Background: I ordered in May from the dealer allotment (dated 2/21) and my info was never sent to Mazda's database & never received any "pre-order" gifts or emails from Mazda. From the advice of my fellow forum members, I was able to get the dealer to add my name and RX8 Orders confirms that they will ship out my gifts (though they will be delayed b/c of when my name was added). Problem is that I still had no VIN#.

Well today, I just received the "Factory has accepted your order" email and this part scares me:
"...the factory will assign your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and begin production on your Mazda RX-8. We will send you a notification email with the VIN when that occurs--sometime in the next 1-3 months..."
Man... thats a long time. I was hoping to get it sometime in August...

Questions:
1 - Do you guys think that this is just a delayed email? Meaning that my car is already in the process of being built or even waiting to be shipped?
2 - If it hasn't even been built yet, any good guestimates as to how long it'll be before my 8 is here?

Thx!

I hate to tell you this, but you're not getting your car in July/August. I too ordered in May, my car was built on 6/26 (I have the email that tells me so, which came 3 weeks or so after the "your order has been accepted" email), and I don't expect my car before the 3rd week in August, judging by the current schedule.

Hmmmm.

Do you think that becaase of the delay of them putting me into the the system that maybe the order in which I will receive these emails is also delayed.

Meaning that there is a certain proceedure and that their computer just spits out these notifications in order.

Basically, I'm hoping that my car is already built.... I know. Iknow. I can dream can't i? :(

I placed an order w/ my dealer on April 15th and received the "order accepted by the factory" email about a month later. Last week I received the "VIN assigned" and "your car has been built" emails. I trust the accuracy of the time estimates in the emails (the optimistic dates are working for me. =)

One more piece of info I forgot to mention. My salesman called me with my VIN a couple days before I received the "your VIN has been assigned" email. FWIW.

Thx guys!

Well.... I'll hope for the end of August... but I guess that maybe Sept is looking for realistic :(

Oh well....

UPDATE: Remember what I said about how I felt that these emails are "delayed" b/c I was put into the databse later than the rest....

Well..... last night, I did the hack on my dealer's inventory and for the first time, a Winning Blue 8 that matches the one I ordered just showed up (plus a Tit Grey one too). I visited my dealer today after the Philly Rev-It-Up and I asked him to check out the VIN to see if it was mine or even available. He gave me the keys to one of the 8s he had outside and I test drove it while he searched.

After 20 min out (loved the car even more now!) I returned and he said that he wasn't sure but the specs do match mine... so maybe it is mine (his inv report didn't have any new info). I left still feeling the rush of driving the 8 but also feeling worried that I may still not see my 8 anytime soon.

Here's the kicker: I just checked my email and discovered a NEW email from Mazda stating that my VIN has been assigned AND the VIN matched the one I found in the dealer's inv through that hack.... of course meaning.... THAT CAR IS MINE!!! Wooooo!

Now, the question is that is my car being built or already built? Waiting to be shipped? In port?

Again, b/c of the delay with the database... I'm hoping that my car will be here before mid-August! Gotto be optimistic! ;)

Just for reference could either of you provide that the last four (ie75XX) digits of your VIN? For example, my car 98XX will be here on 7-15 accrding to my dealer. Yeah right, bunch of BS. Just curious when it will actually be here and when they will fess up.

JM1FE17N740110696

How the heck do I read this again? I remember there being numerous replies about it... but I think I'll have a heck of a time trying to do a search.

Thanks OmegaBob. I interpret your VIN as car number 10,696 whereas mine is in the 9800 range. Theoretically, they should arrive roughly at the same time. Is your August delivery based on any statements from the dealer (believe at your own risk) or from Mazda?

Mine's 6779, and supposed to be here near the end of August.

Turbo: thx for that bit of info. 10696 !! The date is an estimate from my dealer... so unfortunately, nothing official. =(

jtimbck: I'm going to aim for the 3rd week in August. That way, I can save a little bit more the downpayment . If it gets here earlier, then wooo hooo! If it doesn't... well... grrrrrr.

btw - are the vins based on the order in which the cars are built or are they just assigned to them based on other factors?

If I were you, I would call back your dealer and ask him if they were allocated a car just like yours which is already made and on a ship to the USA. If he can find a car with the same specs, he can make you the owner of that vehicle and give you the vin #. If the car is on a ship now like my car, then you will get it in late August. I placed my order in early June. When I called the other day, they missed up my order and ordered a a different type of car. They found a duplicate car on their inventory of cars not pre ordered and gave it to me-----Good luck.

tucker: I would do that... but when i ordered mine in May, my sales rep gave me a printout of all the 8s they had coming in (at the time, NONE had vins). This is the only winning blue in AT that they are getting....

