I have to admit that I am definately bummed that I traded-in my Rx-8 for my 2004 BMW M3, and I just have to vent... I am dead as broke, but my parents will come to the rescue when my dad takes over my M3 in November and I buy another RX-8! He is going to get rid of the Z8 and he is just gonna drive the M3 as a fun car. I took a job at our company as the head of the CNC department at work, so I am now making $18/hour! and I don't have to go to college anymore! Yay! I have from now until november to save up all the money I can (barring my $735/month payment for the M3), then I can get a new '06 RX-8. I will get white with the appearance pkg, rotary accent, and navigation. From now until then, I have to sell a coupe things I bought for the ///M and buy all the stuff I sold 2 months ago!

On a lighter note, my dealer has put the RX-8 on Ebay and I am just warning everyone on this board not to buy this car, it was taken apart about 5 times and tracked for probably 5 track hours - - - and it had a carp thrown on the passenger fender. Just thought I'd pass this along and I will see you guys in November...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=84160

 

What do you mean by it was taken apart about 5 times? What was taken apart? And did the carp leave a mark?

 

Whatswrong w/you Troy? Why wouldyou swap from an auto Rx8 to a manual M3 andthen back down to another manual Rx8? The manual Rx8 only redlines 1k higher and doesntperform anywhere nearas good as the M3. Youve got some real issues man. Keep the M3 andget on w/your life dude

 

Don't have to go to college? Geez, the other 80% of college age kids would be disappointed if they don't get to go to college. Money is no substitute for a university education - if you have the opportunity to get it, you really should take advantage of it. Perhaps you could attend part-time, and still work? Just my humble opinion and recommendation, of course! (You could study mechanical engineering or aeronautical engineering and then be able to design actually effective intakes for your family's cars based on science instead of guesswork! :D)

I can't remember if we said "you'll be back" or "good riddance" when you left - anyway, welcome back! Going for a 6 speed manual this time, I'll bet (Or, if a 2006, a 5 speed auto or 6 speed SMG?)

Regards,
Gordon

 

YES!
finally a fellow who dumped M3 for RX8! just like me!
be my best friend

 

carp as in a fish ??

 

oh yea $18 an hour isn't that much

 

I could not live on 18 an hour with a civic let alone an M3. Your gonna be ghetto rich.

 

I can see why he's dumping the M3. Paying 1/3 of your take home pay for it not including insurance. What is your insurance on the M3? $250-$350 a month? That would leave you around $1300 to live on?

 

- Irish

 

$18 hour and owning a M3... guess we can assume that he either 1) still lives at home and plans to be at home as long as he has the M3... or 2) has his parents to fork over the rest of the money that requires living (home, insurance, food, etc etc.)

At $18 an hour, and IF I was considering moving onto the real world all by myself, I wouldn't think about getting the M3 let alone the RX-8. At most, I would consider is a Civic.

 

Depends on his situation. If he was making 6 figures and could adapt to changing working enviroments, I'd say a degree wasn't needed. If he's only making 18/hour, I'd say stick with college.

 

Brother ... 18 bones an hour is peanuts. My receptionist makes that much and she wishes she could make more and is kicking herself for not going to school. When she was young, she took a course in dental reception and thought she was set for life. Then kids and morgages came along ... soon there was no time to get higher education and now she's "stuck".

As much as we want you back in the community ... I think most fellows here would say hold off on the new RX8 and do yourself a favor and finish school. Cars come and go. What you learn in school is basically a "right to print money!"

 

I remember when I was paying almost $1200/month for my 911. It was a great car, but not worth the $1200/mos., especially since I only put about 400 miles/mos. on the car. Sometimes what sounds really nice (in this case an M3) when you break it down is a PITA, and more of a hassle then the fun in driving the car.

 

I'd keep the M3 if I was in your situation and stay in school.
$18/hour doesn't go very far unfortunately.

 

OK, this thread requires a response as though I'm talking to one of my son's. Since I love all of you like family... here goe's my lecture.

College is not a requirement for life. However NOTHING is more important than an education. Community colleges are a great way to achieve further education without having to leave home and work. There are alternatives such as technical schools and I would have to assume you’ve have had some kind of technical training or you would not be head of a CNC department.

