Hey people,

Ok so I've been doing a lot of research lately. I'm thinking I'm going to get the 8 with the following:

Touring Package
Navigation System
Rear wing spoiler
Titanium Gray (first choice, winning blue second) :D

Having the GT would be nice but leather seats and heated seats just aren't deal breakers for me (even though the two-tone seats are hot! ). So I find that the invoice for this configuration is $29,999 on edmunds. Would it be out of line to ask for $27,000? I think that's just about the max I can handle based on what I make in a month. Any thoughts or experiences are appreaciated!

Thanks,
Jisoo26

P.S. I just discovered Mazda has some sort of college graduate cash-back thing going on? I graduated with a second degree this past August...does anyone know if I'm eligible or whether it cuts into any other parts of the deal?

 

If you can find a dealership that has that configuration in a 2004, you can probably get it for less than $27,000. The trick is finding a dealership that is going to have a navigation system, spoiler, and your color without leather.

Do yourself a favor, don't go to the dealership and ask for those features. Go out in the lot and see if you can find one. If they have it, go in and talk to a salesman. Bottom line, if they know you want those features they are less likely to give them to you at a low price.

If you are going for a 2005, its going to be harder to wheel and deal.

 

Good advice, thanks pk. I've seen base models around my area for slightly less than $24,000 so I thought that maybe $27,000 for what I'm looking would sound reasonable. Wouldn't care if it's a 2004 or 2005, they're pretty much the same anyway.

I just got an email back from a dealership's fleet manager and quoted me $29,000. Pffft! Let the war begin... :p

 

Dealer here in Texas has 3 '04's left. $3500 off of sticker. 6m Red w/GT and Nav., 6m Silver w/GT, Nav, Appearance and last one was Silver w/Appearance but I don't remember the extras and if it was auto or not

 

As much as those deals sound really good, I'm not sure if it's economically feasible to transport one all the way here to Oregon Thanks for letting me know though!

 

$3K below invoice? I say go for it. It's late October, I say it's about time someone got $3K below invoice. I think the hard part is going to be finding a car with exactly the options you want. It's good you have a backup color. I think the more flexible you can be with color and options, the better chance you'll have of finding a dealer who's willing to sell a car for $3K below invoice.

Shop around. Be flexible. Don't rush.

 

1. Invoice difference between 04 and 05 about $500.

2. Annual depreciation on automobile about 15%.

3. If 05 fair value is $500 over invoice for base model $24844, then fair value for 04 is $24344-3651(15%)=20693. Add options from there.

4. Now, you're not going to get that price. At that price, the dealer has an entire YEAR to sell the '04 model! It really comes down to local demand and how much inventory the dealer has and how well he can move it. A less desirable car - yellow/blue, automatic, early build date, might well go for $3000 below invoice if the seller was really motivated. You can start out with this argument and then come up to ~$2500 below invoice is what I think would be fair value at this point, but what is is anyone's guess!

Good luck!

 

Ok so I talked with another dealer and here's what I have:

New 2004 RX-8
Winning Blue
Touring package
Nav System
Rear spoiler
6 cd changer

Price has been negotiated to $25,920 (MSRP $33,420 - $7000 discount - $500 grad incentive). Does this sound good to anyone?

 

Let's check kbb.com, shall we? Invoice is $29,944. You pay $4,024 below invoice. I'd say that's a GREAT DEAL. Go. Buy. NOW!

 

You'd be nuts to pass that up. Even with college cash, about $500 holdback and $1000 manufacturer to dealer marketing incentive in there you're way ahead.
Around here there seem to be base cars and nav-equipped loaded cars that are left. The middle ground stuff is gone. They must be eating it on the leftover nav systems.
As an afterthought - a lot of miles on the car?

 

According to the salesman that car is brand new so I assume either it hasn't been driven or it's only had some test drives. I'm going in tomarrow morning to take a look at it. Looks like it's a fantastic deal, plus I like blue I'll let you guys know how it goes!