Let me say at the get-go, I’m not proud of myself here, I merely report the facts and let the cards fall where they will, flame-wise.

Reflecting that in six weeks of GT, six-speed ownership, I have driven but a little over an average of 500 miles per month, it occurs to me that I make excuses for not driving my 8: “It’s just clean and I don’t want to get it dirty.” “It’s too dirty.” “Don’t like the neighborhood/parking situation.” “Just dropping the kids off at school—not even time to warm it up.” “My office’s being re-roofed, don’t want to get tar on it.” “Nice day, I think I’ll bike/run the 5 miles.” Etc.

I mean want’s the dealeo? If I were toying around with a super model I’d be in the driver’s seat every minute. I’m not totally daft, I’ve converted two business airplane trips from Long Beach to road trips (Tucson via Vegas, Grand Canyon, Sedona & Sacramento via Yosemite). Yet, I can’t but help feel that every mile behind one of my other two vehicles is a missed opportunity….

 

For the first week, I liked looking at the car. I washed it every time it got a little dirty.

Then I realized I liked driving it even better than looking at it. Sure, I still wash it once or twice a week, but if it's a choice between washing the car or driving it dirty on a mountain road, I'm going for the latter.

 

Rambling man

Recently i lost a close friend who died never making it to his 50th birthday .

Upon going to see his wife and family to pay my condolences , as we lived in different states , this was very hard on me as i said my goodbyes walking out of his home .

Seeing his beloved and much cherished BMW sitting in the driveway it occured to me that he will never againg get pleasure from driving his car .

"TOMMOROW IS PROMISED TO NO ONE "

So my advise is use it or one day someone else will , i drive mine as much as i possible can , and try to get enjoyment out of everyday.

cheers
michael

 

Chirorx8 has the same problem- he's had it for at least 5 months now and has driven it about 800 miles..

 

Rambling man, you only live once. And like everyone said, tomorrow is promised to no one. Live it up and enjoy the car and stop worrying about getting it dirty, because you never know when your time is up.

 

You can't fully enjoy your car if you afraid taking it out to the road. One way or another, one day the car will get old and dirty no matter how well you keep it clean.

 

I had that same problem with my previous car. I just decided that I would not fall into that again. Enjoyment is in the eye of the beholder. You gotta do what you like to get the most out of the car. If you like it being a super clean garage clean (no derogatory conotation intended) then that's fine. But driving is oh so much fun!

 

Take it out on the road and drive it. You will enjoy the longing and curious looks from the folks you pass by as a side benefit as you zoom-zoom down the road. Even the cops slow when they go by me when I'm driving my RX8. The ONLY thing I don't like is that I'm so worried about getting dings in the door, I always park way out in the boonies of the parking lots to avoid other cars. No more looking for the closest space for me. Now, the prized "end place" is my holy grail....

 

Y’all ain’t telling me anything I don’t already know. Heck, my probation officer tells me to stay away from meth; my wife tells me not to date teenagers; and my mom tells me not to bait my brother. But, waddayagoindo, we don’t always act in our own best interests.

I drove it to a barbeque today, left the doors open so everyone could go gaga. Tell you what, I love telling ‘em it cost under 30k just to see that “oh crap, I could have had an 8” look fall into their eyes.”

 

the other thing you should consider is that the lower miles really does not buy you that much in terms of value held - if you look at the mile adjustment for used cars, you are not getting that much at all.

Point being, you are STILL paying for the car and the car is STILL depretiating whether you drive it or not. Since the RX-8 is not like an exotic (say Ferrari) you might as well put miles on the car.

Like others have said, enjoy life and what it has to offer while you can - you can't take your material things with you when you are gone

 

I just hate driving it dirty. I feel almost embarassed. As soon as it quits raining, I'm out there washing it, even if there is a threat of rain the next couple of days.