I am becoming incresingly frustrated with the whole process of ordering the RX-8, and a part of me is saying s0d it.

My reasons are:

I have received no confirmation from Mazda (welcome pack)
They cant tell me when I will receive anything
I didnt even receive an entry to the Japan trip
Ive no idea when I might be getting my car
Rumours of delays in the Far East/US
There have been no monthly updates
There is no "news" on the website
My dealer knows nothing last time I called
Based upon the above, I am concerned what the state of my order is and when I may see it.
Generally, the level of customer service seems non existent

Also,
They have a £1000 of my money
I havent even seen the car yet, let alone sat in/driven it
I am concerned about part-ex values for my current car

I am tempted to spend £2k on my current car for a performance upgrade which I can have in a couple of weeks (my original plan before I saw and decided on the RX-8).

Al least this is something tangible that I can have in a couple of weeks that will put a big smile on my face. It is also a cheaper option.

Can any of you talk me out of this and convince me that waiting indefinately for the RX8 in the absence of any information from Mazda is the right thing to do?

 

Aaaaaand thats why my £1k is still in my bank account.

I want to at least see the vehicle I'm supposedly buying before I place the deposit.

Personaly I can wait until I'm 100% happy with the car before I order.

 

Come on Mark, you have waited this long.

This is naturally going to be a frustrating time, but hopefully it will be over soon.

I know what you mean about the dealers, but maybe this situation will only continue until the car arrives, then the service will be ok. After all, I would be more concerned about the level of service I recieve after the car has arrived.

Hopefully, the car will make up for all the crap the dealers have put us through.

Once the car arrives, if the early indications are anything to go by, it should be some really special.

If you did cancel your order I would understand why, but I think this is just a bad period which will improve.

After all, you will lose nothing by waiting a little while longer to see what happens.

It would be a shame to cancel only to discover you have made a mistake.

Hope this helps.

Shahpor

 

Mark,

I from time to time have the same frustration but my reasons are that after being very excited at the start I am now not convinced that the car quaility will live up to that I am used to (Audi build versus Mazda build). The way Mazda have handles this whole process has negatively impacted on my goodwill towards the car. ie crap organisation, crap car. I know this is probably not true but MAZDA (can you hear me) need to better manage our expectations.

The order confirmation process was a joke and the document itself a bit sad considering the launch of a new car and competitive packages. It just does not sit well.

At this point I am less than 100% convinced I will go through with then order.

rael

 

OK, here goes:

The car is a good one and that is the primary consideration. All the reviews are good, the images and feedback from folks who've seen it at shows are good. It looks great, has an impressive rotary engine, will turn heads for quite a while and is less expensive than the comparable competition. If the interior quality matches or exceeds the Mazda-6 (which I've seen) then we have little to worry about. Above all it will be full-on fun to drive and guarantees a smile on your face (MX-5 handling with more power - go figure!).

Now the downside is that this car is being produced by Mazda Japan but marketed in the UK by morons with no cash. However, once you've received the car then it is the quality of your dealership that is the issue and whilst there are some negative comments regarding Mazda dealerships it would appear that on the whole they do a reasonable job. An MX-5 owning colleague has no complaints at all about our local Cambridge outfit. I fully agree that the lack of feedback from Mazda UK during the pre-order stages is woeful and your lack of receipt unacceptable but don't confuse that operation with the one that will deliver and service your RX-8. You can prove that you've paid the deposit (your own credit records or whatever) so no problem in the long run there and in reality despite SOME feedback I'm no better off than you because I still have no idea when the car will be delivered so you're not really missing out.

Basically you're pissed off at being treated discourteously and I'm not surprised. I would be too. Don't let that temporary lack of respect deprive you of the end goal. Owning an RX-8 will be serious quality FUN and you musn't miss out. It'll take a while but it will arrive!

 

Well argued lensman and true overall but I also think it depends on what car one drives now and other options. If I was running around in a 10 year old Rover the RX8 will be a bit of heaven but if your last 2 cars have been a XJS (5 years old) and TTC (from new) then certain comparisons will be made. Problem is that due to the lack of support by Mazda the more negative issues come to the fore which for me is the build quality (having overcome the torque issue I think). Never owned an Mazda and normally would not.