According to the website inv hack, there is a titanium grey due in but I don't know when as well....

Originally posted by OmegaBob
...I just checked my email and discovered a NEW email from Mazda stating that my VIN has been assigned AND the VIN matched the one I found in the dealer's inv through that hack.... of course meaning.... THAT CAR IS MINE!!! Wooooo!

Now, the question is that is my car being built or already built? Waiting to be shipped? In port?


It means your VIN has been assigned and your car is being built. You will receive another email from Mazda to inform you that your car has been built and is ready to be shipped.

That message indicated the build date of my car (20030709) and said I could expect to take delivery in 3-8 weeks, depending on the distance of my dealer from port. (Or something very close to that.) In my case, the "VIN assigned" and "car built" emails came on the same day...

UGH! I just called the 800 number and asked what the status of my car is. After checking, the guy said that the order date was 6/11 and that either it hasn't been built yet or is being built. He said to call back in the second week of August to check on it's status -also told me about the 6-8 weeks for delivery after it's built.

My question now is: say that they started to build my car THIS week (7/21), what do you guys think would be a good est of when I''ll get my 8?

My hope now is early Sept.... am I dreaming?

edit: according to the web site hack, my dealer is getting titanium gray 8 with the same options as my blue, except that it's a lower vin # - 4078. I PM'd fubar to see what the status of this one is. If it's on it's way, I think I'll call my dealer to see if it's spoken for. If not... then I may very well consider getting that one instead of the blue......

A followup on my 8 (vin 6779) -- both rx8orders and my dealer say it's on a boat, the ETA according to rx8orders is the last week in August. I don't know if that's the ETA to port or the ETA to me.

In other news, my dealer called me today to tell me they just got their first RX-8 in last night -- I plan to swing by this evening and take a look. :p

Originally posted by OmegaBob
...-also told me about the 6-8 weeks for delivery after it's built.

My question now is: say that they started to build my car THIS week (7/21), what do you guys think would be a good est of when I''ll get my 8?

My hope now is early Sept.... am I dreaming?

It depends on when the next ship departs from Hiroshima, and time to get to your port. As I recall, transit times across the Pacific were 12-17 days. Check the archives for how long it took the first allocation cars to arrive in port at JAXPORT from Hiroshima. I don't think our cars will be subject to the same port delays (over 1 month!) that the previous allocations suffered/experienced. At least I hope not!!

The notification email I received from Mazda on 07-09-2003 said:
...We are happy to inform you you that the factory has completed production of your2004 Mazda RX-8... At present your car is being shipped from our Hiroshima plant in Japan to your local destination port. In about 3-8 weeks, depending on where you live and shipping schedules, the port will release your car and it will be on its way to the dealer!


Since I'm in CA, relatively close to Port Hueneme, I think the earlier time estimate (3 weeks to port) applies to my car. ibfubar200 (thanks!) checked my VIN yesterday and my car is "on water" so I know a ship left between 07-09 and 07-21. It may have been on water a few days, or over a week. I'll update this thread when my status changes again (to "in port") or when I get the car. :D

I just called the 800# to inquire again. I was debating on whether or not I should wait for my blue or take the titanium that the dealer was getting soon.

When I called, they informed me that my car has been BUILT !!! (build date 7/24) and that it should be shipped out TODAY (7/29). Though there is no delivery date yet, the rep there est that I should have mine by mid-late Sept (I'm hoping sooner)!!!

I will wait a few days and then ask fubar to check the status for me. Also, no email from Mazda as of today....

Not trying to be pessimistic, but if your ship date is 7/29, you're looking at mid-Sept. at the *earliest* for receiving your car, if the current delays are any indication. I'm still holding out the hope that the ports will get caught up soon, and that by the time my car arrives (probably in mid-August, it's "on water" now) the port-to-dealership time will be down to no more than a week. Especially for cars like mine with NO port options to be installed.

I'm planning on the end of Sept... that way when it comes before that (I hope) I will be pleasantly surprised.

btw - mine too has no port options... although I keep debating about the spoiler.....

Update:

My salesman left me a message Friday afternoon to tell me that it's looking like about 2 weeks 'till my 8 is here! (You can imagine how my heart leapt when I got home from work Friday and saw the caller ID blinking the name and number of the Mazda dealership :eek: ).

My thought is this: most dealerships aren't going to volunteer information like that unless they're fairly confident it's true -- after all, they don't want to get my hopes up and have me say "but you said it would be here in 2 weeks". Does that make sense?

Makes perfect sense! Here's hoping for ya!

btw - ave you tried the 800#? What did they say about your 8's status?

Keep us posted!

Originally posted by OmegaBob
btw - ave you tried the 800#? What did they say about your 8's status?


No, I haven't gotten around to calling yet -- maybe I'll try to get a call in tomorrow.

