Tigster

I wanted to inform anyone in this market with my experience of buying my new RX-8. I first visited Classic Mazda on OBT and drove the car and left. Later that night I e-mailed them asking them to trade in my 2002 Miata and getting an RX-8. I also e-mailed Cory Fairbanks Mazda asking for the same information. Long story short Cory Fairbanks is by far the better dealer with these cars. They gave me the price and let me pick the car from thier lot that I wanted. I got the car for $3000 below sticker and am very happy with my experience and the car. We were in and out within 1 1/2 hours. That that wasn't bad. BTW I even recieved a 3% interest rate. (The other dealer tried to charge 9%).

SL01

I'll second that--Classic Mazda on OBT is not a very good dealership. If you deal with these guys, be -very- careful and double check everything. They use deceptive phrases like "pretty much required" to tack on charges like gap insurance. Their service department is completely frustrating to deal with too. All in all, they get the thumbs down from me.

It's a bit of a drive, but Scanlon Mazda down in Fort Myers was absolutely refreshing to deal with. They were fast, excellent price and no scams.

I've used Corey Fairbanks for service, and they're pretty good.

--SL01

beachdog

Classic on OBT = bad experience
I made three visits there, the third visit was specifically an appointment to meet with the General Manager and BUY the car (Thanksgiving weekend). Everything was agreed via fax and phone before driving over. When I showed up in person, every document that needed to be signed was different from the faxed copies that were already agreed to. I gave them the ultimatum to fix it fast or I would walk. They chose to stand firm with their web of BS and I walked.

Drove over there a few days later with my Titanium GT purchased at Fairbanks. I backed it up to their front door so the Fairbanks temporary tag was visible. Went inside pointed to my car and told the GM what an idiot he was.

Bastage

iTrader: (1)

Tigster, I'm in the market for an 8 and live in Orlando, what did you buy exactly? Which model year, what options, how many miles did it have etc?

I'm curious, I went to classic mazda east a few weeks ago and the salesman conveniently didn't know how to adjust the display to show the mileage (I knew how, and the car had WAY too many miles on it).

I would drive to Longwood in a heartbeat for a good deal.

Archangel

Well i just got back from Cory Fairbanks. I had a horrible experiance. They initially walked up to me on a base for 27,900$ and told me 5-7k down and my payments would be 7-800 a month i told em not a chance. After hours of battleling even w/ 3200$ down i some how got only a price of 25,800 out of em after Tax, Tag and Title on an 04... I still think i can do much better... I am gonna hold out for a little bit, i may even drive out of state if i have to. Was honestly not a pleasant experiance over there. I kept being passed around from salesman to salesman.

drsinfla

Ditto archangel's experience. Went to Cory Fairbanks Mazda today to purchase an RX-8 - hurricanes seem to be over, so feel I have at least a reasonable chance of not having the car crushed under a tree before I had a chance to drive it.

Had emailed internet rep b4 arriving at dealership. Walked in, was told 2004 price $199 under invoice, which I thought was high ($1000 under invoice seems to be more appropriate) and took a look at the selection. Wanted sunlight silver with GT package and red/black interior leather. No such luck, but they had 2005 models - white with red/black and titanium grey with red/black. Picked out the latter, and decided to buy.

Well - having recently bought a Toyota no muss no fuss and at a good price with a great price on my trade, I expected the same. Asked what their initial price was - was given MSRP and $3000 for my $7500 trade.

This went on for about an hour until I was at $500 over invoice for the '05, which is fair value, and an OK, but not good price on my trade. At this point, I was willing to close the deal since I liked the car and plus minus a few hundred bucks wasn't worth my time. HOWEVER - right at the end - "oh, there's a $645 dealer fee. non-negotiable." Told them to forget it & they wouldn't budge so I walked.

Didn't make sense - about 20 2004 models and at least 5 2005 models there... not sure if I was being used as a training subject for one of the younger sales reps or what. Really a shame - I'm pretty soured by the experience. Like the RX-8, but maybe I should investigate other options.

In any case, they did NOT get my business. Caveat Emptor.

