Just recieved a letter from Mazda this morning.

Breifly mentions Japanese and American response to the launch, along with some notes on the Rimini European launch.

Then goes into a bit of detail abou International engine of the year.

And then the bad news, UK production won't start till July 28th, and 231ps cars arn't expected till late October! 192 cars will arrive in November.:(

The it confirms you will be using you own car on the prodrive live day.

And finally a sweetener, 1000 limited edition prints will be given to the first 1000 pre-orderers, this will be a depiction of one of the designers studio sketches.:)

Ah well, that makes the four months extra wait so much more bearable.

Base on initial information we would have been recieveing our cars in the next week or two, but now we have to wait another 4 months.:mad:

Late October........................................... ........................


Absolute B"*^&”*ds, that will make it 8 months they will have had my £1000, how much interest will they have made on all of our money in this period..

Quick calc, based on 1000 preorders with an average of 6 months and a base interest rate of 4% pa, that makes a £20,000 profit for doing nothing other than disappointing customers.

Chris :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Originally posted by Titanium Grey
Just recieved a letter from Mazda this morning.
And then the bad news, UK production won't start till July 28th, and 231ps cars arn't expected till late October! 192 cars will arrive in November.:(

The it confirms you will be using you own car on the prodrive live day.

And finally a sweetener, 1000 limited edition prints will be given to the first 1000 pre-orderers, this will be a depiction of one of the designers studio sketches.:)



I thought it likely that it would run in to early October, but late October! At least on the positive side we now have a confirmed date in writing.

I was looking forward to booking a week off from work and taking the car down to Oilman country (Cornwall). It would have been nice in July/August, September OK, but late October is pushing it for nice weather I think.

Late september has been quoted to a number of people recently, so I wonder if they are saying late October with the hope that they will then arrive early October and be early?


The print is nice to have, but I'd rather the car.

And there will be other sweeteners too beside the sketch for us early birds. Including Rotary watch, engine upgrade back to 250, etc. Just got to ask and gibe the impression that you are prepared to walk away.

rael.

Another four months!:mad:

Mazda (not Mazda UK as I suspect they are as keen to get some cars as we are) are shooting themsleves in the foot with the length of these delays. Surely they are now satisfying Japanese orders that were made long after some of the 1000 UK pre-orders , all at the cost of the goodwill of would be UK RX8 owners.

For me this news has finally given me the push to organise test drives of some of the cars on my original shortlist. It'll be Mazda's fault if I now find a car that I like that I can have soon and ditch my pre-order on the RX8.

I know it's potentially only a few more weeks but there comes a point where you have to reconsider your choice based on the treatment you are getting as a customer.

When will these additional month delays stop as well? You could get to Sept and find out that they've put the launch back to November. Some of the shine of owning a new car will disappear when you only get to drive it in the dark with rain or snow falling.

Sorry to get all negative but I have enough to organise for the purchase of this car including the sale of my Volvo and the guy who wants to buy it is unlikely to wait until October for it.:(

Grrrrrrr....

So they will be delivering our high performance rear wheel drive cars at the start of a UK winter?! That's just marvellous isn't it. I can't believe how shoddily we've been treated by this company, it's beyond a joke now. They seem to think they've got us over a barrel and as I want the car so badly it would appear that in my case they have but I sincerely hope they let me fill in a customer satisfaction survey at some point in the future!

:(

Its not just the slippage. The precise wording is :

"we are currently anticipating delivery of customer vehicles to begin in late October ...."

Absolutely not commiting themselves to anything there, sounds almost like a guess on their part. So this is the "firm delivery date" Mazda have been promising us??

There will be some car magazine reviews coming out soon based on the Euro launch. If they are anything less than glowing I am going to have to start considering other alternatives.

As I said in my earlier post B"*^%"^ds

A copy of my letter is attached for those that have yet to receive one.

Chris

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

(Sorry, I couldn't work how to attach an image and the file is too big)

whats the f$£"in point, a sports car in mid bloody winter....


May start to look elsewhere....


but my reg plate ...ARG!!!! wont particularly look good on anything other than an rx8

VERY VERY DISSAPOINTED!!:mad:

Getting fed up with all this, can't we even get a firm date ffrom Mazda UK???

Surely that would be courtesy at least.

Cheers
Angry OILMAN

just spoken to my dealership and informed him of whats been said here.

He was as dumbfounded as i. Although he did confirm the limited edition prints and the pro-drive will be in our own cars.

Suggested he join this forum cause it has more up to date news that the dealers get.


Incidently the guy at Milcars is also waiting for a tit grey hi power so he is in the same boat as us and he is pissed off.