I talked to my dealership yesterday---Brown Fairfax Mazda. They told me that my car arrived at port in New jersey on 8/1. He told me that my ETA is 1-3 weeks.

Any port installed options? I hope ya get it in 1 week!

I haven't figured out this forum yet--not sure if you were asking me the question or someone else? I would go into shock if I get the car in a week---No way.

My options

1) Appearance package
2) Spoiler
3) 6-Disc CD Player

When the car comes to the dealership I will have Strakes and Exhaust Finishers added.

By the way, I have not seen any RX-8's out on the road here in Maryland(Montgomery County). I've only seen them at the dealerships.

I was asking you, tucker.

It'll be interesting to see how long it takes for you to get the car with those port options.

Again - hopefully 1 week! :)

Woooo! It's official! I just got the "Your RX-8 has been built" email!

So the rep at the 800# WAS correct! Build date of 7/24. 3-8 weeks, yadda, yadda, yadda...

Maybe I should start a new thread - "RX-8 Has been built" ;)

I got a call from the dealership today. The rep told me that my car was on water and will be at the dealership by the end of August. I had to correct him because I talked to his boss on Monday and he indicated that my car reached port on 8/1. I ordered the strakes and finishers today at cost(225 for each---I know I can get them for 195 each off the internet but decided to get them with them----it's just easier for me). The rep told me that one of the RX-8's came in already off that shipment????----something about getting in pre ordeded cars in quickly. Everthing is set-----let's see how long it takes for me to get the car?

Don't get to excited i orderd mine in janruary and mine has been at port since 7/3 and i am told 4th week of august delivery.

UPDATE:

1 - the rep at the 800# told me that my car had an estimate delivery date of Sept week 2 (but my guess is that it could be here sooner).

2 - Went to my dealer today to order some port options: spare tire kit and shock sensor. Asked my sales rep about their test drive policy and he said that if a cust orders a car, then NO ONE drives it! Wooooo! Did I mention that I love my dealer?

I'm probably going to order the strakes soon and install them myself. Also, need to go to Home Depot to pick up some plastic mesh for the air dam.

Poor Mazda- I just got the "Your car has been released from port and is on its way to the dealer" email. I picked the car up YESTERDAY, and it arrived at the dealer on Friday afternoon.

Well, I guess they get an "A" for effort...

Originally posted by Elara
Poor Mazda- I just got the "Your car has been released from port and is on its way to the dealer" email. I picked the car up YESTERDAY, and it arrived at the dealer on Friday afternoon.


I can't wait for the day when I can post the same thing! lol

Originally posted by OmegaBob


I can't wait for the day when I can post the same thing! lol


It'll be here before you know it :)

I just called my dealership. They told me that my car has been released from port. They told me that the ETA can be today or a couple of days. Let's see if the ETA proves to be correct???

The ETA was correct. I picked it up last night. It took 13 days for the car to make it from port to my dealership. I had the spoiler, appearance package and 6 disc player put in at port. I'm a very happy camper.

By the way.....when I was filling out all the paperwork, I presented a check from my credit union. The finance manager was filling out the check for me. There was a section in the check that asked how many cylinders my car has. He asked me if it had 4 or 6? I told him that it had none----that it was a rotory engine. He seemed to ponder this idea and seemed a little perplexed. I just told him to put rotory in that section. I'm not sure what he did but i thought that was interesting.

Congrats Tuck! :)

Woooo! Can't wait to see pics of your baby!


I guess I'm the only one left in this thread.... :(
I'm lonely......

I don't have a camera----there will not be any pictures----You will just have to imagine my car in your mind. ;-)

UPDATE:

A call to Mazda on Friday (8/15) still has my car's ETA as Sept week 2. I also complained (again) about not receiving any of the preorder gifts.

Today, Sat 8/16, the first pre-order gift (book) appeared on my doorstep!!!! Wooooo hoooo!

Hopefully, my complaining will get them to send me TWO books ;)

Man... it feels like its slowly becoming a reality....

I now have something to tide me over until the real thing appears (getting tired of reading the brochure, accessories catalog and R&T guide over and over again).

I have a car on order as of August 8th......guess I will be the last one it seems. My dealer said they will be keeping me updated not Mazda. Does that sound right? They said when I ordered it that it should get an August build date so I am thinking Mid to end of October to get it. Sound right? I am already going nuts.....everyone has theirs and I am waiting at least two months. Well, I have to sell my current vehicle so any tips on timing would help. I have seen only one on the road out by me....suburbs 30 miles west of Chicago! I can't wait till everyone admires me. I just want the car before it's too cold here!!! On ORDER: SUNLIGHT SILVER GT/BLK/RED LEATHER,AT,ROTARY ACCENT PKG.