sketchy business
 

hi everyone im a new member and soon to be owner of a rx8, well hopefully, im located in ontario, toronto area and i have story/question to share,....ok so i was looking at some cars at work( cibc business contact centre) when a friend told me about soldauctiondirect.com i was amazed at the prices but the first thing that bothered me is the fact that the vins are ... perfect, two rx8s achieved the same autocheck score of 86, for me that looks too good to be true but anyways i checked out the location in mississauga today on dixie road and met up with the person in charge of the rx8s and well... i could tell she knew nothing about the car or engine.. ok so shes off getting the keys while a pleasant guy comes up asking me if i work there (i wear dress shirts often ) i told him sorry i dont but im sure someone would be inside, he agrees but quickly states that this place is not associated with the used car dealership group, and that buying used could be either the best move or worst nightmare ... (next)

and that some ppl buy vins in other countries and find cars here with same appearance and sell them off with bad history even though we dont know that, so i get alil surprised but i tell him thanks and hes on his way, i never saw him again after but Aida (lady) is back with the keys i jump in about to test drive the car when it doesnt start, have you ever heard of a dealership not taking care of the car,? ok so being really anxious and smart i came here and tried to read up and anything and everything, im turning the car i smell gas, im guessing it flooded? so i go out to tell them its not the battery, and i asked, do you guys move the car around often, they answered yes since ppl come for test drives they need to move the car outside this gate, but some ppl dont end up driving it so they bring it back, umm cold starting? they said whats that? .... second red flag...ME a amatuer of rotary engines was educating 3 of their members on the car, i dont think thats a good sign, this group does not seem legit

Does anyone in the toronto, mississauga, burlington or barrie area heard of them and if yes are they legit, its also called autopark.ca, or soldauctiondirect.com they are owned by the same guy, but really they seem alil strange, if anyone can give me some info on this group, much thanks,

Autopark is legit. You shouldn't be so surprised that they don't know anything about the car. It isn't a Mazda dealership. If anything use that to you advantage to downplay the features and get a good price.

dont take that they flooded the car as anything more than normal. Seriously, we often (even right now actually) have a used car dealerships rx8 in our shop (mazda dealer where i work) that they have flooded moving it around. Truth is sales people only know about 10% of what they pretend to know. They spit out numbers that they read from magazines or the internet but know nothing real about any of the cars they sell. As you can tell i have a very low opinion of car sales people (especially used car sales people) from only a few years of dealer/working beside them. If there is anything that feels off about the car or place, i advise you to just look elsewhere. Its not like rx8s are really rare or anything. Just keep looking until you find the right one, you dont wanna get stuck with a lemon.

I actually bought my 05 rx8 from burlington autopark about a month ago. Overall, I'm happy with the car, but the custom care is f'n terrible. I have a thread in this forum on it, but basically, i drove there to pick it up (from london) got there, they tell me its not ready, come back saturday. I'm pissed, but whatever, get there saturday, sat and waited over 4 hours for them to fix a brake noise they only noticed that morning. Took the car home, the next day, the noise came back, and a hi-beam went out. I called them for 5 days in a row, and left a message on my salesmans voicemail, the mechanics voicemail, and the general managers voicemail. Never once did they return my call.

Overall, buying a car from them isn't a terrible thing, just be prepared that the moment you drive off the lot, they wont car about you.

Also, if you're looking at the 04 VR that they were asking 13 900$ for. Don't get it. I test drove it, and it shook kinda funny, and didnt have much power. Atleast not compared to mine. They bought that car before they bought mine, and had mine there for almost a month, so they've had that one for over two....

thanks all of you, you have reassured me seriously, and ontarioguy lol i read your thread a couple days ago, for some reason i knew it was burlington autopark you were talking about and thanks for the heads up, cause i was actually going to test drive that car maybe today, save myself the trouble i feel sorry for you though, sounds like you almost need the patience of a saint to still be sane with that situation, i might go back to the mississauga autopark and get them to lower the price for that flooded car, thats if they have flushed it out, it was so nice in black, black and toffee leather, but thanks again i want this car before summer starts, hopefully i can meet up with some of you guys and learn the ins and out of the engine, i use to drive a integra so this is a big jump so i tried to learn everything i can but, obviously theory is very different then hands on

Integra to Rx8 +1. My integra got stolen, did the upgrade to the 8 and love it!! Next weekend is a big meet/cruise, if you get it by then you should def come.

GL with the buy!

If they get it running, make sure they put new plugs in it!!

well sorry about the teg lol but things fall apart so better things can fall together is proof that the quote is right haha but thanks for the tips i was thinking about that after going through some threads but btw i also live in the ajax area hopefully ill see you around when i get the 8 and if i do get it before the meet ill def come, im sure ill meet some cool ppl and learn a shit load of useful info, but im trying to read alot of threads just to make sure i can cover as much as i can, i like to be prepared and being a new member its my duty to read then ask questions lol , im sure ppl get flamed here as much as anywhere else for not using the search engine but thanks for the luck and karma haha

burlington autopark is legit.. and they're prices are some of the best in the area.

