Hi guys & gals...
This is my first post on the forum, have been reading it for a while though. Great work everyone! Lots of good info from like minded people ;)
I have yet to order my 8, just waiting for my current (pre GST) lease to finish in March 04. The wait is painful, and reading the forum just makes me want my 8 sooner.
Just wondering about test drives... How long were your test drives and where did you drive the car? I am in north Brisbane with lots of nice twisty mountain roads around. Wondering what the dealers will let you do?
A Few years ago I was looking at the Lexus IS200 (great car but too slow) and they reckoned I could dive it up over the local range and back... about 60k's...

Pre-order, no test drive until delivery (couldn't make track day) but absolutely delighted:D

I only did about 10k on my test drive. I was sold after the first 2k, but I tried really hard to keep a thoughtful expression on my face ... fat chance I had of that :D

MadMax,

I got mine on the Northside of BNE from GrandPrix. I had 2 test drives. One "around the block" with the salesman, and the second a couple days later with my wife and 2 kids, for about 20km. See Mark Stacey or Luke Camaleri at Aspley. I have bought 5 new Mazdas from them since '92, so that pretty much qualifies me to walk in and take anything I wan't for an extended drive. I did that with an '98 Astina a '99 Tribute and a '02 SP20.

Mention Hymee to Mark or Luke and let me know the reaction!

I couldn't wait for my lease on my SS to run out. I just got out of it 18 months early. They are that good!

Cheers,
Hymee.

Hymee,
Thanks for that... I will have a talk to Mark or Luke. I work at Brendale so Grand Prix Mazda is pretty close.

Because my current lease is pre GST, I have to pay the full GST on the contract if I get out of it early... that's about $4K :(

I recon I am better off waiting 3-4 months...

MadMAX - I've got a mate who is stuck in a lease too. He'd probably have an RX-8 by now if it weren't for the fact that he can't get out of his lease before July04 without hurt in the $$ department. In the mean time he just gets to drool every time I give him a lift.

My car was a pre-order, and when the dealer demo arrived, they let me take it for a spin for about 20 minutes. Like Kev said, it only takes 2 minutes to realise you have made the right decision.

Funny about Brendale - I grew up in Strathpine. Was back there last week in fact. Welcome to the Forum.

Hey MadMax, I work at Brendale too. The 8 brightens up our carpark no end!