KimiFelipe

Hi guys,

I am soon to be a new owner in the Boston area, and wanted to introduce myself and ask a couple questions.

First, I am new to the area, having been here for about 6 months, and actually am closer to Lowell than boston. I am replacing a 98 A4 (for sale!) with my RX-8, and am in the process of looking for the right car. I've waited a while to buy the car, and have read a lot of threads here, and am basically looking to get the best deal. I've looked through the ads on the sight, and I think the prices people are asking are optimistic, so I am probably going to buy a new car, an 06, and am waiting for dealers to get desperate in january; currently it looks like you can get a GT for less than $27 k, using mazda financing.

However I thought I'd ask about anything I should look for with the car before I buy it or during the pre-delivery inspection? Any gotcha's to watch out for or look for when I pick up the car? Anything I should specifically ask for?

06 owners - what do you think of the credit card key? Any problems with it?

Winter driving - I'm confident that a performance 17 in winter tire will see me through the winter - but does anybody have any warnings about ice driving in the car? How effective is the traction control? Any comments?

Look forward to hanging with you guys here, and some driving next year.

Thanks for your help!

KimiFelipe

P.S. Kimi and Felipe are the Ferrari F1 drivers for next year, if anyone cars. I'm a big F1 fan.

Clavius

hey welcome to the club. Ya just missed a Meet we had by a few days. Ya could of came up and talked to us then on opinions/thoughts.

Since you seem to be wanting to buy new I'd believe you wouldnt have many problems compared to oh say ME! (haha bleh!). Since you may be getting the car in Jan I'd honestly suggest getting the dealer to put your snow tires on before picking it up, free of charge of course. Also check the oil before you even sign papers (learned my mistake they didnt fill it up enough ugh!). If its filled to high its to a point fine since our engine use's up oil anyways.

Um whatelse guys?! lol..
Oh stay away from Gallery Mazda.... that to!

VOODOO8

A new 8 delivered in 07 should be past many of the issues us guinea pigs went through buying 04's and 05's, but just to be sure:
1). Make sure the plugs have been replaced by the dealer. Early cars came with a lot of plug fouling do to limited start/stops on cold docks and in fright yards while vehicles were in transit. MNAO has been requesting dealers drop new plugs in delivered cars to overcome this issue.
2). Check all fluids, motor oil levels being the most important but not the only consideration.
3). Make dealer confirm on the delivery paperwork that all recall work required to date has been addressed prior to delivery. There should be stickers to this effect attached to the vehicle itself - make the dealer show them to you at delivery. Check, for instance, that your vehicle is running the most current ECM flash for your car (the part number for this varies based on the mfg year of the car, you can pull this info off this site).
4). Spend the money and get a workshop manual. Even if you don't do any work on your car yourself it is still loaded with info that is good to know and can help you keep your dealer's service staff on the straight & narrow. There used to be a link via a few site contributors to a free download of the workshop manual - I've forgotten where it is and don't know if it is any good anymore but it might be worth a search.
5). While debate has raged on this topic over the years, I'm firmly in the camp of following the break-in instructions in the manual.
6). ...and as already recommended, don't leave the lot without a good set of snows tires on the vehicle (have someone come with you who will have room to take your factory Bridgestones with them - they only last 15-20K before they will get chewed up but that's better than leaving them with the dealer). I've used Blizzaks on my 8 for 3 winters now and am going in to winter #4 with a new set.

To your question on winter driving, the traction control on the 8 is an excellent system and works well under most conditions. However, I turn it off when driving in snow and play it by ear when driving on ice. The traction control may choose to kick in at times you would rather it didn't (when you are spinning the rear wheels on purpose to negotiate a turn, climb a slippery hill, or rock a stuck vehicle for instance).

Good Luck, See U out there - long live Zoom Zoom!

tmak26b

06 are better buys because they ahve a better warranty and bettter incentives. Problem is that there are not many left with the options you want. You can get a better deal getting a car from teh dealer than it is to ship it. I would go for n 06 new. 25K would be great, 27Kstill seems steep to me.

Lil'RedShinka

Welcome to the group! You've made a great choice!! We just traded our 02 Impala (which was an excellent, solid car!) in for an 06 Shinka edition 8 in April. I LOVE IT!!!

To offer a little more info, don't worry about asking about the plugs. If you buy 06 or later, they will set a date at the time of purchase for you to come in 1 month from purchase to have the plugs replaced at dealer cost. In fact, I left the sales department with a set of plugs in my console.

If you want the Shinka package, plan to pay more than 27k.

