Hi folks,

I haven't been here in a couple of years. After ordering an RX-8 right from day one and watching it struggle through its journey to the states, I had some serious problems with my dealer and canceled my order about 2 days before delivery. Talk about cutting off my nose to spite my face!

Anyway, after looking for alternatives, my wife really (REALLY!) liked the Acura TL Type-S and I bought one. As much as I liked it and as much as it offered, I haven't been truly happy since that day. Oh, how I missed my Miata!

Cut to Sunday: my daughter and I spotted an RX-8 on a local dealer's used lot. It was unlocked, so we sat in it an played "car" for awhile. I visited on my lunch hour yesterday and picked the car up today! I'm happy, my wife's happy, everyone's happy!

The best part (well, not really, but...) is that the difference between the RX-8 and what they offered my in trade for my Acura was almost exactly offset by the equity I had in the Acura. So the upshot is that all I paid is sales tax to go from a 2003 3.2TL Type-S with 34,000 miles to a 2004 RX-8 with ... 4730 miles on it. Woo-hoo!

So I took the afternoon off and just got home from running, oh, about 1350 errands all over the place. Man, I had no idea how much I missed driving a truly FUN car.

Hey, quick show of hands: Is anyone here offended by the fact that, as homage to my sorely missed Miata, my license plate still reads MYMX5? Yes, I even left it on during the 2.5 years that I drove the Acura...made for some good stories. Does it bother anyone that I have it on my RX-8? Not that I'd change it, but I'm curious.

Okay, I'm off to think up some more errands.

Dane

 

Welcome back Dane!! Sounds like a nice deal. I'm sure you'll enjoy your new ride.

 

Well you obviously know the difference between a Miata and an RX-8, so...nope. I'm not offended. Enjoy the car!

 

I wouldn't be offended, but I think it would look silly. Not as bad as having a VTEC sticker, but you see what I'm saying, right?... MX5 on an RX8?

 

Right, but my goal when I sold the Miata was to get another one day. Until then, though, the RX-8 is my MX-5, or at least a placeholder for it.

But I've got to say the fact that the Miata was a convertible was about 5-10% of why I liked it. The rest had to do more with it being light, nimble, and able to know what I wanted to do just slightly before I did. In short, it was just a blast to drive. This RX-8 appears to get all that "other stuff" right as well, and it's currently making a very persuasive argument against the idea of going back to a Miata. We shall see.

Dane

 

congrats dane. i used to like the miata, then Mazda built a really sexy speedster. don't understand how you could consider going back.

so do you find yourself going to lunch at the farthest possible place each day?

 

I say for all intents and purposes you are back in your MX-5. Anyone with a Miata or RX-8 or RX-7 should have an understanding that goes without saying about your "mismatched" plate to your new baby. Welcome to the brotherhood!

 

I get hassled at work for doing this. People look at me weird while telling me "boy...you sure like going far for lunch." I don't think they'll ever understand.

 

Like I said, the RX-8 make a pretty convincing argument.

Today will be my first lunch hour with the RX-8, so we'll see. Based on past experience with the Miata, I'd say yes. I also find myself taking the strangest (extended) routes from home to office and back.

Dane

 

This'll be interesting to see how lunch unfolds with the RX-8. When I had the Miata, I simple couldn't be the lunch driver when several of us went out. Now I can, at least to a point. I'm not a small guy at 6-1, 220, but I work in an IT department full of guys who make me look small. Very often, me + one coworker exceeded the weight limit of the Miata!

Practically speaking, physical space will be a limiting factor but now that I have four seats does anyone know what the payload limit of the RX-8 is?

 

You realize you can get a fully loaded MX-5 cheaper than a stock 8 right??? If you like miatas so much, why not get one then?

 

hope you told the coworkers "I'm trying to keep the weight down"; and got a chance to blast around.

 

I don't get this. If the RX-8 was $20,000 and you got offered $10,000 for the Acura, how does having equity in the Acura help? You still have to pay the difference right? Maybe some numbers would help. Not that it's all that important, but it just got my brain stuck in a loop and now I'm curious. Is there some sort of cosine and or usage of Pi involved?

 

Welcome back! Get out there and have some more fun with your car...

 

What, and not have a shot at some fun in this thing? Don't get me wrong, I really liked the Miata. But this is my first go at a rotary engine and I don't want to pass it up. Also, there's a very good chance that I'll like this even more...what dynamics! Time will tell once the novelty wears off, but I think the RX-8 deserves a fair shot.

Dane

 

Ha! Okay, fair question...here are some rough figures:

The 2003 3.2TL-S has been selling around here in the low- to mid-$20Ks but the dealer's final offer was $17,400. I still owed about $16,000 on it, so that's $1,400 in equity.

The final selling price on the RX-8 was $18,800, so...

18800 for the RX-8
+16000 to pay off the loan on the Acura
=34800
-17400 in trade for the Acura
=17400 to be financed

I still had 28 months to go on the Acura loan. Since the RX-8 is one year newer, I financed the loan for 28 + 12 = 40 months. I'll grant you, there's some creative rationalization going on here.

So I went from a 2003 with 34000 miles to a 2004 with 4730 miles (!!!) while slightly lowering my monthly payment. The only tricky part is that I'll be making payments for 12 months longer, but that's on a newer car with 30000 fewer miles.

As a bonus, my car insurance went DOWN. Oh, and I have the car I really want.

Does it make more sense now?

Dane