RX8: Best of both worlds

LAHORE – The international used car market offers great value for money and choice but when it comes to purchasing a car in Pakistan the vehicle import duty structure forces consumers to choose among cars that are assembled locally. There is absolutely no room for any creativity. If you have always wanted to enjoy a brute force and raw sound of an American muscle car or wanted to cruise around in a convertible coup or wanted to own a BMW or a Benz you could do so without having to pay a fortune if unrestricted import was allowed.
The vehicle import duty structure of Pakistan has two main features. Firstly, no car more than five years old can be imported. Secondly, the duty structure is designed in a way that the amount of duty imposed is proportional to the cc’s of the vehicle’s engine. Thus cars with bigger engines become ridiculously expensive. This leaves consumers who are not super wealthy but who are willing to spend a decent amount of money on a car stuck with an 1800cc Civic or Corolla.
This is a serious restriction on the ability of the Pakistani automobile buyer to be able to spend his or her hard earned money to import a car which he or she enjoys or prefers to drive. However, there is a car which because of one of its unique features allows you to use a loophole in the duty structure.
How does buying a two year old mint condition powerful Japanese sports car which offers head turning looks and exhilarating performance for the price of a new Civic sound? Too good to be true, right? Well it is possible if you buy an RX8!! The RX8 has a rotary engine.
In comparison to a conventional internal combustion engine rotary engines produce a lot more horsepower per cc. Thus although the RX8’s engine is 1308cc, it produces 238 bhp. Because the duty structure relies on cc’s to calculate the amount of duty imposed 1308cc means relatively very little duty is imposed making a 2008-2009 RX8 cost close to Rs two million. Now I know what you all must be thinking.
You must be thinking that rotary engines are notorious for poor reliability and that you can find a locally used RX8 for much less than two million. Most of the car dealers and mechanics in Pakistan advice against buying an RX8. Well, they are wrong!! They are wrong because the RX8’s which form their opinion do not accurately represent the sports car under question.
During the relaxation of import duties in 2005 there was an influx of RX8’s. For some reason most of these cars were imported by investors who were attempting to look cool driving them while actually trying to sell them through newspaper adds and various dealerships. I think as they were imported by dealers with the idea of making money in mind most of these RX8’s were high mileage cars with their odometers tampered.
A poor condition from the start combined with a frequent change of owners meant their proper maintenance was neglected. This resulted in poor reliability. I know a few people who imported low mileage good condition RX 8’s back in 2004 and used them as everyday cars while ensuring timely oil changes. They have no complaints whatsoever with their cars.
As of October 2006, the RX8 has won at least 37 international motoring awards, including 2003 International Engine of the Year, the 2003 Japanese Car of the Year, Australia’s Wheels magazine’s Car of the Year for 2003, the 2004 Singapore Car of the Year, the 2004 US Best Sports Car, and several UK Best Car Awards. It was named on Car and Driver magazine’s Ten Best list for 2004, 2005, and 2006.
It also took home first place on Car and Driver’s “Four of a Kind” comparison test. The 2010 RX-8 was placed third out of 7 on Car and Driver’s The Best-Handling Car in America for Less Than $100,000. The icing on the cake is the fact that the RX8 offers all the pros of a sports car without any of its cons. The RX8 is a proper four door four seater car which carries four full size adults. It truly offers the best of both worlds.
All of the above mentioned awards and information strengthen the point I am trying to make. If you import a 2008-2009 mint condition low mileage RX 8 and carry out its routine scheduled maintenance you can enjoy stunning looks, world class handling, adrenaline pumping power and reliability of a true sports car for the price of a new Civic. I call that exceptional value for money!!