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The Mazda RX-8:
The RX-8 is a very interesting car. It's the only car you can buy with sports car looks and four doors. It's the only car you can buy with a Wankel rotory engine. I've never been able to stay awake reading through an article explaining what that means, but I think it has to do with triangular pistons.
The RX-8 is one of very few sports cars you can buy new for less than $30,000 with rear wheel drive. This makes the RX-8 much more fun to drive than most of its front wheel drive competitors. As does the engine which revs up to 9500 rpms. Holy cow.
Another good thing used car buyers should know about the RX-8 is that it has awful resale value. That means you can buy 2006 RX-8s with 40,000-50,000 miles on them for less than $10,000.
Alright then. Why is a used $10,000 RX-8 a smarter buy than a $10,000 new car?
Well, as you may have noticed, the RX-8 scores much better in the "fun" category than the Hyundai Accent we looked at yesterday. That doesn't mean you have to sacrifice much practicality, though. You may not be able to get quite as many grocery bags in the back, but the trunk isn't bad. You also get just as many seats as the Accent and more doors.
On a more boring and serious note, you also won't be sacrificing much of the new car perks. For example, a solid warranty. Mazda recently announced that they are going to extend the engine warranty on 2003-2008 RX-8s to 100,000 miles. How good of them.
You don't even have to feel bad buying a foreign car because the RX-8 was developed during Mazda's Ford years. So, it's American. Sort of.
Also, if you look hard enough you'll find some $10,000 RX-8s that are Certified Pre-Owned Mazdas. That means you can be sure you're getting a well maintained model.
So, if you have $10,000 dollars to spend on a car, know this:
You don't have to drive a boring Hyundai. You can drive a purpose built sports car.
Sports cars aren't your thing? Come back soonish for an example of a used family car that fits the same budget.
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