I would ask you to look beyond the BMW, RX-8 and $18 job and make a serious decision on what you really want to do in life. Like, where do you want to be in 15–20 years? Let the auto’s be something you gain from the fruits of you labor, not the driving force in your life. Everything you do will be based on how much money you make so you can pay for your car.

When you limit your education you limit your options in life. How far you can go in a company, the partner you choose, the family you would like to raise. These are important things in life. Not what you drive.

My son wants and Audi. It’s his first year of college. I gave him a bike for Christmas and dropped him off 250 miles away at college. Sounds terrible, doesn’t it? But when he finishes college he will have saved $700 per month for 4 years. He can drive my Nissan Altima if he needs to go somewhere.

I ask you to please think about your future. Once you have made that conscious decision to not go to college then your options will be very limited.

 

I strongly agree with Silver. Limiting education limits your options and how far you can go. Education is something that never hurts you, and can never be taken away from you. And when you finish a degree, the sense of accomplishment is great, and stays with you forever.

 

Knowledge is power. Without it you are always at anothers beck and call.

College if nothing else is an opportunity to have a "break" before life starts. Its an time to meet people, figure out what you want to do with your life, and make connections which will net you future employeement. Its not necessary to succeed in life, but its a much harder climb without a piece of paper to wave off the wolves. [Especially if your going into ANY government related field, or field which uses a government rating system of advancement]

The best cars for college are old beaters, that you won't care about, and won't hurt you if they break down or get stolen. Used civics (older hatches) are great for this. They are good cars, hold a decent amount of people and cargo, and get good mileage. They are also highly manuverable and excellent cars to autocross in (if you want to take up an inexpensive motorsport). With some investment they also make good track cars...just have to resist the urge to put spoilers and body kits on them . You could probably pick up a beater civic for roughly what you pay monthly (a single months worth) in insurance/gas for the M3.

I drove a 1974 Grand Am through college. Its the only car I've ever owned that dents back if you just to ding its door .

 

I would never trade my engineering degree for my RX-8.

Here's a little story.

I am 43 and did the same thing when I was younger. Yay! No college for me, wanted to be a working man. I thought I was living large out of the Navy and working as a field engineer (glorified computer repairman) and making 16K (1982).
I spent the next fourteen years job hopping and when I finally decided to get an education (at 34) I had climbed the corporate ranks all the way to System operator (woohoo) making 25K.

Got fed up. Went to school (ramblin wreck from Georgia Tech) and finished in 1999 with an Aerospace Engineering degree. I now earn far more than ever and I can afford everything I own. Also money accumulates in the bank. When I was scrapping out a living all those years, I was ALWAYS just a little bit short on everything.

Moral: An education is the best investment you'll ever make. So don't wait.

 

I think that everyone has given you the best advice about school--so I won't beat the dead horse--about your next RX8; you goin for 5spd auto, SMG, or 6 spd?

 

Everyone is bagging on the dude for what he is making. I know people who live very nice making little money and that's because they have NO debt (smart) and no bills at all. When you don't owe people or companies money you can go pretty far IMO. So an RX8 would not be out of the question. Especially if he lives at home and saving for his own place. I also know those who make way more than that and can't afford a Kia.

 

College is over-rated...College will give you a piece of paper in a field you'll likely 'not' be working in, anyway. People say 'yeah, but a lot of jobs, they want a degree - doesn't matter what it's in". Anyone ever ask why? Would you rather hire a kid with a degree, or a guy who has been 'doing' said job for the past few years? Hard/ability work is a degree equivolent. A degree has nothing to do with your spouse, your family, or such...I know people making 6-figure incomes who didn't speak the language 5 or 10 years ago.

People who learn to live with less are generally happier people...
I know people who live on $18/hr, drive a newer car, and feed their kids...
$18/hr is GOOD money for a guy your age.

 

18 bucks an hour is more than I make, and I do fine.

 

Ok Kanye West Nowadays 1 degree means very little--but it is a means to an end, it is always better to further you education. True there are stories about people that have made it without an education; but for everyone making 6 figures without a degree that you name I could name 5 that do not make half of that. Its all relative. From the sounds of this kid--it appears that he kind of has a 'silver spoon' (no offense) so I don't think that it will make too much of a difference. One degree isn't enough for me--I'm waiting on my acceptance letter now.