Way back in the summer of 1988, I bought my best friend's 1979 Yellow RX-7. After driving it for 45 minutes, I found a ring to brown around the hood. The car was spewing oil. He told me to give him the car back, so that we would still be friends in a year. Ever since that summer, I've viewed that car wistfully as the sports car I almost had the same way that some people talk about the girl they almost had.

Suddenly a new mazda sports car with a back seat for my kids and a very reasonable price tag.

I called my best friend last night and told him that I had just leased a 2004 Lightning Yellow (yes, it had to be yellow) RX-8. Grand Touring plus Navi System. Love it. Drove it for 90 minutes last night after leaving the dealership. That's double the time I owned the 1979 yellow RX-7.

 

Great story... I am sure you will have this RX-8 for 16 years if you look after it.

 

Just 16? come on man

 

great story. i owned and raced a 1984 gsl-se for just 1 year. loved the car, but needed to sell it. missed the rotary, even with all its quirks (or because of them).

i think it was 1998 they first started talking about the rx-01, and so i felt like i waited 6 years for the rx8. worth it though.

james

 

I know the feeling, I waited 20 yrs....every since I built my first model car which was a RX-7 GSL-SE at 15 yrs old. Congratulations!!!

 

congrats .... great color choice

 

No he wont. He leased it.

 

That's correct I have a 3-year lease. I paid $0 down, and am paying $430 a month. In Illinois, you have to pay sales tax based on the full purchase price of the car (not just the amortized amount). So, it's a pretty good deal, based on a sales price of $27,800 for 6spd+GT+Navi.

I thought about buying it, but I like having a new car under warrantee -- especially one in its first year. But, with the way I baby my cars, a $17,300 buyout after 3-years may look awfully attractive -- especially since Mazda is ditching my beloved yellow.

 

Welcome and congrats! Great, another Lightning Yellow member! And if I'm not mistaken, yellow was only offered during the first year of the original RX-7 as well.

But 16 years?! What took you so long? You could have gotten another 1st gen, a 2nd gen, or even a 3rd gen RX-7 in the mean time.

Anyway, I know how you might feel. I've owned all 3 gens of RX-7 when each was new in their day. However, its been about 7 years since I parted with my beloved 3rd gen RX-7. Even though I traded that car for a BMW M3, I could never get the rotary out of my system.

 

Ya, thats all I need a third gen rx7 and my collection is complete muahahahahaha!!!!

 

$430 per month sounds pretty expensive for a lease. I'm paying $489 per month on a purchase.

 

The man did not come here to get dogged about a lease..........CONGRATS!!! Welcome to the cult!!! For however long you have it, ENJOY!

 

I just noticed on the BMW website that on a 3 year lease your able to get into a 2004 325i for $373 per month. But hey, your right, he should enjoy his ride so enjoy your yellow RX

 

I have you beat. I waited 32 years for my second rotary. Had 1972 RX 2 and now have RX 8. WOW what a change. :D

 

Congratulations on your new RX-8 bro', and welcome .

 

ditto. I waited a couple of decades to own my first Rotary. my Father had an 84 RX-7 that I loved. I thought it was the coolest car around.

 

You didn't show up with no money down at all and walk away with a 35k msrp car for 489 a month on a three year loan did you? I didn't think so. For a fully loaded rx8 and no downpayment, that's about right. Anyway, I enjoyed the story, and congrats. If all goes well, I'd definitely do the buyback after lease ends. Yellow might not be rare now, but one day it will be, and this car needs to stay in the family for generations, so the story of the rotary can live on.

 

The amount of money I paid on a lease may seem expensive, but you have to consider:

1) Like I said, I paid $0 out of pocket.

2) Illinois charges the sales tax on the full purchase price. That means an extra $1800 or so onto the sales price. That's about an extra $65 or so on the lease. Pretty much every other state assesses a sales tax on the amount of car that is depreciated over the lease term (capital cost - residual). The ads in the paper show lease rates without tax included. They also usually show the rates for a stripped car based on you putting down some amount of money and using minimal mileage.

3) The lease was based on a sales price of $27,800. That gave me a lease payment of $430 on a 6spd with Grand Touring and Navigation (MSRP of 33,400 including destination) and 15,000 miles/year for 3years. I could have purchased the car for $500 under invoice ($29,800 or so) and would have paid around $600/month on a $32,000 note (including tax). Don't forget, I can still buy the car for just over $17,000 at the end of the lease. Or I can walk away from it and get a newer model. FYI: the difference between purchase and lease prices is the $2500 Mazda lease incentive.

4) Why did I wait so long? Wife, kids and the need for a practical car. When I was younger (I'm 44 now), I was a grad student and the car was too expensive. What better midlife car than the car of my youth -- the one I owned for 45 minutes. This was part of the same reasoning I used when I bought a Sony Grand Wega 60" LCD TV three months ago. Though my wife still won't let me get the 20-year-old blonde, but I guess you just have to compromise on some things.

5) Given the tax laws in my state, this was really an extremely good deal. Trust me when I say this. I'm a veteran of the leasing game, have brokered car deals for many people and generally know more about leases than the people who worked in the business offices of the dealerships (and definitely know more than the salesmen).

BOTTOM LINE: 16 YEARS WAS WORTH THE WAIT. I drove the S4, the G35, the STI, the S200 -- and this is the only car that made me smile...everytime I drove it. Drove around today with a big 'ol smile on my face that will last a long time...or at least until I have to deal with driving this in a Chicago winter.

I LOVE THIS CAR!

 

I hear you. Even after my first child was born, I hung on to my '93 RX-7 for as long as I could. But when our second came along that RX-7 had to go. Those were the cars of my youth as well, I bought my '81 RX-7 when I was still in college back in '84. I've owned and driven much more expensive cars since then, but nothing satisfies like the RX-8! Enjoy your car.

 

:D Yellow rocks congratulations
cheers
michael

 

Congrats!!

 

actually the 93 rx7 r1 came in competition yellow mica. so yellow has been offered in more than one generation.