Just put a deposit on an 04 Lightning Yellow RX8 loaded with only 9k miles on it!

Hopefully I'll have some pics to show off on Saturday. Have to go on a business trip just after negotiating the deal ...

Sorry for the preemptive ownership thread, but I'm so psyched I had to share the news :D

 

congrats on the purchase. Please tell us it's a manual...............

 

Congrats!

Please add location to your profile...

I suppose you know the green fairy....?

 

Welcome! Be sure to let us know when you actually take posession, so we can send out your monogramed club blazer, sash, and ceremonial sword. Once your car is paid-off (submit copy of title), you get the matching tri-corn hat!

 

How much and transmission?

 

Price of the car is $20,990. but in actuallity I got them to give me about $2k more for my trade than what anyone else would offer me for it. So all in all, I'd guess I was paying ~$19k. It's a GT package with a spoiler, moonroof, and nav. The only thing it doesn't have, which I would have liked is the duel color interior, but oh well

Yes, it's a manual... which has been interesting since this is my first time with a MT, and I've had some pretty funny moments. Like it taking me about 2 minutes of sitting in a shared left-turn only lane, trying to get back in the dealership. Traffic was moving pretty heavily, and I didn't want to risk stalling in the middle of oncoming traffic lol. Personally I'm happy to go through the growing pains of learning a stick shift in order to fully appreciate the car.

 

Cool congrats!

Try to drive every day at least a little. That's the fastest way to improve.

And a good rule of thumb is if you aren't sure which gear to be in 3rd gear is generally a good bet.

 

i think 21 is kinda expensive for an 04 considering my friend tried to trade in his 06 galaxy gray with about the same milage as your 04 and they only offered him 17,500.

 

congrats on your "pre-purchase"

 

I can't complain about the deal. I'm paying less than edmunds private party sale estimate for the car, and getting more than edmunds private party sale estimate for my tradein (By about $350 for each).

 

Just out of curiosity, newbie, how much homework have you done on this car? Ever owned a rotary before? RX's have a way of becoming your worst nightmare if you aren't prepared...

 

Based on some of the things I've read, I probably know more about the car and it's quirks than some of the Mazda mechanics that service them

I love the RX8 because it's unique in almost every way, and I've got this strange fascination with going against the grain. The Pros FAR outweigh the cons for me. Especially that blissful hummm that kicks in from 7-9k rpms :D

 

Congratulations and welcome to the club. Now its time to start going to rotary related events:

Lime Rock BBQ

Kent Falls mazda meet

Northeast Exotic Car Show

Keep an eye on the NE RX-8 forum.

 

This suck, Lets see.
Limerock BBQ = I'm hosting a Evo School
Kent Falls = Autocross.
Northeast Exotic Car Show is a possable. I be off for training...

 

WHOO HOO! Another LY MANIAC!

It really is the only color - be sure to read the Lightning Yellow thread on here!

Also, here's my standard "you're a new owner" response list:

Here's what I'd give you as a quick top 10 things to know:

1) Oil - it consumes oil by design - nothing wrong with that. Check your oil at every other fill up, or do like I do and spend an hour puttering around the garage every other weekend, and adjust the tire pressures, check the oil, give it a wash, etc. A little RX-8 love time.

2) While it says "premium recommended" you can safely burn '87 in most climates and areas. If you feel guilty, pop the extra cost.

3) Change the oil every 5000 miles at least, more frequently if you'd like to. Pay attention to the maintenance schedule in the book and do those items.

4) Beware, Mazda dealers charge through the nose for everything, and they will try to sell you extra crap during scheduled maintenance stops. Don't let them do it.

5) You can safely upsize the tires to 245/40-18s - they are fatter, fill the wheel wells more, and look **** hot.

6) The summer tires work like crap when the temp falls below 45F. All-season performance radials are an acceptable compromise. Snow tires are a must if you commute in snow.

7) Visit your redline often to keep you happy and keep the buzzer from getting lonely.

8) Keep your car shiny and sparkling clean for best crowd pleasing.

9) Watch out for idiots in Civics who will rev on you.

10) This car is NOT a straight-line speed car - don't get disappointed when you realize that LOTS of cars can beat you at the strip.

Enjoy - post pics when you can!

And search and read:

- The little things
and all the other stickies in all the other forums - DIY - Show & Shine, and more.


Here's a few other goodies - let's call them "unique features":

1) Drive by wire throttle with adaptive learning - the engine computer "reads" your driving habits and can flatten or steepen the throttle response curve to match. Drive hard for a few days and find "new" horsepower (it's always there, just visiting at different times). Baby it and it becomes a rental car ... weird.

2) If you have something other than a GT, so this won't mean anything to you, but the weird Bose adaptive radio in the GT will boost the volume automatically while you drive - you'l turn it down and minute later you say to yourself "I swear I just turned the radio down".

3) The Tire Pressure Monitor System (TPMS) will flash a warning on the dash when any tire is about 4 to 5 lbs down on pressure from the factory setpoint which is 32 PSI. If you get a TPMS warning, stop, do a walk around to make sure you don't have a tire going down, once you're sure, head to a gas station and fill the tire.

4) Never but NEVER use the fix-a-flat kit. It ruins the tire and clogs the TPMS.

5) Feel free to experiment with driving with the DSC off, but understand that there is a stern little Japanese guy hiding the in the works with his finger on the "I think not!" button when it's enabled, and it WILL save your ***! It saved mine once today when I hit a patch of oily pavement in the rain.

6) Don't bother trying to understand or explain the abject ergonomic failure represented by the sunvisors. Just accept that every hot supermodel has a knarly wart somewhere ...

7) Did I mention that the summer tires that come stock on it suck? Oh, yeah, I did. Well it bears mentioning again. If you stick with summers, at least upgrade to a better tire. If you live in a climate where the temp visits sub-40 ranges then consider all-season high performance radials - visit TireRack.com for good reccos, but can heartily reccommend the Pirelli PZero-Nero M+S.

8) You can buy used snows on eBay if you want to go that way. But if you don't use Mazda wheels with TPMS sensors, the light will be on all the time.

9) You can't make love in an RX8. I tried. Doesn't work. Either that or my wife and I both need to lose 7" in height and 75 lbs each (Ok, I could stand to lose 40 lbs ...).

10) Find twisty roads and drive them. Smile.

 

I just did last night :D Was a GREAT read!

I've always been a yellow fanboi (I'm trading in my yellow wrangler in the deal), but I had given up on the hope of finding a yellow rx8 in great condition with the options I wanted, but looks like I got lucky

 

Abs ... that's fantastic - congrats - you will LOVE having a banana-mobile - the combo of that color, plus the design of the car, absolutely stops folks in their tracks - there's nothing like it whatsoever.

Enjoy!

Stew

 

Here's my former Jeep, and my new RX8!!!! :D

More to come!

 

Nice. Illegally parked and all!

 

Welcome,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, try 70mph then pop into 3rd gear and floor it.


SMILES ALL THE WAY.

 

rofl I didn't even notice that :D

That's where it was parked when I pulled up I swear !~!!

 

you will lurve it . good to see another owner who will appreciate the car for what it is .

 

Very nice, but take the sticker off. Ricer all the way!

 

Looks great. Welcome to the club.

 

Totally... The dealer didn't want to do it though. They said I should take it to a glass shop to have it done, which I'll probably do since I don't want to risk scratching the glass, or having resedue left over.