mkiv808

I'm looking into possibly buying an RX-8. I have a Supra TT, but need a commuting car. Don't know if I can afford the Supra plus buy a comfortable car for commuting and pay for both insurance.

I see a ton of low mileage 8's on Autotrader. What's up with that? Just seems unusual...

Looking into getting either a silver or black 6-spd GT w/ navi.

RXE16T

Some people are selling because it's not what they have expected or possibly the rotary engine is a little bit too temperamental for their liking.

The rotary is full of little eccentricities which people either love or hate.......... there's really no middle ground IMO.

mkiv808

This is really quite a tough decision.

With my expenses, I have no extra money for a car, but I do have good credit.

So I could keep the Supra and refinance it, that would bring my payments on it below 300. But then I'd have to either finance or lease a cheap daily. But realistically that's going to still be another 300 a month AT LEAST with insurance. So $800 a month.

If I sold the Supra, I'd have about 11 grand in the bank and could finance a low-mileage RX8. Maybe put a couple grand into little mods and snow tires and I'd be set.

Of course, the Supra is an amazing car and the 3rd I've owned. IMHO, it blows away the RX-8 in exterior styling, power, and overall handling capabilities. That said, the RX-8 does have the weight advantage and more responsive handling. But I've also owned an NSX, so the RX-8 would be a bit of a stepdown in the power department to say the least. Although I really must think of practicality, and the RX-8 fits that while being fun-to-drive and sporty looking.

Ugh, such a hard decision. Unfortunately the 60 mile commute to NYC is torture in the Supra and probably not much better in, say, a 350z.

I guess I'll see how much money I can make in the new office (own a business).

If I need to sell the Supra and get an RX-8, my biggest concern is resale value.

It's very possible I will want to sell the RX-8 in a year, possibly to get another Supra TT (this time a 6-spd like my previous) and perhaps lease something like a TSX. If I buy one at 26k, I don't want to find out that I can't get anything above 20k when I go to sell it privately with 30k miles on it.

I'm also used to Toyota, Acura, and to a lesser extent Mitsubishi (3000GT NA, worst sports car I've ever owned) reliability. I've also had horrors with an Audi. Realistically, is the RX-8 going to be make me happy in the reliability dept? Gas mileage doesn't concern me that much... I mean, I'm used to BPU Supra gas mileage.

Decisions, decisions...

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

Why by a used 8? Around here we had a dealer selling them $4000 under MSRP. The price between used and new was neglegable.

rx8wannahave

Gosh, good luck with your search but man are you all over the place. Remind me of me before I got my RX8...LOL

Slow down there buddy...LOL, I"ll give you power but the handling and exterior style I must disagree with you. The Supra was a very good sports car but it does not hold a candle to the previous RX-7 or the RX8 in the looks department, but that's me...

Good luck either way. I too was worried about seeing so many low miliage used RX8's on the market (Nationwide not local or even statewide I mean) but my continual research with plus/minus and compareing it to other cars (I have a spreadsheet on this site you might want to take a peak at)...the RX8 won and I've been so happy with my decision I can hardly believe I actually own a RX8.

czr

iTrader: (3)

I'm a big Toyota backer and if Toyota came out with a $30k supra the same time the 8 came out I'd probably be in one. With that being said, you are comparing a 10 year old $40k car to a 2004-05 $30k one. Your Supra is comparable to the RX7 FD not the RX8.

But compared to the 8, out of the box the TT Supra has more power. Exterior, the Supra has a slight advantage and the 8 would be better inside, handling would be really close. But gas aside, you are getting the creature comforts that makes this car a great daily commuter with useable back seats to boot. I'd recommend taking a long test drive one if you haven't already.

If you really really love the the Supra consider getting a beater if your commute is really killing you. But there are some FD owners that bought 8s knowing it wouldn't be faster and don't look back. You might be the same way.

aggietiff28

Ok, you are talking to a bunch of people who really love their car...despite the fact that there are many "new car" problems, upgrades, and fixes taking place. I wouldn't trade mine for anything, but I don't think there is anything out there in my price range that is even remotely as beautifully styled, easy to handle, responsive, impressive sounding, etc.

By listening to what you have to say though, you sound like you really don't want the RX8 and that it would just be a go-between car for you. IMO, what you are wanting is not necessarily what you will find in an 8. If I felt the way you do about the car that you are in now, then I would just keep it instead of going through the hassle of trading for the 8, then trading back in a year or so.

