Alright, I'm giving up on selling to a dealer. Anyway, headed to the dealer w/ the 07 today. He had an 06 he could get me but it was only a Touring. Still had moonroof and stuff I think. Can't really remember. He said it was priced at 30k but he could knock off 2k in cash and Mazda would give another 1k off the price. So with that said and taxes added on to it and my trade in at that dealer at 20k for my car, I would owe about $8,240. I need to talk to the rents or get my STi to sell for higher, haha.

 

Your parents paid cash for the STI? They just let you go out an research and buy whatever? Man. You are one lucky kid. I thought I was lucky to get my Z28 when I was 17 but I had to maintain a 3.0, work 20 hours a week, and play ball in order to keep the car.

 

Yeah. They do have certain price limits though. I also have to keep a 4.0. Not the easiest thing in the world and get a 32 on the ACT.

 

It's amazing what a bit of searching can do. I found a dealer w/ a 2005 Silver RX-8 w/ around 300miles for a little over $21k. Being offered 22k for my car. :D When my dad gets time off we're going down there.

 

From my reading it's not most people. It is a few loud people, and people whining about poor gas mileage, not being able to run their summer tires in snow, that sort of thing.

There certainly are some problems with the first RX-8's, but before I bought mine a month ago I read through all of this stuff and it seemed to me there are a few unlucky people with real problems, a good number of people who redline every shift or mod the car, and most people who are happy with their cars and have few real problems.

But that's JMO. Whatever.

 

I bought mine 5 months into 06 and got them to knock off about 9 grand right off the top. It listed for 34k and I gave them 26k. It's a 05 6MT GT Ti Gray with all Aero packages and spoiler, rotary accents bacisally all the add on's . I love it, the 05 also listed 238 hp but I agree with everyone else it was probably a miss quote.

 

So, here's my response to the OP.

I had a 98 A4 that I replaced with my RX-8. The only reason I didn't buy it earlier is I try to keep the discipline of owning great cars for 10 years. Only made 8.5 yrs on the A4, but these cars have some reliability issues, along with passats and jettas. Plus, I got a good deal on both my 8 and my A4 trade-in, so I finally purchased the car I've been waiting for.

Over the past year, I have been test-driving a lot of cars, trying to make sure the car I wanted was the old 330 Ci or the RX-8, and then which of those two I wanted. During this time I drove an STi, and a WRX, a couple in fact, because I have a Legacy GT and during service visits I like to play

The first time I drove a WRX I knew immediately I didnt like it. It handles well, sure, but it is a step down from my LGT in every way except handling and steering feel. It's slower, feels cheap, looks bad, inside and out, and is loud(er). LOL I was not impressed, even for the price.

Then I drove an STi later, and yeah, it's a significantly better car than the WRX. The power boost over my LGT makes it faster, but I simply dont need a faster car than my LGT. Meh. The handling is very good. No question; its fun.

However, its the same ugly car, now with a pair of wings only a high school kid can like (no offense guys, really), the same loud (wind noise, dont mind intake and exhaust noise) ride, really pretty harsh, not a nice place to hang out with the family on day long drives, or even during my commute (I have a choice of slow back roads when theres traffic or a high speed hwy if I leave early), it's just not as nice a car, period. I would love to race an F1 car, for example, but I would hate to drive it to work every day.

Realistically though, all you are giving up from the RX-8 to the STi is power. Granted it's a large power difference, but as many have said, if you think your RX-8 is slow, you are probably driving it badly. It is still a fast car. But the STi is a lot faster, in a drag.

Cornering prowess, now, I'm not sure this is the case. Granted I know the 8 a lot better, and I really prefer a balanced, rwd setup pretty strongly (also have a miata), but I don't think the STi corners as well as the 8, and I really think the steering feel of the 8 is better. Also, the 8 is a VERY firm car but the ride is nicely damped, an excellent combination, easily superior to the 330 Ci. It came down to the wire, but the Ci IMO is just not as nice a sports car.

It is a far nicer car, nicer on the eyes, nicer materials, much better dash layout, and I like the seats better than the STi. It looks and feels better, a LOT better, to me.

So, that's my opinion. No contest - RX-8 wins.

But if you really love your Subaru, you may not like the 8 any better, or even as much. I'd take a hard low-speed drive in both cars back to back on the same course, the longer the better, and figure out if you like one better.

They are very different cars, IMO, and you will know which fits you better, easily.