The other issue is option. I could keep my 18 month TTC. Having ordered the RX8 I'm really thrashing it and it loves it. No complaints except for room in back.

I did 'play'around with the Mazda 6 in the showroom and found the door closed with a window rattle, not a thud. Also drove my sister new MX5 and found the engine weak and interior too Japanese shiney. The badwill generated by Mazda has bought that thought back to me. I appreciate that those who have seen the car say that the build quality is good but what are they comparing it with?

Just thinking out loud.

rael

 

Rael, indeed if you are comparing XJS quality with Mazda quality then Mazda will inevitably lose but it's not a fair comparison and that has always been obvious. This is (without options) a £21K car and that shouldn't be forgotten. They ARE building within a budget but from all the reports they are doing a good job. It'll never be a roller but then I don't expect that. Yes I own a 7 year old Rover but in the last couple of months alone I've driven an Elise, Toyota Supra 3.0 turbo, Lancia Delta Integrale Evo 2, Jaguar Sovereign, Volkswagen Corrado VR6 and various others so I have some idea of the range of possibilities! Also, the MX-5 isn't marketed as a fast car (0-60 around 8.5 secs) but as a handling car which it undeniably is. As for the Mazda-6, well a colleague purchased a 5-door Sport model with sat-nav and DVD entertainment system. I've seen inside and it looks great, I've not driven it though but he insists that it is bolted together properly and drives just fine. I guess I'm lucky because if the RX-8 becomes obviously unacceptable I can instantly switch my attention to the 350Z that I have on order. I'd prefer to not do so though.

 

Oh Dear, poor old Mazda!!!

Whilst I agree with all the comments above and totally agree that it's disgraceful, hang on in there MarkW, you're really only in for £100 at the end of the day.

Whether it's worth it, I suppose we'll see but on paper the car represents great value and looks great.

WAKE UP MAZDA IF YOU'RE LOOKING IN, THESE ARE YOUR FUTURE CUSTOMERS HERE. (YOUR FUTURE SALES TEAM AS WELL!!!!)

Cancel if you wish but what's £100 at the end of the day?

Cheer UP:D
Oilman

 

PS: of all the cars that I drove (mentioned above) the Lancia Delta had the worst interior by a long way and it was kind of randomly bolted together. However, of all the cars that I drove (mentioned above) the one I'd most want to own is the Lancia Delta Integrale Evo 2 Monte Carlo and that's because it was so much fun to drive. It's VERY fast and holds the road like superglue. You get out of it with a grin and completely ignore the cheap plastic and ancient instruments. If all the good ones weren't LHD then I'd spend £12K and have a Delta instead of an RX-8 for sure. My point in mentioning this is to reinforce my opinion that the RX-8 will be loved regardless of it's build quality (which I still expect to be good) because it will be FUN!

 

Guys,

Thanks for all the comments so far.

Rael, I know where you are coming from re build quality. Ive been in TT's and other recent Audi's and their interiors fit and finish are second to none. Theis isnt really a concern for me though as Im sure the RX8 is a step up from my Subaru (wouldnt be difficult )

Lensman,
Thats exactly how I feel about the Impreza. The looks arent great and the interior is just about "acceptable", but every day driving to and from work I look forward to getting into it and it always puts a smile on my face. Driving home tonight in the wet reminded me why I like AWD so much.

Oilman,
Its not the £100 that is the issue, I will probably still hang in there for the RX-8 but the whole pre-order experience could be a whole lot more enjoyable even with some minimal effort from Mazda.

My other personal consideration is that if the car doesnt arrive by the end of July/early August I will nead to buy road tax (£150?), 4 new tyres (£650), and service (£200) my current car. This is £1000 that I wont get back much of. If there are delays into September this will become a factor.

Hopefully this is just a little wobble and Mazda will get me back on track soon

 

For the sake of another few months, I'll wait for this and keep my fingers crossed that it lives up to expectations!!