Like one of the guys said before, with the 8s...from what I have seen, people either love it despite the problems, or hate it enough to trade right away. Sorry to say, but you sound like one who would inevitably hate it and want to trade right away.

quack_p

The car has only been on the market for a little over a year, so any used RX-8 up for sale will have low mileage. Check the mileage on all used 2004 makes and models up for sale. I'm guessing they have low mileage, too.

khtm

Have you ever driven an RX-8 yet?

mkiv808

Yes, it was a pathetic test drive. 3 full size adults and no twisties. My friend was thinking of buying one, he went with an Evo. He couldn't drive stick confidently enough at the time, so I drove the RX-8 for him. The Evo is quite the performer, but not my thing on the styling end of things.

mkiv808

Styling is a very subjective thing. One thing's for sure, the Supra is an attention magnet. That can be a good thing or a bad thing. People seem to universally love it when they see it though. I don't think photos do it justice. Plus it's rare. Rare enough that only see one monthly at the most, and it's always the same one. At least around here.

I have seen it next to RX-7's and RX-8's... it's just different. It makes the RX-7 look like a toy car, but that's what the RX-7 is. The RX-7 looks more like a purpose-built sports car given its small size, although it does look a bit cheaper especially from the back IMO. The RX-8 looks much more modern, yet not quite as exotic to me.

Handling, yes it's a lot heavier of a car and the steering is quite vague compared to many of its modern counterparts. Though it still pulls .98g's stock and handles like it's on rails. The confidence level in its handling is way high. Like I said, the handling capabilities are high, but on feel the RX-8 wins. Trust me, having owned an NSX, handling is something I would say the Supra lacks. It's a Supercar GT to me, not a true sports car. But neither is the RX-8. The RX-8 to me is a practical car with sports car handling and looks.

Also, leasing it and keeping the Supra is also a very real possibility if I got the right deal on a lease. I'm talking $350 a month or under with a couple grand in. That is, if I have the money to do that.

Btw, here's some pics with my friend's Evo:

Captain Amazing

Why not just get a beater like an older civic or geo metro and keep the Supra?

RX8-TX

Keep the Supra and buy a beater: four door four seats (or 5) - Don't get yourself into financial hurdles for transportation!

rx8wannahave

Yeah, I forgot about that...The Supra really does out handle (I think) the RX8 because it does only about .89g, but it is more nimble...but either way the Supra can take more of a curve.

I really do like the Supra and it really stunk that Toyota gave up on it like Chevy gave up on the F-Cars. Good luck either way...why did you get rid of the NSX...that is another hell of a car too.

Sig-Sauer

All this talk about the 8s cornering abilitys has me thinking about tires. Has anyone else noticed the 8 has the most narrow tires of any sportscar its compared to ??. Im wondering if you were to put the HUGE sticky tires that a vet or supra has on an 8 if you could get the 8 closer to them in the g department. Tires make a huge diffrence in handeling and by comparison the 8 has long lasting inexpensive tires. the Z06 tires look like duals compared to what an 8 has.

mkiv808

The NSX was too expensive at the time, so I sold it. I bought it two months before 9/11 happened, and running my own design firm, the insurance alone was overwhelming.

As far as wider tires, it would affect the handling characteristics of the RX-8 to go really wide. By really wide, I mean like 285+ in the rear. The manufacturer usually puts a lot of thought into the suspension geometry and its relation to the weight of the car and size of tires. I think with wide tires you may find its lateral "stick" would be improved, but overall response and "sporty" feel, which is the car's strongpoint, would be diminished. A car like the Z06 was designed with wide tires in mind, but it's also a much, much different suspension setup from the RX-8. Much less livable. You wanna get the RX-8 into some insane skidpad numbers, invest in some good coilovers and swaybars . But say goodbye to its livability.

I sat in an RX-8 again today. It's nice. The interior reminds me of the last gen RX-7 like woah (which was the first car I looked at before Supras and once again before buying the NSX, but the unpredictability of that platform kept me away). It just "fits" you in a similar way. It's tight compared to most cars, but it's not cramped. Fits like a glove. On the other hand, the passenger side felt cramped.

Also, looked at the 3. Very nice for the price. Thinking of leasing one of those if I have the scratch to keep the Supra.

As far as buying a cheap Geo or Civic, I want a car that's both safe and comfortable for my hour commute.