NC is represented. You should see me in my RX-8 driving around Raleigh!

I do plan to go to the Mazda driving school in Charlotte, NC

Roachman

Hey Roachman, I live in Charlotte. Probably not too many Carolinians on the forum. Does anyone know of a good rotary mechanic in the Charlotte area. I have heard very bad things about taking a rotary back to the dealership for repairs?

Originally posted by bulletproof21
Hey Roachman, I live in Charlotte. Probably not too many Carolinians on the forum. Does anyone know of a good rotary mechanic in the Charlotte area. I have heard very bad things about taking a rotary back to the dealership for repairs?

I sure don't. I would think there should be a rotary specialist in Charlotte?

Are you thinking ahead for the 8 or do you have a 7? I was planning on using the dealership at least for the first 4 years (warranty)...

Have you really heard bad things about the dealers on rotary engine work?

What RX-8 are you planning on getting?

Roachman

I don't think most rotary's have many engine problems and hopefully the rx8 won't either. But the 3rd gen (FD's) were quite complicated and most had engine replacements around 60-70 thousand miles. I had heard many dealerships recommended engine rebuilds when it could have been something simple like a vacuum hose ( there were nearly 100 in the FD).

My first car was an 88 rx7. I don't have one now but would love to get the rx8 when it comes out. The problem is that I just open a new business recently and expect it will be a while before I am bringing home some cash.

Originally posted by bulletproof21
The problem is that I just open a new business recently and expect it will be a while before I am bringing home some cash.
incorporate the bus. and buy the car through the corp. get a magnetic sign slap it on the door and put it in the depreciation schedule as a tax write off:D

Originally posted by bulletproof21
I don't think most rotary's have many engine problems and hopefully the rx8 won't either. But the 3rd gen (FD's) were quite complicated and most had engine replacements around 60-70 thousand miles. I had heard many dealerships recommended engine rebuilds when it could have been something simple like a vacuum hose ( there were nearly 100 in the FD).

My first car was an 88 rx7. I don't have one now but would love to get the rx8 when it comes out. The problem is that I just open a new business recently and expect it will be a while before I am bringing home some cash.

I have also heard bad things about the third generation and only good things about the first and second. I believe the big problem with the third generation was the twin turbo issues.

With the 8 gettting back to "normal" rotary, we should be in for a long lasting car...


Roachman

yeah, you're probably right. My 2nd gen. had 180,000 miles on her when I finally sold her and was still running strong. The NA rotary's are supposed to be unstoppable.

I'm also from Raleigh. This summer can't get here fast enough!

BBarrington

Originally posted by roachman


I believe the big problem with the third generation was the twin turbo issues.
Roachman

but remember they fixed those problems in the fd's after it was no longer available in the states.:)

Originally posted by bbarrington
I'm also from Raleigh. This summer can't get here fast enough!

BBarrington

Who did you order from? What did you order?
I talked to Cary, they wanted $1000 over MSRP.
I finally got Al Smith to take a refundable deposit and MSRP last October 02. I know so much more about this car than anyone at Al Smith. I did meet the Mazda rep for the SE in November. A really nice guy. He said if I needed anything to get in touch with him. Cool...

Roachman

Tit/6MT/Tan Leather inserts/Nav

I'm third on the list from Al Smith. I also put down $500 refundable. The sales woman did mention that their president has not yet decided if they will add $1000 to MSRP or not. I plan to write him a letter this week explaining that this will be my third straight new Mazda from their dealership in the past 5 years and if they pull that crap I'll be gone and NEVER come back. If $1000 is worth that to them then so be it.

I ordered a Red/6MT/B&R Leather.

bbarrington

Originally posted by bbarrington
I'm third on the list from Al Smith. I also put down $500 refundable. The sales woman did mention that their president has not yet decided if they will add $1000 to MSRP or not. I plan to write him a letter this week explaining that this will be my third straight new Mazda from their dealership in the past 5 years and if they pull that crap I'll be gone and NEVER come back. If $1000 is worth that to them then so be it.

