Thunder, a newish member who's been lurking for a while came to me just yesterday with this message:


Thunder wrote on 04-08-2003 04:53 PM:
Hi there- I'm new to the board & been lurking for about a month, and it seems as if you know quite a bit about what's going on in Canada- just 2 quick questions....

I put a downpayment on an RX-8 today ($2K)- 2 questions- do you think mine is a pre-order, cause my dealer wasn't even sure if they had an allocation. Second, he charged me 1100 for freight (over mrsp) is this reasonable?

Thanks for your help.



...and thus i replied:
wakeech wrote on 04-09-2003 08:46 AM:
hoooooly jeepers, you mean you paid this fellah $2k, non-refundable for a car he doesn't know if he's getting or not??? AND he's charging you over MSRP, and he's not shipping your car to you?? yikes...

i'm gonna throw this PM up in a thread: the boys'll wanna see this, and could help you far more with this than i can (as i've never bought a car, and i'll not be buying this one).

glad you came forward with this, we'll get you some help.

regards,
Andrew Keech

well, c'mon guys (Smoker, Quick, ZoomZoom...you all know who you are) i need a hand here.

umm... need more hits... moving to lounge.

Eeeeeek.... The pre-order period has passed. Even some of the guys that ordered during the pre-order period are actually just getting cars from dealers' allotments.... :( I'm not sure that neccesarily means anything, but I'd want more info from this guy on the double! I don't know how much $1100 is in Canadian or what the standard charges are up there, but most people have insisted on MSRP and either gotten it or gone to another dealer that was more reasonable....

it was my understanding that Mazda Canada did not choose to participate in the pre-order program like the one mazdausa had or like mazdauk had. if that is true then he does not have a "pre-order" as defined by mazda, he just has a plain allocation order for a car, just like any other car that dealer sells that he may not have on the lot.

my suggestion would be to call or go to several dealers including that one and talk to management or the person that management has put in charge of rx-8 orders. then only talk to that person.

also find out from mazda canada if the freight (destination) charge is included in the listed msrp, it is this way in the U.S., if so get them to take off that extra charge or find another dealer.

Thanks....makes more sense hearing that Canada is not part of the "Preorder" program as in USA.
Freight is in line with what other Canadian dealers are charging (yes on top of MSRP).
My deposit is refundable, so nothing to lose! The dealer was great (I was mainly dealing with the dealer principal) and I'm happy with the price after trade-in.
I think my suspicionsness resulted from a bit of a post-purchace freakout. Now the hard part....waiting for delivery.

Appreciate the advice.

Thanks Andrew, but why no RX8 4u?

Originally posted by Thunder
Thanks Andrew, but why no RX8 4u?
...'cause i'm 19, going to university, live with my parents, and only a month ago started a 6 month "summer student" full-time position... :D

basically, it's a money/lifestyle/timing/everything-else-in-my-life issue. maybe someday i'll pick up a 4th gen RX-7... i'm here out of my love for the Mazda wankel. :)

Just for the record, if you add everything in (dealer prep, transportation, administration fee, air tax, gas tax, etc. etc. etc...) the total comes to $1,400.00 CDN. I would be arguing feverously about a few of these items; especially the $175.00 administration fee, if it were not for the fact that I do want my RX-8. Its simply take it or leave it boys & girls! :mad:

However that being said, I will not pay over MSRP!!! :mad: :mad: :mad:

If it helps to ease the pain of the wait, some of us have been waiting so patiently for 2 - 4 years now that dealers of other cars (WRX, 350Z, etc) cannot possibly comprehend our attitude or level of patience or appreciation for this car... it's really hard to describe... but when I think it's only a few more months... it's almost like it's tomorrow...

now... where IS my VIN anyway?? :-)