have either stopped making the car after 2 or 3 years, or really cut production numbers to keep demand up, because right now there isn't any. I don't even want to mention what I sold the car for, because I'll throw up all over my keyboard. Suffice it to say that my years of painstaking care were rewarded by my car being worth just over 50% of what I payed for it, 3 years and 23k miles later. :mad: Bottom line, she was beautiful and good to me, and I'll miss her a lot. Here's one of the last pictures I took of her before the sale:
http://www.juhnhorde.com/rx8.jpg

So why did I sell? The 8 just isn't practical enough for me right now, since I can only afford to have one car. I'm now a graduate student at the University of Maryland, and this semester I'll be commuting 80 miles once or twice a week, and I need to be able to go in snow if necessary. That means FWD or AWD and all-season rubber. After literally 6 months of debate about what to buy, my prayers were answered when Mazda released the Mazdaspeed 3, so as of yesterday, I bought one. It is by NO means a replacement for the 8, or anything even close. It's FWD and basically a station wagon...but sweet Jesus it's fast. I mean power all over the place, including in 6th gear at 2500 rpms. It's just unnecessary how much torque it has. So I bought a set of Z rated all seasons for it, and all said and done I'll be saving more than 90$ a month on my car payment, not to mention some money on gas and probably insurance too. Here are a few pictures of the new wheels:
http://www.juhnhorde.com/ms31.jpg
http://www.juhnhorde.com/ms32.jpg

I'm going to miss my 8 terribly for a long time, but at least I got a pretty fun new toy out of the deal. I guess compromise isn't always that bad, right? Anyway, thanks to everybody on the board here for providing an entertaining and very useful resource for all of us owners. rx8club rocks!

[sniff] it's alright man... all is not lost, you got a good replacement if you asked me (you didn't, but well). I think your new car will give you smiles too.

your 8 looks really clean. did you trade her in or sell privately? if you traded her i bet you could have gotten more than $17k selling privately assuming you paid around list back in 03. with good winter tires the 8 is servicible in the snow. and an 80 mile commute should yield you 20-24 highway MPG. good luck with your 3.

Nice pictures h0rde! Hope you have great success with the 3 and enjoy the extra $90 clams.

So you sold your 2004 $30K something car for $15K something in 2006 with only 23K miles in mint condition? Seems kinda low.

I seem to find higher resale values on line and/or NADA, Edmonds with that kind of mileage.

Always hurts to "have to sell" in a dealer transaction vs selling with no time pressure on your own terms.

Cheers,
Oranje

I wonder if those tail lights will fill up with water just like ours do?

Your 8 was still beautiful and I know it hurt to say goodbye to her.

That is one of the best VR photos I've ever seen, if not the best.

Good luck w/ school

I agree. It makes mine look bad.

sheze... that was sad dood

I totally agree and can relate to everything you wrote. A bittersweet end for sure. Nice ride you got there. Take care!

Could be worse... you could've traded it for a "CIVIC" like some tool on this site. But props to ya, I really like the 3's and for practicality purposes you got a good car. Sure it's no 8, but just think, when it's time for new plugs it would run you $180 either :)

You will be back.

John

Thanks for your sympathy, it wasn't easy for me to do. I'm actually a half-professional photographer, so I have a boatload of good pictures of my 8. Some of them are actually for sale (although with trademarks removed) on iStock photo, where I am a contributing photographer. Here's a link to my iStock profile if you'd like to peep my car images. I actually considered the Civic Si briefly, but I'm just sick of having no torque and the new Si doesn't look sporty to me at all, just silly. I'm just glad that Mazda had the balls to release a cheaper, faster car than their flagship RX-8...right car at the right time for me. If anybody is interested I can post better pictures of the MS3 whenever I get around to taking them, but it'll never be as sexy as the 8.

If you had to do it, at least you went to an MS3... I think everyone on this board can respect you for your decision. Enjoy the new car, and hopefully one day you'll get back behind the wheel of something as fun as the 8.

You should have sung "Rich Girl" because that is what you are making the dealerships. You say your going to be paying $90 less a month but wouldn't the 8 have been paid off this year or next while now you are going to have 4-5 more years of monthly payments. Am I missing something? That would have paid for a lot of gas.

LOL! Well, at least you've replaced your RX-8 with something else you can enjoy. Let us know how you're still liking the MS3 in a couple of months after you do more of that commuting.

bummer. Nice pics, tho. GL with the 3 & even more so w/school!

>>>>> Insert timeless "Beers" emocon here <<<<<

It was a 5 year lease, so there was still about 2 years of payments left on the 8. I stink at math, but even I realize that I'm not really "saving" money by getting a new loan, even if it is for less money. The more important part is that I am saving about 93$ a month right now, and that's more relevant than not having a payment in 2 years. I like new cars, and if history is any guide I'll probably have the MS3 for about 3 years and then get something new, so I'm comfortable with having a car payment as a trade-off for having a newer model car.
As for giving dealerships money, well, I try not to. I didn't take a dealer trade on the 8, and I got $2500 more out of a private sale. I also paid less than sticker on the MS3, which is nice considering I've been hearing about some crazy dealer markups on it.

Sad that you had to let the 8 go. Have you considered leasing? It may be a good more for you if you want to have a new car every few years. And you'll have a lower payment. Its not the way I'd recommend going about things, but for some its a good move.

Not a terrible idea for someone with my buying habits, but usually they want a pretty large amount down at the time of sale and I don't think I could lease an MS3 for anywhere near what I'm paying...I only had to finance about 12 grand.

Thats not too bad of a payment. I'd like to see more pics of your MS3.

There is a guy over on the Z boards who sold his Z for a MS3. With just a CAI, BOV and downpipe, he is already making 293HP and 320 TQ (no tune or reflash).

I still find it odd that they have to reduce the power in gears 1 & 2 to keep traction. I wonder if there is a way around that.

I'd say the torque limiter in 1st and 2nd is quite necessary...wheelspin occurs often and by accident in my limited experience. I wouldn't be surprised at all about 293 in an MS3. The car has barely been in production and already there are bolt-on mods that are getting 10, 15+ hp/tq to the wheels. It's a very powerful engine and full of potential, which is a whole new world for me.

The reason why that red looks better in the picture than in real life is due to the quality of his camera.

h0rde I remember you basically stopped posting here after 2004 and then a little while after you came back you mentioned you were selling your 8. Wow so you ended up swapping to a Mazdaspeed 3. In your situation, there isn't that great of a selection at the price range you were limited to, and Mazda probably gave you the highest offer you could find for a trade. Enjoy the boost

Looking back over a lifetime, most people fondly remember one very special car that, in hindsight, they can't believe they sold.
And that car won't be… a Mazdaspeed 3.

I'm a little bit the same way. About every 4-6 years I get a new car. Seems like everytime I've looked at leasing it winds up costing alot more than buying and selling. I'm sure if you calculate everything and how much compounded interest you would get yada yada it probably works out better.

I've loved all the cars I've owned for one thing or another and look forward to purchasing my next.