I ordered a Red/6MT/B&R Leather.

bbarrington

Cool, I was first, but not the last. Everytime I went to the dealership I was the only person there besides slimy sales people. I was hoping I would not be the only fanatic in Raleigh!

FYI, When I put my deposit down in October 2002 I had them put in writing refundable and guaranty MSRP or less. What is funny is that they did not want to take my money "because it is not the policy of Al Smith to charge more than MSRP for our cars". Therefore there was no need to take my deposit to guaranty. I had to show them emails from other dealerships willing to take my deposit but I finally got it. Of course the sales manager and saleman I was dealing with have left. Car dealers suck everywhere!

Also, have you gotten the "confirmation number" that people on the forum are talking about. I am thinking about going down today and see if I can get that out of them.

Let me know what you hear as well and we can try to keep Al Smith in line :o)

Cheers,
Roachman

If there are no RX-8s left at the dealerships in Raleigh for me to drool over, one of you lucky SOBs will have to let me drool over your car.

I promise I'll wipe the drool off afterward. :)

BBarrington,

I just got off the phone with "Joyce" at Al Smith. She had no idea what I was talking about when it came to confirmation numbers or request numbers. I asked her if they entered my email into the order form (of course not).

Apparently Steve Stang is the Mazda rep in the S.E.
He is suppose to be in next week for the Mazda6 test drive weekend. I am also trying to email him.

I will let you know. please call them and ask for a confirmation order to!

Roachman

Joyce is who I dealt with also. She even mentioned to me when I put down my deposit that the customers knew much more about the car than they did.

I'll call her this week and see if I can get an order # as well. If they start hearing this from both of us they might just get it to us. I ordered my Tribute ES-V6 back in 2001 and they were pretty good about getting me the order # and VIN once they had it but I did have to call several times.

I will say this about Al Smith. Their service department is EXCELLENT. If they have to keep the car overnight you get a rental for free. They have a shuttle service that runs all over the Raleigh-RTP area if you drop your vehicle off for the day. This is one reason I keep coming back to them. I plan to call the Mazda service manager and ask what their plans are for rotary techs training.

Are you going to be there for the Mazda 6 event? I would like to meet the Mazda rep you mentioned. You know he would at least be able to hold a conversation about the RX-8!

bbarrington

StephenF:

We'll let you look but NO DROOLING! :D

Just a little drool??? :(

Originally posted by StephenF
If there are no RX-8s left at the dealerships in Raleigh for me to drool over, one of you lucky SOBs will have to let me drool over your car.

I promise I'll wipe the drool off afterward. :)

StephenF,

Do you mean that all the Triangle mazda dealers have met their quota on RX-8 pre-orders?

If this is true, I am surprise? I mean, I went to Al Smith in Oct-Dec and they were very surprise that I walked in ready to buy a car that would not arrive for 9 months. I educated them on how great Porsche was on ordering cars. I have Boxster and I got to track it from production to Cary and even got to see it taken off the truck!! When I finally conviced John Manley (the sales manager back then) on Dec. 4th to let me put money down, I thought I might be the on person with a unhealthly lust for this car.

You can drool on my car any time, but only on the exterior :o)

Roachman

bbarrington

I am very very glad to hear about the service department since that is who we will be dealing with most.

The sales staff has left me very UN impressed.:confused:

I will not make the M6 event next weekend, I am going skiing in Telluride :D

That is why I have just tried to email the Mazda rep.. Hopefully he will email me back. When he does I will pass on the info and give you his email.

If you go to the M6 event and meet Steve Stang, please ask a lot of questions for us...

Roachman

Originally posted by roachman
Do you mean that all the Triangle mazda dealers have met their quota on RX-8 pre-orders?

Roachman
I have no idea about whether they've filled the quota or not. Anybody know how many they're allotted?

But if they do presale all the RX-8s or quickly sell what's left, I want to make sure I have some connections to see the car I've been obsessing over since 1999.

