I'm just curious to know from the current 8 owners....

What was the approximate time period it took you before you finally made the decision to buy the 8? Was it a week? a year? a day?

For me, it's going on 4 months back and forth now trying to decide.

 

Hmmm, I think I first read about the RX-8 in June and finally bought one in September, so it took me about 3 months. I had to get over the fuel economy issue before I bought (which is why I don't complain about it now). What's holding you up? There's some really good deals available right now on the 04. As you don't live in San Jose, by all means get one! :D

 

I've been wanting this car since April 2002.

and the kick to the groin is that I STILL don't have one yet!!!

 

I decided I wanted a new car one day and a week later, decided on the 8.

 

thought about it monday afternoon,
spent tuesday all day visiting dealerships here in sydney,
paid a deposit by wednesday afternoon :D

 

Well I've wanted a rotary since I was born. I grew up in a 626 (model year 1982) and a Millenia S...seeing the RX-7 as the next step, a big step but as I got older and the fact I live in minnesota I couldn't get it...

so I promised to buy the next one mazda came out with, when I saw the concept car that sealed the deal, in 2001 I think I saw it, maybe earlier I don't remember...at the time I saw it looked more like this:

 

I just notices the E-brake is on the left...wtf?

 

One year, saved up my pennies for one. But just to make sure test drove a few cars before. Test drove the car on saturday four days later bought her right before christmas. Best christmas present I ever gotten... for myself

 

I just got up one day went to a Mazda dealer. Then drove home with a new RX-8 and never looked back.

 

That IS sad ZoomZoomH.

Like you, I followed the progress of the car through most of it's development cycle including the earliest "first drives" by some of the auto mag people. I have a stack of magazines that included articles on the RX-8 and cover at least a 2-year period.

I never had a rotary-engined car before, although I wanted a 3rd gen RX-7, but "settled" for a Miata in 1992. (Great car, BTW.) I decided early on that I was going to eventually get the 8. In fact, I didn't really feel the need to drive one before purchasing. So I did my research on line last summer, found the exact match at a dealer not far from where I live. Arranged to get the "S" plan through an aquaintance of a relative, called the dealer and sealed the deal that very day. Picked up the car on the last day of July 2004 and have been having a ball ever since. BTW, the car had a build date of 5/2004 so it had the latest PCM flash. Best thing was that it had only 4 miles on the odo.

Ya gotta get one!

 

Tricky part was decision to buy any vehicle at this juncture. Once through that, the easy part was finding the right one. Less than a mile into the test drive, color of interior became the only thing left to fret over. Demo 8 was red with chapparel. I wanted something more sultry. Went with my instincts and ordered black on black sight unseen. Like Dominion, I never looked back. She's GORGEOUS. Love this car...

Go48 made a good point: explore the web. Print off pricing information and what not and go to dealer armed with that information.

 

I followed the car from when it was just a concept drawing,and it was called the RX-01.It then became the Evolve,and my wife and I went to see it at the NY international auto show in april of 2001.It the first time we had ever been to NY city.We drove to CT,and took a train into Grand central station,and the a cab to the Javits center.It was a long trip to see basically a body on wheels,but it was well worth it.I have wanted the car for a long time,but only recently bought it mostly because between 01 and now we have had a son,so therefore we are basically down to just my income.I thought I would never get one due to that,but I did some research on the lease incentives back in August,and worked out a killer deal on my 04 Nordic green base model.I may only have it for the 2 years of the lease,but it will be a fun 2 years regardless.I hope to keep it,but who knows what will happen by then.I still have the REPU,and the RX-7 to play with if I give up the RX-8.

I say go out and get one you will love it.

 

I test drove one in feb, knew I wanted it but didn't think I should get a new car. Two months later, I still wanted one and decided to get it. It was mid april.

 

Took me hours to decide. I was looking at 350z, G35, 325ci and the RX-8. I went to the Mazda Dealership that monday. I was impress of the look. I drove test it I was like oh hell I want it NOW! So I drove it home hours later.

 

My roomate at UT/ Austin had an RX-3 in 1976. I knew then I wanted a rotary. When I graduated in 1980 and passed my board, I went lookin' in Dallas.Day 1, I went 2 two different dealers with my Opal Manta trade looking for a Special Edition RX-7 (black/gold, white/gold) .Both dealers dealers tried to play the car game which I was not a good player, so I walked. Day 2, Redbird Datsun(Nissan) had 4 of the 10th Anniversary Z's on their lot as the dealer had just opened and that was their allotment. It was 2 months from becoming 1981 and they had really discounted them to move these '80's.I drove home in a Z. AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!! Soooooo long story short, it only took me 3 career changes, 1 divorce and 28 years to get mine. Never give up on a dream!!

 

Wow, that's an interesting picture. I'm glad the chrome police interceded before the car reached market.

 

I had to wish wash for several weeks. Though for me it was a decision not between cars in the 8's class, but which class of car to get. I was shopping for a new car a few months before the 8 came out. To put it in perspective I was driving a Mistubishi 3000 GT.

Pontiac had discontinued the Firebirds, Toyota had discontinued the Supras, there was a dearth of sports cars. I just wasn't interested in anything on the market. So I had totally prepared myself to leave the sports car class and get a sport sedan, specifically a BMW 3 series.

