Financial woes have me thinking about a trade
 

I know i am going to regret it but due to a large tax debt and wanting to get my credit cards and stuff taken care of i am parting out the FR-S and planning on trading it in on something cheaper. I found a really nice Mazda3 on ebay and they are willing to take my FR-S on a trade but i need to part out and use that money to get my payoff down first. Its fully loaded and i think with some lowering springs and some takeoff RX8 wheels it would look pretty good.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/140912363902...84.m1423.l2649

It's no FR-S but this one looks pretty decent and if it helps my stress level by getting my finances in order it will be worth it. Plan would be to drive it for a couple years until we get a factory boosted FR-S/BRZ.

Just looked up a few aftermarket parts for it because obviously i couldn't leave it stock. I can get an Injen intake and some springs for like $350, debadge and tint it, and find some RX8 take off wheels and should be a pretty decent little car. It actually has way more luxury options than the FR-S which isn't that big of deal but for an econobox i think it would be good enough to get me through til 2015.

I'm sorry to hear it man. Good choice if you do downgrade. I'm thinking about if myself. Same reasons. Stress is a Bitch. I've got negative equity though... might end up parking it. Just got my Miata going then I could at least save on insurance. What do you mean by part it out?

Yeah i have negative equity also from trading too much in the past, i had a dodge ram i lost a ton on trade and it's still hurting me. I am looking to part out my aftermarket wheels for stockers plus cash, i have a test pipe and overpipe i could sell, Tein springs and SPC lower control arms, and swap my BeSpoke for a base radio plus cash and i've already sold my Ecutek tune. If i got rid of everything that would about take care of my negative equity or at least get it closer to payoff but i can't really find out how much the FR-S is worth on trade.

I made some really bad financial decisions since buying the car, i have bought a few sets of wheels and that really got me in bad shape.

Hmmm... what's the point of adding aftermarket performance parts if the Mazda 3 is an Automatic? I don't mean to be rude, but won't it be boring to drive regardless of what upgrades you install?

There's more to driving than shifting gears.

My FR-S is an auto and it is still plenty fun to drive, the Mazda3 has always been known for good handling in its class and it's not like i'd be trying to make a race car out of it but a nice set of wheels and few extra hp never hurt any car.

Luckily there isn't a huge aftermarket for it either and knowing its temporary i wouldn't put much in to it since i'm trying to save money anyways. $150 for an intake and $180 for springs are cheap though and i'm sure i can get the RX8 takeoffs pretty cheap and then sell the stock wheels since they are the top level wheels for the 3.

Here is a grey one i found fixed up how i would do it, blurry pic but i'm trying to convince myself i'd be happy with it. Wouldn't do those side skirts though just the wheels and drop.

Couple more i'm liking, i found one for about 15k without the sunroof and bose which is fine with me so hoping to get the car parted out soon and get this done.

No question about that. Steering and brake/accelerator control are just as important. But I still feel that involving your right hand and left foot make driving a much more engaging experience, if that's what you're going for.

The Mazda 3 is a nice looking/handling car for the price, though. My coworker has one and I like it a lot.

I'd say its a nice downgrade, like the looks of the car (we dont get that salon body over here, we only have the mazda3 hatchback) However, I like the factory rims in your first pic way better then the rx8 wheels

If you're in financial woes, why spend $17+k when you can get a lowish-miles previous-gen 3 with the same performance potential and better looks for $10k less?

I just test-drove a new 3i and 3s, looking to replace wife's '05. Had down-payment in hand and fully expected to buy a new car. But honestly they weren't as fun to drive as our old one, so we fixed up ours instead and saved $1000s up front and no car payment :)

You can sell the FRS and buy a used car instead of getting a new car that you are already planning to dump money(that you need) in.

I don't think this is a good idea at all. Sounds like you like to rush in to things financially, seeing as you are already upside down on the FR-S. The way I see it happening is that you trade the FR-S and probably only net $5-8k after buying what you are looking at (and the mods you plan on adding). Is that really a make or break amount of money at this point for you?

I could see that you buy the 3, get a little comfortable with your "new found financial freedom", get bored of the 3 and decide to trade it in for another FR-S or whatever. You'll probably end up upside down again.

I've seen it happen with many people, and it's a vicious cycle. I think it was a smart move selling off your mods, but I would just take THAT money and put it towards paying down credit cards, or whatever you have outstanding. It won't cover everything, but at least it will go directly to paying off credit (rather than just covering the loss of negative equity that's sitting in the FR-S right now...which only matters if you are trying to sell - which you are).

If you are so cash strapped that $5-8k (my estimation) is going to significantly change your financial well being, I would be looking at a ~$1-2k car to get you around until you get back on your feet, or at least to where you feel comfortable.

I just think you will regret this so much, and quickly realize that it is NOT a very good financial move.

Just my .02

Still always part of the forum man.