Now all I need are your addresses and a spare copy of your RX-8 key, you know... for in case you lock your keys in the car. ;)

-Stephen

Got my confirmation number from Al Smith Mazda.

2003012321900020

Got a call from Steve Baker AND Joyce Anderson... SWEEET

Roachman

I just called Joyce and got mine as well. Same # as yours but ends in 18.

What dates are you hearing for delivery? Joyce mentions late July but I see people here in the general discussion expecting late May/early June.

Anyways, MAZDA KNOWS ABOUT MY ORDER!!! WOOHOO!

Sorry about that... :cool:

bbarrington

I do not think Joyce knows crap....
I am getting NAV so I expect to have a later delivery date. But, she does not know that will delay my order.....

Glad to hear our orders are offical!!!

Roachman

I haven't ordered a car yet as I'm still undecided. I was just about to order a G35 coupe when I started to thinking about the RX8 again. I'm going to roll the dice and wait to see what is available. The lease on my IS300 is up at the end of June, so we'll see what happens.

If the RX8 has a 0-60 of right around 6 seconds, I'll probably end up with one instead of the G35.

Hey CiscoGuy, do you know Sean Smith (hardware engineer) or Walt Smith (software engineer) at Cisco? They are a couple of track buddies of mine.

I've heard those names before, but I don't work with them. I looked them up in our directory and it appears they've been there a little bit longer than me (5.5+ yrs) so it doesn't surprise me that the names sound familiar (we only had two building open then and a little over 500 ppl).

What tracks do you guys go to? I've always felt jealous of people that live close to different tracks/road courses.

You live 2 hours away from VIR, which some people feel is the best track in the US! This is our home track, and we do several events a year there. Check it out at virclub.com (http://www.virclub.com) . Other tracks within striking distance are Carolina Motorsports Park near Kershaw, SC, and Roebling Road near Savannah, GA. A little further away are Summit Point in W.Va. and Road Atlanta.

Last year we did a road trip to do a Porsche Club school at Watkins Glen in NY and a Ferrari Club school at Lime Rock in Conn. This year we're looking at going to Mosport and Mt. Treblant in Canada (another buddy has access to a lakeside cabin up there).

You should hook up with Walt (Sean is currently in Utah for the next couple of months). He's a real nice guy, even if he is a total dick. Be sure to call him by his pet name, "Mika".

I have not gotten "the email" from Mazda yet.

Did any of you guys get it yet that ordered from Al Smith?

Originally posted by roachman


I have also heard bad things about the third generation and only good things about the first and second. I believe the big problem with the third generation was the twin turbo issues.

With the 8 gettting back to "normal" rotary, we should be in for a long lasting car...


Roachman

Hello All, just arrived on the forum.

Actually the problems with the FDs is that Mazda tryed to make a $50k sports car at $30k price point. Heat was the killer. The car could not disapate the heat properly. Another problem was the car appealed to so many people. Unfortunately most people did not know how to properly maintain a rotary engine. You see a lot problems cause by improper or even lack of tunning; detonation will kill a rotary engine.

I don't have a clue as to the RX-8's onboard computer and to what level it can/will adjust for detonation but that could continue to be a problem for the rotary.

Don't get me wrong, there is no finer example of automotive engineering than the rotary engine, it's just the average person should not own one....go buy a Honda.

-Mike

P.S. - Honda's are great, I've owned 6 (various models) but my first love is the rotary!

Hi everyone,

I too am from Raleigh, NC

roachman, my roommate and another friend of mine are headed to Charlotte for Rev it Up as well. Unfortunatley, I'm working that weekend :(

I test drove a 6 at Al Smith about a week ago with Joyce, and she seemed to know a lot about the 6, and she drove it crazier than I did.

That is great. I need to go by to see if I can order the port accessories. I believe I want some of the accessories I have seen on this web site. Hopefully Joyce know what I am talking about.

I will be at rev it up in the 10th group. I cannot wait to see the rX-8 in person. I am getting cool feet about the low torque. I am thinking about a 1999 Porsche 911....