He hopes to get in on the act this afternoon. If he does appear Welcome Simon

Does anyone think there will be any merit in writing to Mazda en-masse to express our displeasure?

Chris

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Originally posted by c170673
Does anyone think there will be any merit in writing to Mazda en-masse to express our displeasure?

Chris

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Do you have an address to write to? I've been searching for a contact other than the phone number for weeks without success. I really do think that we should make our displeasure known though. It's not just the slipping date it's the total lack of courtesy from Mazda, they are treating us like idiots and not giving out information. I know that my car will be a lower power than I ordered and that it will be 4 months later than promised yet I have had no communication from Mazda to inform me. That's what REALLY pisses me off.

There is an address at the top of my letter

Mazda Motors UK Limited
Lodge Road
Staplehurst
Tonbridge
Kent
TN12 0BR

The letter is signed Jeremy Thomson, Marketing Director.

I think he will be getting a letter from me in the very near future

Chris

:mad: :mad: :mad:

Originally posted by c170673
There is an address at the top of my letter

Mazda Motors UK Limited
Lodge Road
Staplehurst
Tonbridge
Kent
TN12 0BR

The letter is signed Jeremy Thomson, Marketing Director.

I think he will be getting a letter from me in the very near future

Chris

:mad: :mad: :mad:

Thank you. Flame on!

Wont make any difference as i indicated that thats what is going to happen.

We may get a sweetener but nothing special.

Whoever's writing please include my details on it.

EP365

Mr S.Barnard
Ordered Thru Vospers, Pool, Cornwall (Jan 2003).

All other details below.

Considering there are 30 odd of us on this forum we should do something to express our displeasure.

The Sales/Marketing Manager of Mazda UK would be a good place to start.

Cheers
Oilman

Feel free to add me too

Simon Hadlington
T W Whites, Weybridge

rest in .sig

Here why dont we all have a single letter with everyones details on it.


My details :

Craig Wallace EP174
Milcars St albans

Count me in.....

Well I was going to write on my own behalf but if you guys want me to make it a group effort then that'd be fine. Tell you what, if anyone else wants to be added on to this epistle then mention it here. I'll compose something suitable and then private message it to those people who've expressed an interest for approval. If it's OK then I'll post it. Any objections/comments?

I wil take it upon myself to draft a letter tonight and put everyone's details on it (for those that want to of course).

Chris

Originally posted by c170673
I wil take it upon myself to draft a letter tonight and put everyone's details on it (for those that want to of course).

Chris

Aha! The two headed monster of enthusiasm :D

OK, I bow out gracefully and please add my details too:

Phil White,
Priory Mazda, Cambridge.
Titanium, Hi(ish) power, blah...

Me too.

Carl Agnew.
Warrington Mazda.
Ordered Jan.
EP312.

Perhaps they need to make Mazda International HQ aware of the growing displeasure of UK and European buyers.

When you have important markets you don't favor two to keep them happy at the risk of loosing the third.
That really doesn't make good business sense at all.

Whoever's writing, count me in.

Send me a private message or email of content, I'll just have to go with it as I'm off to a business conference today and will be out of touch until Thursday evening.

Thanks to whoever!

Oilman

Ed Owen
EP10104

TW Whites - ordered April.

And me.

Rob Dickinson
Warrington Mazda.
EP29123.
Ordered May.

I've emailed my helpful Customer Relations manager in Mazda stating that I am dissapointed, and that it isnt a very definate confirmation. I've asked if it is a worse case, and if it could slip again. I've told him if it slips again I'll cancel. I've told him to read the forum!

Ed

had enough from Mazda and have just cancelled my order ,and they even managed to F**K that up!

I'm in for any letter. Please PM for info.

rael

Guys

Can I suggest that individual letters are better - they carry more impact. Everyone should include their order ref too.

I will be cancelling my order as soon as I receive my 'official letter' as i promised my dealer this courtesy.

I will also be expecting a 'full' refund not just 90% (Do you hear me Mazda!

My new car is on order and is guaranteed for Sept 1st delivery. Its a Lexus and not only did the sales guy call me to thank me but the General manager did too - this after they gave me a great deal!. Again Mazda - are you getting this - two words- CUSTOMER SERVICE. If this was the USA your car would be history!

Guys a final word for now - its only a car - not worth waiting that long for

:mad: :mad: :mad: and then some

BK

Include me on the letter please. If you want any help in drafting it or proff reading it then let me know - I can be quite eloquent when complaining!

Can't blame you sometimes. What will really be annoying is when the car does eventually arrive I bet we get nothing free or cheap as we are dealing with Mazda and the freebies will come via the dealers.