I bought my 8 there, and they took good care of me. Even sold me winter tires/ rims at cost

thanks, ill post the link of the ad just for looks, still thinking though http://www.soldauctiondirect.ca/en/u...spy?id=2627064

Not bad, but they should've atleast cleaned the car so you could get it. That's what my dealer did (up north) @ sherbrooke. The car was really clean inside and out and the guy was really helpful.

One thing you should do, get the car to a mazda dealership and check if all the recalls and the updates are done on that car. If not, don't get the car or you'll be asking for trouble.

easy enough, mazda is right across the lot thanks man

people always say this, but the fact is in ontario a dealer cannot lisence the car for you unless all the recalls have been performed so you dont have to worry about it anyways. Also, the car doesnt have to go to a mazda dealer to see that the recalls were done, a simple phone call with the VIN number and they will be able to tell you if they have all been done, or if the dealer has an appointment with them to get them done. Also, people always think that the dealer will know if the car is good or not. Really, all they can do is drive it and see if it feels like other cars they work on. but think about that, the cars they test drive typically have something wrong with them. A dealer cant see through the engine to see how much carbon is built up inside, or to see the condition of the spark plugs (which they wont likely be checking in any general checkover. I'm not saying don't take it to a mazda dealer to have it checked out, im just saying dont expect them saying it looks okay as meaning the car will be perfect for years to come. Good luck.

true, so any mazda dealer would work im assuming their network is updated and connected through out the country, and dont worry i understand where your coming from, but thanks again rotarygreg, your on top of things

Well, I can probably help. I work for Autotrader and we deal with auctiondirect/autopark. Oh yeah, I also bought my RX-8 from Autopark(auctiondirect) Burlington.

For the most part the car is solid and I got a good deal. I had an original engine issue which I believe was mis-diagnoised by the local Mazda dealer there. I got a free engine out of it though so it is ok! I also now realize I have some clutch/tranny issues, but that is from the previous owners lack of driving ability.

Be sure to do the clutch test

They are a legit dealer who buy vehicles in bulk. Just be aware, if you buy a vehicle from the auction direct side it is AS IS. You need to safety/certify it. That is why there are such savings.

nice to hear about the free engine and that the car is all around good, but too bad about the clutch work eh, thankfully i drove standard on my old teggy for about a year and half, but i knew it was as is, i dont mind, im still a young adult that has a nice salary job and has no bills to pay, thanks for the heads up

Sigh, when did the 8 become so cheap.

lol not that cheap, just a really good job for someone my age

Shut it Jay... you got your car for cheaper then most of us :p


Alright... welp.. first off good to hear you're looking to get an 8! I just want to say one thing in terms of getting the car checked out. I went through a horror show when I bought my car from a used lot. As Greg said earlier.. you can get any mazda dealer to check out recalls by just giving them the VIN.. but I'd still take the car to a dealer and get it looked over (NOTE: IF THE PLACE YOU'RE BUYING FROM TELLS YOU TO SEE A SPECIFIC PERSON that's not the service manager, get it checked elsewhere. In most cases they're a friend of someone at the used car dealership and will just tell you whatever the used place wants you to hear (happened to me)). Anyways... if you get a good service manager ask em to drive it.. they should be able to tell you if it's lacking power and perform a clutch test.

If you really wanna learn more about the car and how it works however, come out to one of our mod meets. Getting your hands dirty with some installs is the best way to learn (in my opinion anyways).

Happy hunting.

lol i edited my post, i felt alil wrong i dont know why but yeah anyways i think your right im going to give them a call just now with the vin and see whats up with the car, otherwise i would want someone to test drive the car with me that has driven an 8 before, do you think i get someone with experience with how the car should feel to test drive it, maybe i could pull someone a dealership near by? and hell yes i want to get my hands dirty.... but i guess i should wait for myself to get the car first, catching a ride with someone and just watching you guys chill and tune your cars would only depress me that i dont have a wonderful 8

When do you plan to go next? I work at 427 and Burnhampthorbe. Auction direct is about 10 minutes away from here.

i can see if i can take a sick day off work but really i can do that any day, but i wanted to go during the weekend but i think there is a cruise/meet going on, are you planning to attend or are you free during the weekend?

haha... it's not that bad. If anything it will just solidfy your want of the car. That's actually what I did last year when I was looking to get any 8. I showed up at one of the meets last year in my Tib and ended up helping install acouple of exhausts and god knows what else. Just come out. I'm sure acouple of us would be willing to take you for a ride so you can know what to look for.. also if you go to one of the larger meets you can see what people have done to their cars and make a shopping list for what you want ;)

Oh.. .and there's a massive meet / cruise happening this weekend. I'm gonna guess you wouldn't want to come all the way down to the staes with us, but if you're up early enough on the sunday you can go to one of the meeting spots and shoot the shit with some of us and check out the cars before we split.

lol i want this car badly, when i sat the car i was going to buy and about to test drive, i was like, i feel so loved sitting it, like it will take care of me haha, but that sounds like a good plan, if there are any small meets in Toronto, Mississauga, North york, really where ever i can get the bus or something im 100% in, since i lost my teg in a accident,( not at fault), i have no car to get around in, other then my step dads Envoy, and i hate driving that thing, but seriously if there is a small meet somewhere where i can bus it or train it to, im down especially if i can learn and see, im determined, and if you guys are back in canada on sunday yeah for sure, ill go look at that thread to see which meeting spot would be good if things work out