Hi everyone,

I've been on this site for years now lusting for an RX8. I'm finally in a position to buy and have been starting to get the finances in order and look around a bit. I have a couple questions.

1. I want a sport pack in GG. Invoice minus Rebate is about $24,500. How much do people think i can get below that? Knowing the massive discounts at the end of the year makes it hard to figure out what price i should pay. I've been wondering if i should just wait, but that is a looong wait.

2. What good dealers are there in the Bay area? I've looked at Steven's Creek in SJ, and Menlo Mazda. Salesman at Stevens Creek told me the RX8 was safe because it's "based on a Volvo chassis", and that the Shinka edition was "Like the Fast and the Furious, turbo and everything!" . The area also factors into price, because there is so much money around here no one wants to deal! With all the Mazda dealer horror stories out there i would like to give my business to a place that goes the extra mile for post delivery customer service. An option is to buy in Los Angeles since i am down there a lot.

3. I'm going to finance probably half. It looks like most places are about 6.5%, but some online options are around 6%. Has anyone used Eloan.com or another web site for auto financing? Where can i get the best rate? It'd be nice if Mazda offered low interest financing on the 8.

I am most curious about question 3.

As for other cars i have looked at a used G35c, new Acura TSX, and a GTI.

G35c: I didn't like the test drive in the G35, so i didn't feel it was worth the extra money or step down to a used vehicle so that was out.

TSX: The tsx was nice but slow, and not sporty enough. I mostly looked at it because it's the only car on the list i'd consider a plus on reliability and resale, but i'm getting out of an old 4 door Camry and it's just not far enough away from that. I was offered invoice before even haggeling. I was not expecting such good offers on those ether.

GTI: The GTI is a serious contender, and i have vascillated back and forth between it and the 8 many times. Minuses are the Little Tykes plastic toy styling, VW reliability, and the elitist idiots who call VW the Apple of the car world as if they are so hip and cool. The plus points are the peach of an engine, fantastic interior, better MPG, and hatchback utility. I would take that interior over the 8s any day. The leather seats are so comfortable, and i fit better in it(I am 6'4").

Overall, i'm going with the 8 for the handling, rwd, the fact that it's a more grownup car, the awesome exterior styling, and the rotary engine. My heart says get the 8, and if i get something else i may always think in the back of my head "what if ?". Neither is a paragon of reliability, and all the 8 engine replacements scare me, but i'll call it a wash between the two for reliability. Both dealer networks have horrible reputations so thats equal as well.

This was longer than i thought it would be. Can you tell how much i want an RX8?