Well, after 6 weeks of round-and-round with a dealer in LA, I finally gave up on him. Time and again I was told "They're on order...they're at the port...we're still waiting...Oh, I got all my orders filled but didn't get what you were looking for, so NOW I'll start checking other dealerships." I haven't heard from him for days after several emails wanting to know the progress on a dealer trade. Enough was enough. Turns out the dealer 2 miles (actually 1.5) from my house had exactly what I was looking for. Now granted, the LA dealership is about 90 miles away; but if I can turn up a car with only the internet, then surely they could do a dealer search with ease. A quick phone call to the dealership sales manager (Stacia Burns at Todey Mazda in Oxnard, CA) with the deal details that the other fleet manager had approved and two hours of no-haggling-whatsoever over trade, new car price, etc. to simply get the required paperwork done, and now a beautiful new Ti Gray GT 6MT sits in my garage where it belongs. Todey matched the other deal (invoice+500) without argument and even gave me the extended warranty at a bare minimum over their cost (now extended to 10 yrs / 100k miles), and yes I saw their numbers. To be fair to them, I won't say exactly how much over their numbers it ended up being; but we're talkin' skin of your teeth. Maybe it was the desire to get one more sale in before the end of the year, maybe they just wanted the business. Either way it makes no difference as Claremont Mazda in the LA suburbs lost a deal because they couldn't provide what they said they could; and in return I was perfectly willing (and happy) to give my money to a competing dealer. Stacia, thanks again - all 10's for you guys!!! They treated my wife and I like a king and queen; and from the time we stepped through the door to the time we left, there was zero doubt that we were Customer #1. Without a doubt, this was the most painless and downright pleasant car-buying experience we've ever had. If we weren't moving in a few months, they'd certainly be seeing us for another car!

Tell the LA dealers, "No thanks!" Ventura County is worth the drive!

Woo hoo! Welcome to the club.

Congratulations, S3/P3/E2.

Mazda NA's website, which makes it possible to search dealer inventories within a 150-mile radius of a given zipcode, completely changes the buying process. With that information, there is no reason whatsoever to set foot in the dealership once you've taken your test drive, looked at colors at examined the options. In fact, I think that being anywhere near the dealership when you're actually ready to buy the car puts you at a big disadvantage. You're on their turf, your heart is pumping, and your backside is yearning for the feel of that driver's seat. You're already hooked and all the salesman has to do is reel you in.

With the ability to search a car with the color and equipment you want, the negotiating power is back on your side. I found mine, told the salesman, "I'm a buyer TODAY for this VIN at this price". He put me on hold to talk to the sales manager, countered back at a price I was comfortable with, and the deal was done within 10 minutes. The salesman seemed flabbergasted, to tell you the truth.

The only disadvantage was that the car had been allocated to the dealer but was still at Port Hueneme. Took about a week to get it, but when I got in, there were less than 5 miles on the clock. So if you want to drive away in a particular example you've found, the first question you ask the salesman should be, "..is this VIN number physically sitting on your lot?".

You did it the right way, bro. Have fun!