Are there any good deals out there and why the Lexus?

rael

I am off to the Volkswagen dealer in a minute to speak to them about a R32.

Chris

Originally posted by black knight
Guys

Can I suggest that individual letters are better - they carry more impact. Everyone should include their order ref too.


While getting a number of letters may have a certain impact a combined letter shows that at least we as a group of buyers are communicating and making a concerted effort to express our displeasure. The bad PR that can come from a group is far more concerning than an individual voice IMO.

Rael

Lexus - because it has RX in the name :D Seriously I drove one of the new 4x4s on spec and it is just sooooo comfortable...plus the residuals are fantastic.

Not the same as a sporty coupe but I'm guessing I'll be able to pick and rx8 up second hand for a substantial discount.

Cheers

BK

AndyPearce.....

Possibly but this forum has no official user group status and you arent threatening them with anything. My letter will spell out specifically why I cancelled. If enough people do the same I would expect things to improve for those that remain. The other thing to be done is to copy What Car on the letters. If they publish I expect Mazda to improve customer care.

BK

I really can't believe it... I mean, the planning involved in a new car release must be massive and to overlook the fact that the UK market needs to get the cars before the end of august if it's gonna sell well in the first year is incredible.

I really hope that we don't loose the RX series for next yeat because Masda looks at the poor sales figures and thinks we don't want the cars here...

We get about 4 months of really nice weather, and it looks like I'm gonna get a nice sportscar on the last day before it turns into a skating rink outside my house... I feel the need to be rude!

For what it's worth, would whoever include me as well:

Mark Williams
Colliers Mazda Birmingham
Rest in sig.

Were not going to get the date changed, and I dont think it is any fault of Mazda UK, but hopefully our feelings will get fed back to the powers that make these decisions back in Japan or wherever.

Should we not suggest something like a few hundred pounds worth of extras to compensate?

A month or so would be acceptable, 3-4 months is a big delay and starts to affect people's plans. Having made up my mind again on the RX8, I feel now that I really dont know what to do for the best.

This also means that we will probably be doing our prodrive days in the Wintertime and the weather that comes with it.

Originally posted by MarkW

This also means that we will probably be doing our prodrive days in the Wintertime and the weather that comes with it.

Damn them, they better be prepared to defer that until the summer... Wait that's now.. D'Oh..

Seriously, I don't want to do that in poor conditions, so I really hope we can defer it

:( Just got home from a forumless day and found letter.

Oh well....

Personally , I am going to do..... nothing.
What will be will be.

Mazda UKs only crime is not keeping us informed. Not their fault our production has been shafted. Fact is , Japs and Yanks are a considerably more important market to them.
That gents , is the bottom line.

So I will wait , take the extra hit on the servicing/tyres/depreciation on my current car and see you all (or at least those of you who are left) at Prodrive.

Disappointed but resigned -

Morgan.

Mazda are shite, just a statement of fact.

But I knew that already, so on getting my letter I was neither suprised nor particularly dissappointed. My expectations have always been fairly low.

The sweeteners are pleasent enough, but what I find most insulting is that as far as I am aware this is the 1st official notification that the power has been reduced, no explaination...

I do however feels sorry for their dealers, for a long time now they have been flogging a dead horse as far as product range is concerned, how successfull can they be with the MX-5 as their only descent car (now almost what 17? years old)

Now the range is improving they are left coping with complete disregard for this market.

I for one am content to wait for the test drive, that will be judgement day.

Wait Wait Wait Wait Wait Wait

Rimini europe launch??!???!?

What does it mean? Is the launch going to be in Rimini, Italy??

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

This because i live near Rimini and i would go there (and make pics and so) to get the first contact with the 8 and have some good time with her !!!! :D :D :cool: :cool:

Please, confirm that.... ! :D

*Rotary_Italia*

As I mentioned earlier in this thread (when I was really pi$$ed off this morning) I am planning to draft a letter to Mazda UK tonight and will add a list of those who are similarly hacked off to the bottom.

If anyone else wants to be added to those who have already posted on this thread then please let me know.

Chris

Bugger! Begs the question...............Which October?

May be looking at you guys though a Cebera's windscreen yet. Who need Traction control, abs, reliability......etc.

Most peeved.

