Yeah, the BMWs and Audi's in there probably aren't better options than the RX-8.

The Scion TC would be hard to speak against. Won't be cost or reliability issues with one.

 

Acura RSX? Civic Si Coupe?

Reliable, fun, reasonably efficient.

 

Thanks, I'm trying to zero in on one or two cars, test driving a lot of them so I know what a good individual car of that model should feel like.

So far I'm going with the scion TC, not sure about a second one.

I checked out the honda civic SI and acura RSX, they both look amazing, but I can't seem to find them <$10,000

 

Yup, that's why I gave you a link to what IS for sale near you in your price range.

Talking about other cars don't make much sense if there aren't any for sale in your price range...

You could expand the search radius quite a bit if you are able to fly out to it and drive it home (I did that for my 8), and if you aren't in a rush to buy, then the list of cars for sale will shift over time and better options may pop up.

 

my little sister(16) has a tc and she loves it but she already wants the frs. spoiled

 

Not quite willing to do that unless it is such a great deal.

I've also never driven stick before, so I would have to learn on the fly

 

Its not the purchasing that's your biggest issue with buying an 8. Many people, myself included, forget or don't realize (myself again) how quickly things add up with these cars, especially when they are your only car/dd. I did it for 3 months and after the gas bill I bought a P5 to dd. There are definatley days I ask myself why I bought it, and I think everyday the wife asks why I bought it. As it has been said, you have to take more into account than just purchase price, more so I think with the older models.

My motto is you only live once, but as I said, some days I wish I didn't buy my 8 until I take it for a spin after getting out of the P5, it all makes sense after that

Good luck either way!.

 

^ I'm guessing you just read the beginning then skipped everything where he decided against the 8 and is asking about other cars....

 

So one last thing about the RX8, should I even due my due diligence and check out the 2007 rx8, 55k miles, priced at $11,000 ($3,000 below book value)?

The 2007 is the first year without engine problems....

I'm going to be spending $11,000 on a 2007 scion Tc anyways.

 

This is not correct. It's the same engine as 2004 through 2008. It just spent less time with an insufficient flash.

See the new owner's thread in my sig, post #9 for a list of all the ways that it can still fail. If you can't accept that possibility, then you shouldn't be considering an RX-8.

If you do end up going with an RX-8, MAKE SURE you get a compression test first.

 

I really don't understand any of that language... I'll look more into it tonight. I'm unsure how often this will all happen to an rx8 or to any other car and their own problems.

 

I'll try to put it another way:

Buying ANY car is a financial gamble. The future is unknown. However, some cars are more prone to have problems than others. Buying any car and hoping it will be bliss to be able to ignore the car's needs will mean that you will be facing trouble. So, with any car, you will need to be willing and able to address the issues that occur. So, for any car, the correct method of investigating is to see what the common issues are and see if you are willing to accept those issues.

For any rotary, you simply can not expect the engine to last. It very well may last quite a long time. But you have to be in a mind set to prepare for "what happens when it fails". If you are prepared for it, then it won't be a problem. If you are not prepared for it, either mentally or financially, then when it does happen you will be caught off-guard and it will be a significant blow.

The rest of the common issues are the same. If you expect ignition failure then replacing it regularly isn't going to be a problem. If you don't expect it, the suddenness and frequenct of replacement is going to be a problem for you. Most people start to hate the car when stuff starts going wrong that they didn't prepare for.

Most people that prepare for the issues and accept it rarely even have the problems in the first place, because they are always paying attention to the possibility. And when the issues do pop up, it's no big deal.



The only thing that you can count on with a 2007 is that it should still have time left on the engine core warranty, that it wasn't exposed to the weak flashes of 2004-2005, your tail lights shouldn't flood with water, you don't have an underpowered starter, and it's 3 years less rust than the 2004s.

That's it.

Everything else, every other problem, ... it's all still viable and up in the air.

