carpediem

I am looking at a Nordic Green 6 a/t with GT and Nav to replace my '00 Mustang GT vert. It is at Seacoast Mazda in Portsmouth, NH. It was a demo car and it has 4000 miles on it . It is one of two 8's in the area with the options I want. Actually, it has the spoiler and I don't want it but that can be taken care of later. :D I have a few questions...

1. Anyone worked with this dealer? How was it?

2. What should I pay for it? Sticker is $33,200...

3. How would I haggle them down? Any tips on negotiating would be nice.

4. Should I ask anything about the mileage or how it was driven and such? The dealer said there was no breakin rules that needed to apply... kinda scares me.

5. The nav isnt showing any towns i search for on the east coast unless i scroll the map point all the way to it. Is there another disk that handles east of the Mississippi or something? I dont want to try to find all my destinations on the map! Also, if the Mazda logo shows on the Nav on start up, does that mean i have the new software? And, can you play regular DVD's on the nav screen as is stock?

Can't wait! Speedy response would be nice as I am going tomorrow morning! Thanks!

-B

w0rm

I'm no expert on the 8(yet) but here are my suggestions:
Try to avoid the demo car, but if you're dead set on it go for it.. warranty will cover any issues should they come up. Personally, I avoided demo or test driven cars as I knew how they had been driven.

on #2/3: Haggle away! 33k is nuts for an 04. You should be able to drop that price A LOT since it's a demo. Do a search on negotations and see what you can come up. A large chunk of change can be dropped due to the fact that it's a demo, and a lot more because it's an 04.

on #4: if it's a demo/test car, it's had the hell driven out of it. Might ask about TSB's and any repair or work that it's had done.

on #5: I don't have a nav myself but I am almost positive it doesnt play dvds.. but again I could be wrong.

Careful on the spoiler- If you mean to remote it and have no spoiler, there are two holes drilled in the trunk. The MS spoiler uses the identical mounting points so if you're looking at going to one of those you should be fine.

carpediem

The only other one with that configuration and color in NH or MA was at Mazda Gallery in Norwood, MA. They wouldn't go anywhere below 32k.

With the spoiler, I may just look for another Nordic owner who wants one and swap trunks. Can't be too hard.

Also, VIN is JM1FE173440122934
Anything I should need to worry about?

Thanks for speediness! :p

G8rboy

Welcome...

I wouldn't consider that particular car unless they're willing to go down to $26-27k... brand new '04s with 10 miles on them fully loaded are selling for under $30k. Even then, I would be suspect that it had led a rough early life by test driving red lines, clutch drops, etc... maybe if you could get a compression test, and see what kind of mileage it's getting by taking it out for the afternoon. And lastly I would ask for an extended warranty to be included in the price.

As for haggling, it's last year's model with 4k miles... thats all the negotiating power in the world.

There's just one DVD that covers North America (well, maybe not Canada... not sure, but it has all the US). If it starts with the Mazda logo, you have the latest revision of DVD player software, but probably the old map DVD still. And no, it won't play movie DVD's. By hacking into it and dropping several hundred $ you can use the pop-up screen to watch movies, but by using a stand-alone DVD player, not the Nav system.

Good luck...

carpediem

The guy said the owner of the place took it as his company car for most of those miles and that it wasnt a test drive car. Just curious, would the warranty start at 4k? If there is only one DVD, why did like 4 ZIP codes that i tried not show up? And when I tried to search for the town, it didn't show either. So confused! Thanks for helping the clueless out!

-B

G8rboy

You should be able to find someone to swap the trunk with you- a free spoiler is a pretty sweet deal.

That VIN is likely from the September-October 2003 build timeframe. Check this site for the all of the service bulletins and recalls that apply to the '04s- the dealer /should/ have taken care of them, but you never know.

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...ocs/index.html

Make sure they did the PCM reflash campaign (MSP04) which will ensure the PCM is at the latest revision ('M' calibration) -- it addresses several issues, including the flooding "problem".

rotten42

Don't buy a demo car...you never know what you're getting. I know its hard but have some patience and wait for a new one with the options you want.

G8rboy

Well, maybe you found the one honest car salesman in the world, but I doubt it . Not sure about the warranty, but that's why I would demand it to be extended.

I don't know what was wrong with the Nav system- I've never seen that before... while the disc is out of date (2002 I think?), it still has the new zip codes in my area.

carpediem

Also, the right tail light has this nasty white crap inside of it coating the glass (plastic?). Looks like condensation but thick white. Hope nobody was doing anything too suspicious with it! I mean, i know they are fun, exiting cars but they aren't THAT exiting! EEEW! Anyways, they said they would replace the light but what is it?

w0rm

probably condensation if there is a leak.
Also, some lights tend to 'fog' over with some unknown coating that does that.
Be sure to get it in writing ALL the work or minor accidents the car has been in.