I was at work , the phone rang , a voice said " I have TW Whites Mazda for you" . I could not belive it! My (£1000 richer) Mazda dealer was calling me, the first time in months. My mind was full of wild ideas : a delivery date, a full optoins list, a chance to see a real UK spec RX-8? NO! I can see the same old demo car at Henley, on my own, making my own way there.
Having been an avid watcher of this Forum I knew Bad News was coming, but deep down I thought that no company would treat pre order customers in such a bad way. The only offical date I had was July. Having paid £1000 I asummed I would have regular emails/phone calls on the latest news. I come home and do my daily view of this site to find people have recieved letters now saying OCTOBER!! To say I am Unimpressed is the understatement of the century. MAZDA THIS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

Add my name as well to the letter.

Roger Lawson-Lee
County Mazda
Cheltenham
EP6776
Ordered April 11 2003
:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:


tit hi power leather

I have just got back from holiday to find the news here. I have had no letter from Mazda. I have ordered a low power car and the the November date is a killer for me. My current company car goes back mid October, so I am going to need to find transport for a month or more. :(

Just had a call from my dealer (Brooklyn), to say that my (Hi Power) car is due LATE OCTOBER. Read this as November. Sleeping on it tonight, but will probably cancel my order tomorrow. Dealer has tried to keep me informed but has been badly let down by Mazda.
The only way Mazda will listen (a letter will be like pissing in the wind quite frankly) is leaving them lots of cancelled cars. I'm sorry its coming to this but its D-Day tomrrow.

AnilS.

Just a quick thought;

On this forum, according to the EP register, we have 32 pre orders.

In the latest letter from Mazda to dealers it also confirms that there are now over 1000 pre orders.

From contact with my local dealer (also a very good friend) he personally has only had one possible cancellation due all the reasons detailed above, and can easily fill that cancelled position with the minimum of work.

Lesss than 5% of the pre orders unhappy vs 95% fairly apathetic and happy to wait, not a good equation if your looking for freebies etc..

Also the dealerr letter confirms Mazda UK, now only expect to sell 2000, in 12 months from launch, effect on residuals should be encoraging.

Just a thought.
[

When the date was September that suited me as it will take that long to get to the milage to change the car(company car). Now it has slipped again to Oct/Nov plus all the reports i am reading on the car seem to be at best average compared to the competition I myself am thinking of getting something else instead.
I am lucky that my order is a fleet one where no money changes hand, if i had placed £1000 in a dealers pocket for a July delivery i would certainly be looking for some recompence on the lost interest.
There is no denying the great looks of the car but that is only part of the story, when i ordered this car it was on the premise that it looked better than the likes of the TT, performed better than and were less common. It seems the all important second feature is going to be missing:(

Got my letter this morning:(

I got a second copy this morning??????

The Mazda communications machine has gone into overdrive.

Chris

How slow are they sending these letters out. To my knowledge lots of us still haven't received ours yet. It seems like they can't even organise a mailshot to approx 1000 people efficiently.:(

Originally posted by jimbobjoe
Got my letter this morning:(

You'd think it would be phrased a bit more like an apology...

"We're really sorry but the car is down 10Bhp and you can't have it until the winter, look on the bright side, you won't want that extra 10Bhp in the winter anyway"..

Infact there has been no official mention to my knowledge of the drop in HP, the first I knew about it was when I logged onto the website to see if there was anything useful there.

Haven't got my letter yet.

I've just got my second letter this morning! Exactly the same letter, word for word, same reference number but dated two days later. Oh, and they've used a different font.

Does this mean I'm getting two cars? Or can I claim two deposits back?

Nope, it means there twice as certain of the facts.

Or are trying to make a point?

Prehaps there correcting the lack of communication by sending out the same letter every 2 days?

Or you've got someone elses too?

Depressingly, got my letter this morning. Its now in the bin.



AnilS

Originally posted by ChrisW
I've just got my second letter this morning! Exactly the same letter, word for word, same reference number but dated two days later. Oh, and they've used a different font.

Does this mean I'm getting two cars? Or can I claim two deposits back?

Does anyone else get the feeling that we're dealing with a bunch of 'cowboy' builders? I mean it's like those horror stories you see on TV about people getting new tarmac driveways and then having the house sink. It's astonishing that this is a supposedly reputable international car company. I can stand back from the horror and feel genuinely intrigued as to the back story behind all of this, if only there was a 'fly on the wall' documentary team following Mazda UK around so we could see what's going on.

ive got to the point where i dont let it get to me. Just going out test driving everything under the sun now.

OK, got the letter. As has been said the news about the power decrease is just slipped in there like it doesn't matter and likewise the 'we are currently anticipating delivery in late October' statement. Allegedly UK production begins on July 28th which is after the delivery date I signed up for! Very poor.

Interesting that this still appears on the mazdarx8.co.uk pages:

Question : When will I receive my vehicle if I placed my order today? Answer : Depending upon which model colours you order, vehicle deliveries will start from late July, however certain combinations of models will not be available at launch.