We can't tell you if the engine will last or not. We can only take your compression test numbers and tell you if it's a good engine or not. It could be perfect compression and then overheat on the way home from the dealer that same day and warp the housings. It's possible. You could be having fun with a great engine, forget that you are low on gas and it goes dry while you are at full throttle and bomb, engine done.

Lots of failure methods.

 

get a honda accord. The newer ones are pretty nice and are supppeerrr reliable. my family has had 3 and 2 of them lasted to 200,000 miles with minor maintenance and my sister just got an 08 manual and its pretty darn nice.

If I didnt get the 8 my 2nd choice would have been a grand prix. I love pontiac even thought their technically not around anymore =/.

 

Ok this all makes sense, thanks for putting it into dummy language for me.

I can accept those risks; I know there is risk in doing anything in life. Obviously the cost of taking on those risks is what is important for me.

I'm going to check out 7-10 difference Scion tC's tomorrow. From years 2005-2009.

I just checked out an 2003 audi a4 1.8t quattro right now (right in my town, I said why not) from a private owner. It had chipped paint on the hood and trunk. Squeaky breaks (break pads, possibly router needs to be replaced), brake lights were on, and it had no spare tire. The engine sounded good. He said $6900, I said $6000. It had 87k miles on it. What worried me was that he had no service records and he was the third owner of the car.

I'm going to check out all these cars, possibly more, get notes on 12-15 separate cars and make my decision from there.

 

Buying a 2003 Audi A4 would be worse than buying a 2004 RX8 from a maintenance perspective.

 

As much as I hate to say this, the RSX is probably your best bet here. The problem is price, as like every Honda they have been overpriced due to the foot-to-the-floorboard V-TEC rice boy inflation factor.

 

I've got to chime in here on the 3 series. I've only had my 8 for a few months, but my 330XI ive had for 8 years. In that time i have spent more in parts and repairs than the 8 cost me to buy twice over. Fug man, when a bmw breaks something it starts a whole dam chain of repairs. Sure once you get done with the chain its super reliable, good on gas, and fun to drive...but without knowing how to diy you're looking at thousands a year on avg at least for maint/repair. Bmw took it upon themselves to put an almost 8qt oil system in the E46 so when you do an oil change with synthetic its 50 in oil alone and thats the diy route.

Now i do have a great option...sentra SE-R spec V. I got mine brand new in 03 and fart was that a fun car to throw around! Sure it's not on the 8 or 3 series level BUT at 21 it's cheap on insurance, fuel efficient, and the body style i had you could probably pick up pretty cheap now. Brand new they were only 17K or so. My second vote goes for the mazda 3, as long as its not the chesire cat grinning version, whatever that one is. Everytime i see that giant grin all i can remember is being 8 at soccer and grinning with the orange slices in my mouth.

Like others have mentioned the goal is to get a drivers car, but one thats lower on the totem so you can get newer and avoid high ins and repair costs. theres no reason something like the mazda 3 or even a civic cant be a fun well modded (read non-rice) car!


Shoot man, put bmw 330xi in place of the audi in that story and its mine. I'd stay far far away from that if i were you. No records means he didnt do any of the major maintenance on stuff like suspension or exhaust or cooling. I've never owned an audi but audi owners frequent the bmw circles cause thier so close in comparison so i've heard a few stories. They have all the same problems as bmws like every frakking bolt gets seized and then snaps off right in the middle of a repair.

If you can afford the repair shop costs and you had it checked out first than great. Otherwise parts alone on german cars are wickedly expensive. That thing is at just the right mileage to not have had any high mileage services done because it could be stretched past them so within months i bet you'd be forced into doing all of them with things breaking. On cars with mileage like that replacing one part starts to cause extra wear on all the other heavily worn parts and then they start failing all in the chain of repairs like i mentioned before.

 

Thanks man for your detailed responses. I decided not to buy the audi, I looked at 7-8 Scions and although I liked them, the best one's were $9000-$12000, and even then they either had high mileage or were fixed up by auto body shops.

I think I will save up for next summer where I will be looking at the Nissan Altima Coupe. ($15k range)