Tigster

That is a shame the problems you had with cory fairbanks, I first e-mailed the dealer and told the lady when she called me I was not going to bother with haggling with the price. They gave me a price and told me to pick out a car. I also leased the car and they were having a rather aggresive lease rate through huntington bank. I worked with a salesman named "Z". I did however contact Trussville Mazda and they had a GREAT $$ if you want to travel to Alabama.

AutoBahnRX8

I got a pretty good experiance through Sullivan Mazda in Ocala in Sept of 03. I had a really young salesman (Patrick) but he seemed to know the car as well as it's capabilities and limitations very well. I kept my mouth shut and thought I'd let him dig his grave, but the kid came through and got me just what I wanted. No Muss, No Fuss.

Patrick, if you see this good job, hope you got a good comission

drsinfla

So, here's an update on my RX-8 buying experience.

Purchased a 2005 RX-8 with GT ultimately through cory fairbanks. An internet inquiry through edmunds to multiple dealers got the obilgatory response from cory fairbanks. I wrote back what I was willing to deal at, c.f. prior negotations, and somewhat to my surprise, they accepted.

While it did feel a bit frosty at the dealership, I drove off about 2 hours later with my new RX-8. I think it was a little uncomfortable for all of us, but a deal is a deal, so we got it done.

I thought it was revealing that the car I purchased had EXACTLY the same number of miles on it as I put on it 2 weeks ago. i.e. nobody else had driven the car since I had. Does that give you some idea of what demand for this car is? Its too bad, 'cause its really a nice car! They still had plenty of the '04's on the lot too.

While I have no issues with the people I dealt with to do the deal - they were nice considering the circumstances - I still can't say that I was happy with the overall transaction. There's no reason why I should not have had this car 2 weeks ago. Therefore, I rate the overall experience as : average

One thing - Classic Mazda South seemed very eager for my business, but didn't have what I wanted, needed to get it, etc... etc... and hasn't yet called me back in 48 hours to negotiate price. If I was not in a hurry, or had time on my hands, you might want to give them a try as well. Had they had what I wanted, I probably would not have gone back to cory fairbanks.
I would rate them tentatively as :slightly above average but not having fully negotiated with them, that might be optimistic.

It is my opinion that the RX-8 is an anomaly. A fantastic car that has failed to find its niche. The interior styling is reminiscent of the TT, the external styling is really quite unique, and the rotor is just a trip. Despite the fact that Mazda "got it right", the car-buying populus wants to buy SUV's, and power-users want the extra hp available in high-end cars. So, it hasn't really found its market.

Bad if you're a car dealer. Good if you are a car buyer. I think fair value for this car currently is +$500 over invoice for the '05 model. You can pay less for the '04 but you'll get hit on the depreciation, which you might not care about. I think by december these should be going at invoice, with whatever '04's, who knows? Just if you want popular colors or the red/black interiors, consider not waiting too long, as at no price difference, most people would want that.

Just my opinion. No warranties or guarantees are stated or implied.

beachdog

Mazda has sold over 100,000 2004 RX8's worldwide. They have actually exceeded their sales forecast.

All of the car manufacturers have decided to satisfy the market with niche cars that they can make a profit on. I don't have the exact numbers but there are something like 5 times as many car models on the market than there were 10 years ago. There will always be high volume cars like Camrys and Explorers but the niche cars are where the profits are.

BTW, despite the fact that I purchased at Cory Fairbanks, I was not kind to them on the survey. Getting what we had already agreed to on the phone before I drove over was extremely tedious. But, they had the car I wanted when I wanted it. Their service department has been good.

quack_p

Not really. A lot of dealers have demo cars. Probably not a lot of test drives during a hurricaine, although that would certainly be interesting!

Anyway, congratulations!

mitchfried

I've bought 11 Mazdas at Corey Fairbanks over the past 10 years (multiple family members) They treat me well at sales and service. PM me if you need the name of someone to deal with at sales and service.

SL01

I have done a deal with them, and that -is- optimistic. Wholely unpleasant experience. Beware, avoid, danger, danger...

I have not done a deal with Corey Fairbanks. But I did do a deal with Scanlon Mazda down in Fort Myers, painless, quick, excellent price and everybody was happy. Well worth the drive down there.

--SL01