Hey everyone,
I'm 17 and currently drive a 1998 chevy cavalier, and my family who is well off, but not really rich, said in a combination of my coming birthday and Christmas combine i may look for a better car (in the 10-20k range).

I'd say i am a decent driver considering the amount of time i have driving. But i know i am inexperienced. I've looked at a bunch of cars and found a great rx8 that i like a lot. this car is different and have read about it, and still would like it.

But about the inexperience i have...the car is rear wheel drive, and if i drove this car year round (i know not everyone does but some do), even with snow tires and whatnot, would this be a bad/unsafe car for me to drive year round?

The rx8 is automatic, i do not drive fast, never did and never intend to, id just like to drive a nice looking car.

Thank you for you opinions!

 

you can get a great deal on a used auto in your price rangest, just remember to take care of the car and it will do the same in return. Oil changes, proper tires, etc, it will be more maintenance than you experienced thus far, but it won't be over the top. Just be sure you want an auto.

good luck

 

We can only tell you is the RWD will hurt you if you tell us where you live.

Overall it is a great car, but I am going to try to steer you away from the automatic. This car was made for a manual.

 

Just make sure you get snow tires and an extra set of wheels for winter and you will be fine.

 

Ah well i live in Massachusetts (MA) where the winters dont really mess around, when we get a storm we get a storm.

But since you mentioned, the car is made for manual...is there really that huge of a difference in the two?

 

As far as the RWD is concerned, I wouldn't worry about that too much unless your area sees a lot of snow, and then I can't really comment as I haven't driven in snow. Especially with DSC and Traction Control, you don't have too much to worry about as long as you use common sense. Before the RX-8, I had an old 3-series BMW that was RWD with nearly bald rear tires, no traction control, heck no ABS. Never had an issue, unless I was purposely causing it.

Anyhow, I love mine even though it is getting a new engine days after I got it. Beautiful car inside & out, and it is more than fast enough for daily driving with handling that makes up for the lack of raw speed. Just read up on these forums and do the maintenance and have the recalls done. Trust me, there is so much information here that you'll have your head spinning for days trying to decide on little things.

 

ok im 18...I co signed my car with my dad cause i have no credit history yet....anyways...The car is beautiful...Catches eyes left and right no doubt. but if money on gas isent a problem then thats a plus cause this car BURNS gas...I mean SUPER PREMIUM every 2-3 days to keep the tanks in the halfway mark.



Also it's very hard not to speed...trust me on this one. Open roads, no cars, youll be going 50 not even knowing.=p

ABout the RWD, yes it's scary, this is my first RWD car too...i was driving an 04 cavalier before this. Just make sure you got traction control on. Plus your getting and auto so it's easier. I got a manual and sometimes i give to much gas from N to first.

 

Auto's have less horsepower and from what i have heard the ECU isn't that smart when it comes to changing gears. Mainly down shifting when say you're cruising at 50MPH and then smash the pedal. The manual is also pretty friendly from what i have heard.

I dont yet have my 8 however, so this is just from my readings. Feel free to correct me

 

ok, here's MY thoughts/opinions:

you've made a good choice in picking the RX-8 for your first RWD car. it's not as powerful as the ever popular 350z but turns just as many heads.

as far as winter goes, Massachusetts have rough winters. LEARN TO DRIVE THE CAR FIRST. and get winter tires. does the car have traction control? I know the base model doesn't as I have a base model. if it does, that helps a lot too.

automatics. I'm not going to try and talk you out of it, it's your decision, but manuals are 100x better, mainly because you lose a bunch of hp with an auto. plus, manuals are more fun.

with that said, good luck and I hope you make an educated decision based on what you've read here on the forums. (:

 

 

awesome.. join me in the 17 year old club..
i was 16 when i got the car it was brand new rx8 AT
love it!

 

Cool, ocrapitz, do you drive year round with the 8? if so do u get decent snow where you live and how does the car do in it?

 

I would advise getting a manual. Just do it. It helps learn how much attention you should really be paying to yourself, the car and your surroundings.

As far as RWD goes, don't worry to much about it. People were driving RWD cars in the winter for many decades before FWD became so popular. Just make sure you have proper tires. the summer tires that it comes with from the factory are soft and get very hard and become basically useless in sub 40*F weather. There are many reasons for the FWD poopularity but thats another thread altogether.

As has been said the rx8 isn't that great on gas. I get ~19.5 in mixed driving I know others can average far worse. I know when I went away to college I would have died without having the 30MPG+ car that I had.

If you are serious about getting an RX-8 just look around, there are plenty of good deals to be had. Low milage (sub-25K) 04-06 MT's are going for well under 20 and AT's are a couple thousand less. That fact right there should tell you something.

It's a very nice car if you can take care of it and keep yourself out of trouble.

 

hrmm my 8 is my daily driver.. and i go out everyday.. school and outtings
no snow here.. unless i go up mountains.. and i take the 335i sedan up there with chains.. definitely love the 8 as daily driver.. with my subtle mods.. i get lots of head turns therefore.. head turning for sure! and hrmm you pick up girls with this car for sure lol... and YEAH youre only 17.. girls for sure.. one more thing.. this car eats gas like a damn boeing jet..

 

I might just quote that leon, and then black mail u later

hey, I got mine at 18! I am now 19 and on my 2nd rx8, this one is an MT, I used to have an AT, either one will do, personally for a DD I would prefer AT, but risking my life by slowly falling asleep behind the wheel wasn't fun

oh, and if ur aware of the gas thing, go with AT, they get wayyy better gas milage

 

you are hilarious. good luck with the Mtres...you're paying for that right?

/quite possibly opinionated
//22, paying for my own car, proud of it
///would think you're hilarious even if i rode a schwin. modesty ftw

 

its all good, we are azn, we see nothing wrong with being from a rich or powerful family, we are afterall, part of that family

 

haha.. taj.. asian pride right there hahaha

 

litto eyed yellow people

 

Another vote to get a manual. You might think the auto is fine for now, but once you get used to it and start appreciating the merits of the car you're probably going to want something more involving.

As far as RWD goes, it's not so terrible as long as you DO NOT let your ego tell you you're a great driver, therefore you don't need DSC. I had tons on-track time with my 8 and I still wouldn't dare turn off the DSC on the street. Basically, always err on the side of safety and don't get in over your head - but that goes for any car, really.

However, being in a snowy area, you will NEED snow tires, preferably on a separate set of rims just to make swapping convenient. It's not a very good snow car, but lots of people make do with a good set of snows.

Good luck with it! Hope you become a long standing member.

 

i come from a wealthy fam too but we werent like that all the time.so we have to earn our money are paents dont spoil us like lil brats i bought my 8 but i had to graduate hs so my parents could sign

 

hey.. im not a lil brat if youre calling me that
i worked my *** off for my **** too
theres a reason why im in ucla?
dont get me wrong

 

It irks me that you can get away with that, but if posted the same stuff about white people, they'd call me a supremacist and ban me. Just because you're not white doesn't mean it isn't racist.

 

Just leave these guys alone. being rich somehow makes it ok to be given things you should have to earn.

 

Heh...its funny...cause I'm a messican...and recently at a world wide sales meeting one of our staff from our China office said to me (liquored up)....

"You know the chinese first discover america before columbus!"
"Some boats never make it back"
"You are messican...which means we are related...you family"

Heh...I was all like...

"Dude...I'm human...of course we are related...dork"