Preparing to buy...
 

Hey all,

I'm getting ready to get an RX-8 in WA state, ideally from Seattle or east side, some time in february

People seem to tell that 500$ above invoice is not uncommon so it sounds pretty good. I was personally looking at either MT touring or MT gt.

Anyone had experience with Lee Johnson Mazda, or Sound Mazda, or other east-side dealers? What about internet based buying, are the dealers really interested in discussing numbers over the net rather than in person? I'm getting mixed reports about this. Also I understand I should expect 3-4% financing from my CU, which sounds nice.

I'm also considering leasing for 36 months. Anyone knows the approximage residual value?

Thanks!

Mat,

I tried to deal w/ LJ Mazda back in August and just got the worst attitude. What a bunch of knuckle-heads. I ended up getting my 8 at University Mazda in Seattle and couldn't be happier. I cold-called University and spoke w/ Frank Weiss, told him what I was looking for and did the whole transction over the phone. I came in only to sign contracts and drive my 8 home. I've always tried to buy my cars in the Eastside and found that Seattle area dealers are much more pleasant to deal with.

On the lease, I did a 3yr. 12K annually and my residual is around $20,600. If I remember correctly that comes to about 52% which is quite good.

Give Frank a call @ University (206) 634-1191. You'll be glad you did. Tell him you were referred by Gary Natividad. Good Luck!

some sites to check out before you buy:

www.beatthecarsalesman.com

read through the Car Buyers School link. It is long but worth the read.

and

www.edmunds.com

at edmunds you can do a TMV (true market value) for a car with options. Also has rebate info.

good luck!

greese

Thanks Gary, I'll sure give it a try in a few weeks. How much did he take off the MSRP? How you leasing through Mazda or a credit union? What's your interest rate/money factor?

Thanks for the info again!

What do you mean by Eastside? I had a great experience at Post Falls Mazda. They gave me the deal I wanted on the car and my trade. They also have quite a few on the lot right now. Try Rick and his #: 1(888)456-6332. You will probably do better if you have 2 dealerships competing against each other. I went to Appleway who didn't treat me well (even though I had bought cars from them in the past) and went to Post Falls Mazda who not only beat their price by around $2,800 but also gave me more for my trade.

Awesome. By Eastside I mean anything east of the river, basically. Kirkland, Redmond, Bellevue, etc... although eastside is not a requirement, I live there so it would be a tad easier for service, etc...

If you guys are not to shy about it, I would appreciate if you could disclose the details of the deals you got, so I know what to expect. Of course I will start from invoice up and never above Edmund's TMV, but it's nice to know details of what people on this forum have been getting.

I'm keeping those names down so thanks alot!

I paid $33,585 for a 6sp MT, GT, Nav, and rear spoiler. That includes tax & licensing. (The dealer did make a mistake and only charge me for ID. tax so I got a $475 break :p ).

That sounds pretty good... actually I don't think I would turn down the same offer.... especially since I'm a recent grad and I might lease, that's 2k of "mazda cash" right there.

I'll start by shoping around for insurance and financing first...

Internet buying
 

I've been in contact with the Internet sales guys at both Lee Johnson and Sound Mazda. But are quoting $500 over invoice in their first communication with me. With a little effort, I think one could whittle that down even further by having them compete for your business.

I have a colleague who bought from University Mazda and thought they were good to deal with. I noticed that U Mazda has a ton of RX-8 inventory. That might make them pretty flexible. Good luck and keep us posted.

Also note that there is currently a $500 incentive for the RX-8 (Mazda to consumer). That would get you close to invoice without any effort at all.

Awesome news!! It sounds like I'll give internet sales dpt. a try. 500$ over invoice for the first communication is impressive. I hope their invoice matches Edmund's though.

Apparently there will be less negociations needed than I initially thought.

At least with Lee Johnson, the invoice price they provided was identical to both Edmunds and Kelly Blue Book invoice prices so they seem to be legit. At Sound he only quoted $500 over invoice as apparently he didn't know which trim level I was interested in. He was responding to a request for quote through Edmunds which may not have provided him that info. I'm looking for at the Sport trim which doesn't seem as numerous as the GT trim.

Hopefully the dreary weather and large inventories will lead to hungy dealers. Must be patient... damn its hard.

Don't be too patient since the warm weather will be coming soon and the 8's will start rolling off the lots quicker...

Lee Johnson has been great with me. When my CU backed out at the last minute, been driving the car for over a month, Lee Johnson did ALL the leg work to find a similar finance package else-where.

I got mine at sound Mazda
I am a 20something screw up with not the best credit....but a decent job
They did everything they could and did get me into the 8 for a reasonable deal.....yes a tiny bit over invoice......but "I tell you what" they did 2 weeks of work to get me in the 8…So I felt they earned it and I was not being screwed.
I would not recommend leasing however....while monthly payments might be lower, if you even think you are going to keep the car in the end....buying it now will be a LOT cheaper.
Also if this is your first loan or you do not have great credit I would not expect a 3-4% interest rate......it will be higher
And they seem to always have a good inventory of 8's....and will even look around to find the exact car you want
So all in all Sound Mazda treated me good and I would recommend them

P.S……Do remember that with ALL dealerships, these peoples jobs are to sell cars……not to become your best friend.

Mat;

you said "I was personally looking at either MT touring or MT gt".

There is a $1000 to $1200 difference between those packages. Check them out carefully to see if the extra cost is going to be worth it for your needs.

I got mine from doug's Mazda in Lynnwood.
and I paid 100 over invoice. Mine is 6MT GT.
Well, I think that I could push them harder to get better deal, but I'm still happy with number which I got.
Call them and check with "David Brownie". he was the guy who I dealt with.
I hope you to have fun!!!
:D

True. Initially I was looking at MT touring, because of the MSRP. But know that I am more confident being able to get close to invoice prices (based on the reports of members of this forum), I might actually be able to afford GT... or touring + navi, which would be nice.

Was that including the 1500$ rebate on leases, or including the recent grad's 500$ ? That sounds like a great price, I wouldn't even try to get a better deal on that.

Mat, just e-mail Tom Thoensen (tomt@leejohnson.com), the fleet manager at Lee Johnson in Kirkland. He offered me the car ( 6 Sp. GT w/ Navi) for invoice after a few e-mails back and forth.

What the #$#$?
I just posted the message above about Lee Johnson but I am not mr.hapy.
Don't know what happened....

whoa. Thanks for the tip, I'll be getting this. Was this a deal on a car in stock or was it ordered?

Hello Mat,
It wasn't in stock. They were gonna do a dealer trade. I didn't pick up my 8 yet because my trade-in wasn't close to the price I wanted to get.
BTW, the price I was offered was 30,225 w/ GT and Navi

Wow, that is an excellent price. It is essentially the S-plan price (which dealers complain is below their costs... yeah right).

It appears the consensus is that an 8 can be had for invoice or may $100-200 over.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their information.