Winter tires are a must, but many of us have our winter tires on a separate set of rims. Usually a cheaper rim since they're gonna get gunked up with salt and slush from the road anyway. Since you're not buying till January, you have time to order a set of rims and winter tires. That way you can bring that set with you and tell them you need them mounted. Either that or arrange with the dealer to have the winter rims shipped to the dealership or drop them off ahead of time and have them mounted before you even pick the car up. Just a suggestion, of course, as you don't have to have a second set of rims.

I love the credit card thingy. It's amazing how smart it is! I left my pocket book in the car the other day and tried to lock the door on the car. It wouldn't lock because it knew the card was in there! Very cool!!

That's my 2 cents worth! Be sure to post pics when you get your new wheels!!! And keep an eye out for events. You're welcome to show up, like Clavius said, and ask all the questions you like.

Oh, one more note. A lot of ppl are big fans of synthetic oil, ourselves included, but the factory dictates non-synthetic. I've noticed a huge difference in my car's performance since my 3000 mile oil change after they replaced my synthetic oil with the non-synthetic.

KimiFelipe

Guys,

Thanks a lot for your advice and kind words. Things have moved faster than I thought, and we are picking up our copper red Shinka (06) tomorrow night!

I am so pumped. And yes, I have a set of 17 in Mazda 3 wheels lined up and some Contiwinter 810's on the way for winter driving. My garage is going to be the HOTNESS this weekend with my Shinka parked next to my nearly as hot black 05 Legacy GT wagon.

What a great Christmas!

Look forward to seeing you guys on the road.

Lil'RedShinka

Cool! A Copper Red partner-in-crime!!!

So, how do you like it? I'm assuming you've spent some serious bonding time with your new baby!! If it weren't for the necessity of showers, I would be glued to mine!!!

Well, now I know where to go for replacement parts!!!!

Clavius

^Naughty girl thinking of his car like that (you are a guy right? lol) . We can think of Kevin's departing Rx-8 like that though hehe. So Kimi what part of the Boston area you live around? If you've checked a few of the MA type threads there are a few of us who live around Boston like myself, Astral, KrystyGT. I'm hoping come spring to have a few nice meets

Now that I said that.. PICTURES MY FRIEND PICTURES!!!!!!

KimiFelipe

Guy.

I am north of 495, west of 3, in the sticks =)

Here are a couple photos. I cleaned and waxed the car today; now she's all ready for winter. I'm diggin' the M3 wheels with my contiwinters - looks good, and stock! These are really nice tires, quieter than the 040's - not saying much, but still. The ride is excellent, and dry performance is really pretty good, considering. Clearly not the grip of the summers above 40 degrees, but way better than blizzak ws-50s.

I love my garage now

Astral

Congratulations on the new car! Looking beautiful!

Clavius

Hey guys I think we found a install location 2 car garage whoohoo
hahahahaha

h0rde

Damn, I could have given you a good deal on my car! Anyway, I love your username. I'm still INCREDIBLY sad that Michael is gone. I can't believe it, he's still the fastest man on the track and I think the higher-ups in Maranello forced him out. Too soon for him to go, in my opinion. I do love Kimi though, and Felipe is holding his own. With Alonso driving for McLaren next year, I really like our chances to get #1 and #2 back on the noses of the red team. Forza Ferrari!

KimiFelipe

You bet. You guys just bring the beer =). Actually the car that needs work is the legacy gt - man that car feels like a POS now that I actually have the 8 =\

Got to add sways and clean things up a bit. I know, tough life.

KimiFelipe

Thanks! Michael has been awesome to watch, but I think it is good he moved on at the top of his game. Kimi and Felipe are among the top three drivers, and it will be exciting to watch Alonso battle them. There are a lot of other interesting drivers next year too, and I am glad that Michael will no longer overshadow them.

I will miss watching him wring the most out of the car, but honestly, he made 3 mistakes this year that cost him the title, and he is already not as good as he was just a few years ago.

He was great. But I'm hoping for even better racing next year.

rddragoness

Congrats on your car! Another Copper Red Shinka owner here.......cc key is great item to have...funny thing though I have found is others that are not familiar look at you dumbfounded when you hand them the "keys to your car"...its like where does it go??lolol I've had mine about 5 months ,and some people still think she's an exotic, just because of the color...that in itself is cool. Enjoy it, and drive it like you stole it...

dealer mechanic told me on the sly....once she is broke in, ...drive her hard, like you stole her......the recalls they are having problems with are mostly on the AT's but there have been a few MT's too, because the owners are afraid to get them out and really drive them.

h0rde

I agree it will be a lot different next year with no MSC battling for pole. I really hope Kimi and Felipe don't get caught up with their egos and run each other off the road...I think they're both pretty proud drivers and I have no idea who will win the title next year. It'll be a totally different season.