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Just placed a deposit on a RX-8, a whopping 200 dollars (fully refundable) at Bill Britt Mazda in Fredericksburg, VA. I'm the first one on the list :D :p . They seemed better than most dealers I talked to in Virginia. I told the sales guy I wanted a sport package if it's available, it must be manual trans., and I would prefer black if it's available. He guaranteed me MSRP + $350.00, the $350.00 is supposedly for some armor plate they put on all their cars. I called B.S. on it and told him I don't want it if it's applied at their dealership. It's probably nothing more than a coat of quick wax. Has anyone else heard of this $hit applied at Mazda dealerships?
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true... i work at a boat dealership, and TRUST me... it can get very underhanded... and something applied AFTER it leaves the FACTORY??? gimme a break...
Yeah, tell them to skip the "armor plate" crap- that's a dealer trick in the same league as charging $200 to have the VIN etched on the windshield when you can buy a kit for $15 to do it yourself, or the police do it for free. Still, I may go talk to Bill Britt- I emailed one of the local dealers here in Richmond, and I'll see what kind of stuff they try to give me before going to Bill Britt.
I found this site accidently a few weeks ago- they have a nice list of stuff that dealers will try, and seem to update it pretty well:
One of the dealers I spoke with had gone to a Mazdaspeed convention of some sort and had been told by somebody high up in the Mazda food chain that the car would be available Feb.-Mar. time frame. I just took the info. with a grain of salt, but may be promising for those of you who can't wait any longer. I personally have to wait until May or so because that's when I'll arrive in Virginia.
Also, again, take this with a grain of salt, but this dealer believes he can order RX-8's with the colors and options of buyers choice. That would be really nice, but I'm not counting on it.
Elara, I was told to stay away from Brown's Mazda as they don't have problems charging 4500.00 above sticker for the Mazdaspeed Protege, but I would check it out for yourself to make sure.
Back when I bought my 1981 RX7 new the dealership put on something called "Auto Armor". Supposedly this was some sort of paint sealant and it cost me about $200.
What a waste of money. DO NOT pay for any of these paint sealant scams. Most cars now come with a top Clear Coat or Pearl Coat. These are applied at the factory as part of the painting process and are a million times better than the crap the dealerships apply.
The same goes for "rust proofing". A total waste of money.
I'm originally from Syracuse and thought about buying my RX-8 in that area. No one was willing to take a deposit from me because they didn't know enough about the RX-8 or when it is supposed to arrive. If I were you, I would stick with the larger Mazda dealers in your area. Look at the Mazda website and pick dealers that are rated best with Mazda (Mazda Elite or Presidents Award dealers) and then start calling and pick from one of them---whoever offers the best deal. That's what I did with the Virginia dealers. And don't be afraid to travel a bit for the right dealer...and don't let them convince you of anything stupid like "Armor Plate".
Hey new forum user here... been reading for awhile... decided to post cause I know what the dealer is talkin about. I am from VA and my family has bought 2 cars from Bill Britt before and 2 Cars from Ron Rosner before... both dealers in that area. We have had very good experiance with them both and that "Armor Plate" they are talking about I *think* is the underbody coating they do. They spray some kind of tar or something (im not too sure but it is a black coating of sorts) on the underbody of the car and its because we get a decent amount of snow in virginia and it protects the underbody and wheel wells from the sand and salt and all that nasty stuff they lay on the roads during winter-time. It helps keep things from rusting out. So for the long haul it a pretty nice thing to get done. My dad currently has it on his Mitsubishi, my old mazda had it, and my new toyota has it. Also like I said all the other dealers in the same area do the same thing. Bill Britt isn't a bad dealer at all, does this "rock bottom" price crap where u cant argue the price, but all his workers are paid salary and not commission and I'm pretty sure they wont sell a new car above MSRP. When I get money to buy an RX-8 (wont be until after im out of school and have a good job, so prolly 3 years ) I plan to purchase from Bill Britt. Oh yea also Bill Britt is a Mazda Elite Dealer
As mentioned above, any type of paint protection applied after the car leaves the factory (i.e.: at the dealer) is probably not worth it. They're charging you hundreds of dollars for something that could be done for 10 bucks with a good wax.
A warning about undercar protection: this is probably the worst "protection" scam on the market. First, most modern cars come with that "rubbery tar substance" already applied to critical components (those suseptible to corrosion). If the dealer tries to charge you for it, he's ripping you off. In addition, if they apply additional amounts of the stuff it could ACCELERATE corrosion of certain parts of your car. Being originally from NY, my dad had it applied by the dealer to his Toyota Camry (against his better judgement). What this thick coating did (the dealer coating looked more like glue) was clog drainage holes in the sheet metal in critical areas, such as the bottom of the doors and the wheel wells, so that salt water and road grime would suspend in creases and pockets which in turn accelerated the corrosion process. My dad came close to bringing the dealer to small claims court but then gave up at the end. By any rate, I do not want the stuff applied to my car.
It's good to hear good things about Bill Britt Mazda. I just hope I don't have to raise hell about the armor plate crap.
Yea I think its more of a personal preferance thing... im sure they all do it differently, and in fact we never had to pay for it on the vehicles we had it done on. Both Mazda's we got from britt were the ones they used for test drives, and had the coating on them already. Rosner didn't charge my dad for it, and it came on my toyota cause it was used, and the woman who owned it before had it done. I'm sure if you tell em to shove it they won't put it on. :D
Well, I just discovered who I'm definitely NOT buying from in Virginia- the Mazda dealership down the street has an ad in Parade this morning advertising that the 2003 RX8 is coming early next year- if they can't even get the YEAR model correct after all this time, I'll be going elsewhere.....
ANY dealer add-ons regarding paint protection, underbody sealant or protection is a TOTAL CROCK OF SH*T. They are totally unnecessary and a waist of money. This is true whether you live in the south or the frozen north what has all that salt on the road.
Just think for a momnet; a manufacturer engineers a car like an RX-8 and then forgets to protect the apint or the underbody properly??? Give me a break. These rip offs are why car dealers are rated near the bottom of the list just above lawyers.
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Boowana
'04 RX-8, Titanium, Red/Black, No Kitchen Sink...
Elara, I think it's so funny when many dealers won't even take a deposit on the RX-8 because they don't know anything about it. In the meantime, other dealers are advertising incorrect info on it. We on this forum probably know more about the RX-8 than most dealers. False info will really **** consumers off in the end. As a gesture of good faith, I sent Bill Britt Mazda my RX-8 CD ROM. As old as it is, it still contains info that most of them have no clue about. Which also surprises me, I would figure the dealerships would have recieved promo materials such as that CD, long before we ever did. Man I wish Mazda had some higher quality dealerships.
) I plan to purchase from Bill Britt. Oh yea also Bill Britt is a Mazda Elite Dealer
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