Personally I would reccomend being patient or extending your distance to find the car you're looking for.

carpediem

I've looked everywhere. Plus I am trying to hide negative equity from my stang and I need something where I can bury it in. A brand new one won't work cause you can't hide 6 grand upsidedownness into it.

-B

quack_p

Invoice on this car is $29,843. Knock off $1K to $2K because it's an 04 plus another 2% to 3% because of the mileage. $26K might be worth it.

Start at $22,800 and negotiate up from there in increments of a few hundred dollars, all the while pointing out that it's an 04 with 4K miles on it, demo miles at that. Remind the dealer you're taking a big depreciation hit in less than 3 months. The dealer is going to act like you're nuts, but he's nuts if he thinks he's selling this car anywhere near invoice price.

If the dealer isn't interested, come back at the end of the month. I bet the car is still sitting there (Green AT with 4K miles isn't exactly the hot seller), and see how he feels then.

Make sure he extends the warranty by 4K miles.

carpediem

I'm afraid he'll laugh and throw me out of there... thanks for the advice, I think I'll go try it!

quack_p

Well, start at $24K then. But set a goal of not paying more than $26K. The dealer is crazy to expect more for an 04 demo AT.

Tell him this is an initial offer, you still have room to negotiate, but the price has to reflect the fact that the car is an 04 with 4K demo miles on it. Be polite but firm. Don't offer more until the dealer lowers his asking price. If the dealer tries to get you to modify your offer before he has come back with anything lower, say you don't want to negotiate with yourself.

Once the dealer comes back with a lower price, offer another $500 to show that you're serious. Keep on talking about the downsides to the deal for you (depreciation, 04, mileage, etc.) and the upsides to the dealer of your offer (make room for an 05, sell an undesirable car now).

Don't give in to pleas about needing to make a profit and feed the kids. If the car never sells, it's a $28K loss. The dealer can easily sell an 05 for over invoice, so you're helping him make space on the lot for bigger profits.

Once you get close to $26K or whatever your goal is, start moving in smaller increments and say you're running out of room. When you give your bottom line, say you have no room left to negotiate and get ready to leave. Don't say it's your bottom line unless you mean it.

But when a dealer says a number is their bottom line, ask for $100 more. At that point, he can smell a deal and he doesn't want to see you walk. The worst thing that can happen is you take the last offer. But maybe you'll save $100. That last $100 tweak on the nose is always the most satisfying.

8-up withit

I bought my 04 RX on Thursday. It was a demo with 4100 miles on it. It was the GM of the dealerships car. It is loaded with everything I wanted and then some. No navigation system. I paid $26K, and feel pretty good about the deal. I love my car!

Tigerfootball

my car also was a demo and had 4000 miles exactly on it. the sticker price was about 33,000 but we told them that there was no way in hell that they would get that, so they knocked it down a good bit, below 30,000 and then had trade in and lease rebate. so DO NOT pay sticer price. since it is a demo, it should be considered a "used" car.

quack_p

8-up and tiger, did the dealer extend the warranty? Just curious if that's a reasonable negotiating goal...

carpediem

Wow! They didn't budge below 29k. I told them they obviously weren't willing to work with me so I walked out on them... ridiculous. Guess I am gonna have to wait. I hate waiting! *whines like a baby* I WANT MY 8!!! WAAA...

-B

yongotron

just hold out til the end of the month... that's when i bought my car and it was a demo... fully loaded... no navigation though but i can read maps... had 4500 miles on it and i got it for under 24k....

G8rboy

They're absolutely nuts... I feel sorry for whoever gets suckered into paying $29k for that. You're better off- you'll sleep better at night buying one with 10 miles on the odo knowing exactly how the car was broken in... it's worth the wait.

Tigerfootball

i'm not totally sure if they extended the warranty, but i can just look at the paper work or call the dealer.

carpediem

Some poor sap will come in before the end of the month and pay thier price and I'll lose it. No other dealer will find a new one for me in my color either. They say it will cost more. Is this true? And why are there so few greens out there? Wondering if I should settle with black. Thats a sharp color too. General concensus?

G8rboy

You have to stop looking at this like you're losing a great deal. 4000 miles on a "new" car is a gamble at best. I think the Nordic Green is on the rare side- although I've never seen a breakdown of Mazda's production numbers. And yes, black is beautiful... think about it: http://www.cardomain.com/id/g8rboy

yongotron

it shouldnt cost more... if they're willing to make the sale they'll get one for you..

G8rboy

A little more food for thought... (pre-tint, but shiny as hell : )