I had the RX-8 for about 3.5 months.



got it new...and then I for gas mileage and other reasons such as safety, driveability in snow (I snowboard a lot) and seats not folding down in the RX8....

I traded it in for a 2006 Civic Si...

I've had the Civic for about 6 months now...

and I regret trading in the RX8... Not to say that the Civic Si is bad... it's a very fun car...and seems even faster in a straight line (not the launch)...

but the RX-8.......wow...the tranny was just as buttery smooth as my Honda's... 9k rpm............ the low sporty stance...

It was a dream car... and now I have an upgraded economy car.

I do save a lot of money on gas...and money is tight, so I can't regret it too much... but I lost $4000 because of the trade-in.

I want to get the rX8 again someday. Suicide doors...... the triangular shaped shift ****.... the awesome seats with rotary logo....

don't take these things for granted -_-

 

Yeah, I was gonna trade my 8 for a wood paneled station wagon... glad I changed my mind at the last minute.

 

Lets think of this.

You lost $4,000 to buy the car.
If you financed, you actualy lost more like $5,600 (at 8% for 5 yrs)
If you paid cash, that $4,000 could have bought you 1,702 gal. of gas at $2.35 a gal.
At 17 mpg (mine averages 19-20) you could have driven 28,934 miles.

I take it that the
Assuming that the Honda averages 28 mpg you will have to drive it 47,656 miles with the numbers from above just to come out even.

If you financed it you will have to drive it 55,147 miles.

Of course, the numbers can vary with gas prices, milage, if you got a better interest rate on the Honda than you did on the 8,....

But it does sound like the Honda better fits your needs right now.

 

PS, just curious. I know the Honda Civic insurance is very high. How does it compare with the 8?

 

You are right. Clearly, this move made no sense financially. Losing $4,000 bucks so you can maybe make it back 55,000 miles later? And I though the RX8 had good reliability ratings.

 

I find it hard to believe the Civic is a safer car than the rx8.

 

while he lost money on the trade in, if his payments are still close to what he was paying on the 8 it would still be worth it for him. Yeah, it would take a lot of time to make up that money he lost, but if you are short on money, and the monthly payments are close, then it is better off to pay for gas every other week rather than every week.

As Dave said, the Civic seems to fit your needs better for the time being.
You can always come back to the RX-8 later. and just think, you could sell the civic and pick up a used RX-8 for a whole lot less than the one you had.

 

I was thinking along the same lines. But when things get a bit better for him he could always pick up a used 04 for next to nothing and keep both. That way he can trick out the 8 and not have to worry so much about drivability.

 

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 

I'd be curious to see crash ratings on both also. I'm not so sure I believe either that the Civic is safer.

 

I think want he means by "safer" is the fact that he has to drive in snow regularly.

 

ok, safer in the snow, but if he does manage to drive off a cliff or get hit by an out of control SUV, he'd rather be in the rx8?

 

Yep, that's what I got from it as well. Though I don't understand going to an SI for that reason. A WRX wagon seems like it would have been a great choice. Sorry you miss your 8, but trading it seems like a boneheaded decision to begin with. The SI is a nice car and will hold resale quite well though.

 

I figured this was going to be about how much he loved his civic and how bad the 8 sucked I'm not even sure why I clicked on it but I'm now pleasantly surprised. I applaud you for doing what you needed to do instead of what you wanted, a lot of people don’t do that and get themselves into financial trouble. It’s good that you recognize your needs over your wants.

 

The snow issues have to do with the tires and not the car. Get some snow tires.

 

in the winter, good choice.. in the summer however...
FWD FTL!

 

i would never trade any car for civic

 

well two of my snowboards snugly fit into the passthrough/trunk though my windsurfing **** still has me scratching my head .. too bad the rear window doesnt have pass through

as far money logic .. si wouldnt make my choice as its pretty much same price .. so if i was to downgrade for economical reasons i would go with the fit

 

I don't understand; there are some 2004 RX-8s for dirt cheap.

How do you find the steering on the SI compared to the steering on the RX-8?

Braking?

I want backseats in my next car and am currently hesitating between the Civic SI and the RX-8. I test drove both and love them equally.

 

if you have open minded friends the back seats give plenty room .. for stuck up idiots i would recommending renting an suv
handling from my experience is nice in both .. though if you turn in hard in the si the front tires pretty much fold under the front weight .. the 8 will give you some chirps and maybe eat some of the tire but it wont stop you from going where you want to

 

If you look around you can find some cheap. You just have to do homework. For instance, I have an 04 touring man. with 43,000 miles. If I tried to trade it I would get between $10,000 and (maybe) $12,000. It would realy be more like $10k in real money as they would not discount the new car to give me more than that. From a dealer, they will usualy try to make around $4,000 on a used car if they can. The only problem from buying from a dealer is you don't know what they have into the car. You can go to KBB and look at fair condition. Add about $1,000 for pac, and most dealers won't take less than $1,500 over on a used unless they are in too deep or the car is about to go to auction. Anyway, you just have to do some homework on used.

Check it for paint. If it has been painted it gives you more leverage. Dealers will take off trade value if they find paint. Even if it was not accident related.

 

You rock!! Love your logic!! Seriously, this is how I think before major purchases. Do the math people!

 

In the winter RWD rules!! The problem is too many of you young punks grew up only driving FWD cars and don't know how to handle a RWD car in the winter. When you grow up driving big ugly Ford or Chevy when you first learn to drive...the RX8 is esay.


...oh...and snow tires...why do people refuse to use snow tires?

 

Well, good luck with your Civic. Best of luck. Well, I'm going out right now.. Just to drive my 8 around..

 

Right.
From a long term finance perspective, the move was lousy, but there are people who really live by the monthly cash flow philosophy.