Well, there's a Mazda dealership on the main road to our house, and when the 8's hit the lot my wife made me test drive one. I had a permagrin throughout the whole test drive. I went back and forth, back and forth, for a couple weeks... Bimmer or 8, bimmer or 8.

My wife finally convinced me to get the 8. About a month later I was presented with an awesome deal on a BMW, so we got that too... now I drive both about the same amount, though honestly I'll probably trade my current BMW and the 8 for a new 3 series when they get redesigned in 06.

---A

 

To tell all of you the truth.. at first I thought the 8's were butt ugly.. but one day I finally convinced my wife to go look at cars with me. My brother passed away on March 2003 and the reason why my wife went with me to look at cars is because it was my bro's b day and I didnt want to think about it because it made me more sad. Well as me and my wife were driving up sahara, mazda was the first stop. So I got out of the car, saw the 8's and fell in love. She mentioned that she had never seen me so happy in over a year and that she had to get it for me. So basically she bought me the 8. I wanted a yellow one but she ended up choosing it for me and got me a Titanium Grey 8 GT package. So there you have it... we bought the 8 on Feb. 17, 2004 and I love this car.. no regrets at all.

 

I started looking at S4s actually. Test drove one - very fast, but handled like a pig. Big. Heavy. Not sporty enough. Then my eye went to the 05 Mustang GT. Until I got inside one. The interior is rather bland. Pedestrian. Nothing much to look at. Found out it'd raise my insurance by $600 per year too. Yesterday, I went on my 2nd RX8 test drive. I'm about 95% sold on the RX8 now. Very adequate power...AMAZING 'coolness' factor. Nice interior (even with the cloth seats, as I can't afford the leather), Handling is very nice. When in a corner it's SO easy to adjust the attitude of the car w/ the throttle. Lift, and it dips in...add gas and it pushes wide a bit. Very miata-like. :D

So - I'd say within a week of selling my miata, I'll have a Titanium or Silver or Blue RX8 with Sport and Appearance package

 

I went to Scotland for my holidays in Jan of this year. My buddy works for Mazda UK and his company car was a yellow 6speed 8. I drove it a couple of times and fell in love. When I returned to the states I drove my Mustang GT and thought...what a piece of ****!!!! About 3 weeks later..I went to my local dealer and bought my 8. Nice!!

- Irish

 

Short answer: 3 years!
Life story answer: I'm a major procrastinator and cheapskate. I'd been looking at RSX's (waiting for R-type), BMW 3 series (too much money for what you get), WRX's (econobox interior and quality, loathed by the wife) then to the common RX-8 vs G35C decision. I, too have 3 years of brochures and articles in box. My wife was hounding me to get a new car because the repair costs vs actual value of my '91 Probe GT, then I spent a morning replacing the clutch slave instead of working. The straw that broke the procrastinator's back was the discontinuation of Yellow for '05 (had a yellow Karmann Ghia and '77 Capri long ago). The test drive threw out the G35C and I found what I wanted within a week.

Agreed that the real dash is better than the show car dash!

Go for the car, I kick myself for waiting so long. Good like driving whatever you get in the Calgary winter! At least it's flat as a pancake. Do me a favor and make some runs at SSV or LL for me; haven't skied there in a few years.

 

about 1 and 1/2 months... i was really looking at the Evos first... then i said no... then the G35 Coupe, 350z, WRX, RSX, SRT-4... finally after not finding a good dealer anywhere cloes i came to Mazda looking at the Miatas then finally gave in to the RX8 after test driving it.

Sure wish i had the 6 speed though. I love the sidestep of the back of the car when switching into 2nd gear

 

I started looking back in March 2004 since my MX-6 was getting long in the tooth--10-1/2 years--but had to wait for some long-overdue downpayment cash to come in from an antique at auction where the bidder wussed out after making his bid. So, I just joined the board, studied the RX-8 during the interim, and waited. The cash finally came in in late August (almost four months late), and the recalcitrant bidder bartered half of his shop to the auction house (Butterfields) to make payment and has been banned for life from bidding with them again. :D I had the 8 ordered within two hours after opening my mail and finding the check, and I had it four days later. I never seriously considered anything else except the Mazda6, and I have no regrets.

 

I'm right there with ya buddy!
When I saw the first sneak peek article on the car, with the baby seat in the back, I thought "this is a car my wife might actually go for..."

I showed that magazine to my co workers who also liked the 350z that was in the same issue. I like the 350z, but I wanted a 4 seater, and I thought that Mazda was doing the "right things" with the RX-8. I started doing more research on them back in Sept/Oct. and was looking at used models on Carmax's website.
(fyi, I think I got the better deal buying new, as Carmax, might take trades, but my experiance in talking to them is that they pay extreme lowball figures for your trade. I didn't want to deal with selling my own car, by the way)

I also researched Edmunds website a lot and googled the hell out of "RX-8" and reviews. All last week, I've still been reading stuff about the car.

I can't belive there's one in my driveway...

Waitaminute, THERE'S AN RX-8 IN MY DRIVEWAY!!! :D

(make sure you can afford the payments/insurance and go buy the one you want!)

 

I read about the 8 in March 2003, pre-ordered in May 2003, and picked my 8 up in August 2003. So I guess the decision time was a little less than 2 months. During that time I also considered the Mini Cooper S and a used BMW M Coupe.