Cheers
Oilman

 

You get what you pay for... I don't need all this bullshit from BMW or Audi dealers but I want a reasonable priced car. It is o.k. that Mazda does not spend too much money on this. You just have to wait, I believe they are doing their best. Imagine you would have preordered a new and interesting FORD, would THEY treat you like BMW/Audi/Jaguar or so now? No, don't think so. I believe this car will be GOOD, I made very good experiences wih my two MX-3s (V6), relatively cheap! but much fun to drive! (And always pittied the friends having so much trouble with their BMWs

BTW: I can remember that you did have to wait for Audi TT in the beginning, too, specially for the convertible. And what a **** the first series was: With all that technical trouble (no ESP, spoiler)... A friend of mine had one and it is nearly not possible to sell this **** again because nobody wants to have it. Poor guy.

Just stay relaxed... If you don't get one now you can buy it in 4 or 6 years or so, it will be STILL available

 

For what it is worth .... -

MarkW - You should hang in there. Customer service is dreadful , but the end product will bring you much Joy.

Rael - You should consider cancelling (but wait until the car arrives and sell it at a premium) I will be surprised if you are truely happy with this car. Dont take offence - just my thoughts.

Thoughts on both of these are based on the general perception each of us has gained about the others during our several hundred posts to this forum - nothing more.....

So there you go - Mark - keep the faith !

Morgan.

PS - and MAZDA - GET OFF YOUR BUTTS AND DO SOMETHING ! ! ! (or if you are doing something tell us about it )

 

It's certainly a consideration the way I'm feeling at the moment but as Oilman said we only have £100 at risk and I can wait.

But yes, I will see the first car I can and if I am not overall satisfied (including build quality) I will cancel. But as none of us in the UK have actually seen or tested the car I think we are all of that opinon and presumably nobody will take delivery blindly without a drive and good look around.

rael.

 

Make sure it's the first Production car you see, and not one of the pre production models over here on show at the motor shows.

Accoding to the Asian forum members, fit and finish has been improved over the pre production models, even to the point of slowing production a little to ensure this happens. Also the suspension has been modified slightly to further reduce the amount of body roll some reviewers detected when cornering hard, apparently this has been done without affecting overall ride quality.

Also any show cars, will probably have been knocked about a fair bit as well.

 

To be honest - it gets worse before it gets better! I'm only three weeks from delivery and am absolutely seething (can you believe that?). I was calm for the whole 6 months until now but these last moments are the worst:
- No news from the dealer other than it'll be 3 weeks, no weekly (or any other sort of) updates
- No explanation of why there are RX-8's driving around now and I have to wait 3 weeks even though I ordered before pre-ordering started!
- Dealer has it listed in his sales records as an April car (meaning my MOT will come 1 month sooner) but I don't have any documents to prove he's registered it
- No way of getting insurance quote without the VIN, which I don't have even though the car HAS been produced!

It's intensely frustrating.

Phew, at least I got that off my chest!

John

 

Alot of commonsense has been applied in all replies, and I must agree, I too do have frustrations. I ordered my RX8 on 24th Jan, only to find the dealer put the order through on 28th Feb!
He still claims it will be one of the early cars to the UK, but I'll still wait and see, for the following reasons;

1. At £22K (without options) the car is a comparative bargain.
2. Mazda has also opened up a niche market by incorporating the rear doors. I for one also like the 350Z but two young kids have put paid to that. I'm sure many of us yearn for coupes, but the practicality aspects soon brings us back down to earth.
3. My default choice was a BMW 330Ci, but to get one would mean it would be secondhand. Secondly, everyones got one.

I still do have a number of other cars on my "hitlist" (BMW M5, Merc SL320 and Porsche 911) but none will be with me as the first owner, have a full warranty, have zero miles on the clock and be unique for looking new and modern.


Anil.

 

Wow John! That is ridiculous! I would talk to the top guy at your dealer and let him have it, embarrass him. I know how well that goes over in Japan. I used to live there .

D-san

 

Good point Titanium grey concerning the pre-production cars.

We should all beware that they are not as well finished and I doubt that we'll get to see a production car prior to ours arriving in the UK.

There does seem to be a marked difference in quality being discussed on the main forum.

Cheers
Oilman