The proverbial 'smoking gun'.

'Certain combinations' will be those with wheels then...

Combinations : that would be a shell, an engine steering wheel and seats....

Question will be the options of all four or combinations thereof


incidently got my scrap piece of paper yesterday, the best decent toilet paper ive used in a long time.

Dentist claims his dealer thinks late October to be optimistic. He could be right but at the moment I don't think the data exists to be sure so I am discounting that idea for now. The latest letter from Mazda UK says that the UK cars will start production in late July so (if this is true and no I don't trust them) the October date sounds feasible. God this is a depressing MESS!!! I despise these people.

I've not got the letter in front of me but didn't it say that deliveries would "commence" in late October. i.e. if even one car gets delivered before November then they have met this target.

I am the 18th order at my dealer, so I'm assuming I won't get mine until well into November.

I have begun test driving other cars...


saab 93 areo 2.0t - nice car, cabin feels clostrophobic and has a cheap looking interior for a car marketed at around 25k.

S4 - superb awesome car but expensive at 36k. (especially when you add the options) Would consider the A4 in any variant about 1.8T (i.e. 1.8T quatro.)

Evo VIII sorry this car is truely unbealivable. I went for a test drive thinking this is going to be a laff. Came out drooling.

Maybe i did the test drives wrong as the EVO was first.

Z4 on Tuesday but will never buy as it has a BMW badge.

EVO! EVO! EVO!.....(WIFE LOVES IT AS WELL)

What is the Evo interior like - does it feel like a 27k car?
I know they go well, but I'm worried all the money is spent on the mechanics and the interior and body is an afterthought.
How will it last?

Most importantly - can you get the rear spoiler removed. Cause for me the word spoiler in this case is what it is!

Evo is awesome car, nothing (apart from an Impreza) comes close to the performance for the money.

If you can live with the looks, low rent interior, and high running costs then go for it.........you wont be dissappointed

btw... was it the 93 Aero turbo you drove? My wife is testing one of these next week. We sat in one at the weekend and I thought the interior was very good indeed and not claustrophobic at all. About 1000 times better than the Evos for a start!

I drove the new Aero round millbrooke at Motordrive, and thought it went well. Sadly it was an auto - but it felt well built - and I got 150 out of it on the bowl!

It was the Areo 2.0t turbo my wife and i both drove. Cant fault the car for looks styling. Just had a comment about the window sills. Plastic thats all. The car had the chrome inserts in the door.

Great car, plenty of fun, everything in on hand and i like the way in which the information is displayed at the end of the dash. Easy to read. I test drove a model with SAT NAV and the all singing and dancing audio system.

Car only needs servicing every 18000 miles..... that says something dont it. My Lexus is every 10000

The EVO interior is as you would expect fairly basic. The seats however are really really comfortable. Even in the back me wife says it was really cosy. Plenty of leg room, boot space is huge.

But then comes the crunch - servicing every 6 months or 4500 miles. OUCH!! If i change jobs i wont be using the car as often so i suspect it would be every 6 months. Fuel comsumption aint something to worry about, if you live in Texas that is. You get a combined rate of about 15 miles to the gallon on a tank which holds only 55 litres will mean regular fill ups.

Wonder what that equates to on a round trip to Scotland of around 1250 miles.

EVO is a totally unpracticle car for driving every day but something for the weekends.

SAAB - perfect all rounder, packs a punch 210 hp and shifts all the functions you would expect from a market leader. The new areo accounts for something like 38% of all SAAB sales at the moment. If you think Mazda are bad, SAAB take the whole month of July off!!!!!! (but at least we know that up front)

I didnt ask about the rear spoiler but looking at the brochure i would have to say i doubt it unless you want numerous holes in the boot lid.

In saying that takin the boot lid off does present a very nice looking car. You wouldnt instantly recognise it as an EVO.

SAT NAV comes as a option.

If you compare the interior of the EVO with its direct competitor the Scooby then the difference is night and day.

Leather (albeit an option) is all over the place. Dashboard has a number of interesting buttons. Active Yaw control pretty much turns the car in to a mobile computer with intelligence. Handling is so responsive that understeer/oversteer is very rare. This car has got UHU superglue on its tyres it sticks so much to the road. OK the ride is very hard, every bump you feel it but then you would feel it in pretty much every hardened sports suspension car so thats not an argument.


Incidently this car is a front wheel drive or at least the drivetrain is but with the active Yaw control pretty much distributes the power to all 4 wheels. Its an incredible drive.

Even if you dont want one.... Take it for a spin, i tell you this You will love it.