G/L

 

As a young driver, you'll probably like the feeling of control the 8 has. True it has less power but it is more civilized and contained. It should be more user friendly and forgiving. I think you'd like it.

 

The STi runs long into tight corners, and the AWD precludes excellent driver feedback, which is probably where you feel it doesn't corner as well as the rx8. The rx8's steering is delicate and precise - you can caress the car through a corner, where the STi is point and shoot. They both achieve the same result, although I think in many situations the STi can probably negociate the same corner at a higher average speed.

It depends on what you prefer - I prefer the rx8's rapier to the STi's broadsword.

 

[/quote]I suggest you go with the 8. but you've heard all of the good things about the car, and none of the bad. i think this should be equal.

Sedan = Easier access for passengers.
Rotary = Sometimes has a bug or two
RX-8 = (while not the highest) high insurance
STI = (Until you get Turbo for the RX-8) Faster[/QUOTE]


the Rx-8 is considered a 4-door sedan for insurance. my insurance on the 8 was a LOT cheaper than my honda accord. plus an excellent crash rating the rx-8's insurance is one of the harder ones to beat in its class.

 

Yes it is the lack of feedback that I dislike. However on a smooth surface I think the 8 rewards driver skill more than the awd STi, which can mask a poor line with the four wheel traction.

 

So even better deal, I'll fill you guys in on it and hopefully it'll all go through tomorrow:

2006 GT Galaxy Gray RX-8 w/ 10 miles. Has just about everything in it, can't remember if it had navigation or not...

Getting 22.5k for my car and 8k off the MSRP which with taxes and filing fees leaves me to pay only about 1500.

I can't wait for tomorrowwwww!

 

Well, you can't beat that. I can picture you sitting in the parking lot when they open up.

 

Haha, yep. Well, I'm heading out tomorrow morning at 7 and get there about 10-ish. But over there it's more like leaving at 6 and getting there at 9 which is when they open.

 

Congrats, it is a refreshing surprise to see someone your age make the decision you have made. Most teenagers are obsessed with straight line speed and would never consider the overall performance of a car. Enjoy your drive home!

 

So got my car today. 06 GT Galaxy Gray w/ 167 miles (b/c of the drive home). It's black/sand leather. No rear spoiler which isn't too bad I guess. The drive home was super boring but fun at the same time. I'm the only one in my family that knows how to drive manual so I had to drive my STi there and then drive the 8 back. It's all good though. The 8 is in the garage and the STi is, well, at the dealer. Gonna miss it for sure but lovin' the 8. Gas mileage, as often as I hear it's horrible, it was actually pretty darn close to my STi. I got like 167 miles out of a little over half tank. Excited to learn more about the RX-8.

 

We have been waiting all day for this post. Where are the f'ing pictures?

 

Congratulations!

Had to get the other post in first.

 

Lol, sorry. So here's the story of why it took so long:

Planned on leaving at 7 this morning but as we were going over everything we needed we completely forgot about the title...so 2 hours of searching resulted in it being in a pretty obvious spot. Filled up enough gas in the STi to get there and headed out. Reached the dealer about 2.5 hours later. Found my RX-8. The dealer offers free titanium spark plug upgrades or something and cleaning of the whip. That took FOREVERRR!!! Anyway, got the paperwork and all filled out and finally headed for home around 3:30. I've just been sitting around reading owner's manual and stuff and checking out my new ride. I'll get pics tomorrow as it's dark right now.

 

Wow, that is a riveting ending to this drama!

Seriously, congratulations.

 

Congrats on your purchase. I was shocked to see you were only 17 after reading halfway through this thread. You sound more mature than some twice your age on this forum... Enjoy your car.

Well said. I don't think anyone can doubt the performance potential of the STi, but where I drive in most situations I enjoy the light, precise and on-demand-oversteer feeling the RX-8 provides (except during the 2 blizzards I've been in so far this year). Fast and fun-to-drive can mean different things to different people.

 

mwuhahahaha!!

That tricksome middle half . . . .

The needle tends to hang around at the mid point, but drops quick . . .

I'm gonna go ahead & guess you didn't get 300 miles out of that tank. Right?

Congrats - and drive safe young padawan.

 

ROFLMAO. This is true, that needle did hang around there for a while but it didn't really dip down too quick. I haven't gotten to the "close to empty" mark yet so I don't know.

 

Thanks for the grats guys and thank you for the kudos JRichter. I'm gonna go take some pics as soon as the car is warmed up and I can pull it out of the garage.

 

Thanks for the pics. Welcome to the club.