saejin

Some history first - I had a winning blue RX-8 on pre-order this year, but cancelled and picked up an 02 Audi A4 instead. I just didn't feel confident in purchasing a +30K unproven car.

Fast forward to the present. I'm going through the posts here on the forum and reading everyone's impression of the car. So far, majority say they like it. I even read the horsepower issues and Mazda'a stand on it.

I say what the hell and drive to my local dealer to see if I can test drive one. I get there and they have SEVEN RX-8's sitting on the lot. I speak to the salesman and ask for a test drive. He flat out says no. My jaw drops in awe and I tell the salesman he has seven cars on the lot and again ask why I can't test drive one. he sticks to his managers policy and says no. I go into a big discussion about the RX-8 and all the issues I've been reading here, plus tell him about the Evo 8 I test drove last week in which the dealer had only one on the lot. I say to him why should I buy an RX-8 when I can't even drive it. He has no answer. I say bye.

One more thing. He did offer me a test drive only if I would agree to a price on the vehicle. He said since I didn't like the colors they had he'd sell the black w/sports pkg for $3000 off. I was like wow, $3000 off, awesome? I then looked at his starting price and it was $3000 above MSRP. What a crock. Seven cars on the lot, nobody's knocking down doors to buy the thing, and they're still asking for $3000 over MSRP.

I'm sorry but this is why I hate Mazda dealerships. The RX-8 isn't all it's hyped up to be and it's going to fail as a platform if the dealerships and Mazda keep heading down the path they going.

RX-GR8

if it fails it wont be your problem so why worry about that. as far as the test drive they only have 7 cars right now and they're like gold so maybe they're afraid of an accident or something. who knows. 3,000 above MSRP is a joke. look elsewhere.

sandiegorx8

that is bs, I would try another dealership. It's worth it. The car, despite what a few know it alls have to say, is great. I considered returning it when the power issue was revealed and was going to go back to the Maxima in the 6 speed but the more I drive the 8 the more I love it. I've got 2200 miles on it now and it just keeps getting better. I guess if you're looking for an all out sports car it's not the best but it sure is the only new make sport oriented family car around right now. And it handles as good as any other sports car out there I've ever driven. Definitely try to get a test drive, you'll love it even if you don't buy it.

h0rde

my dealer got a "test car" in a 6 speed that they make everybody drive, and I doubt they'd allow a test drive in any other 8 they had on the lot, regardless.

Lee Chun

You hate my dealership?

As soon as I walked into the showroom and looked at the RX8, I was offered a test drive. I test drove it. I was not pressured to buy the car, but was encouraged to drive others.

I came back a few days later and pre-ordered. Before the pre-order, I was offered another test drive. After the paperwork, I was offered another test drive, and was told to come back to drive the car again whenver I felt like it.

Keep in mind they had 2 on the lot, and were pre-selling most of them.

Tweety-nator

I agree with what the others have posted here saejin. You need to find another dealership.

Mazda has no control over the dealer's attitude, they are all independently operated and privately owned.

Dont cross-out the RX-8 just because of a lousy dealer, there has got to be another one in your area.

RX-GR8

right. at the dealership where i bought my 8 they had 2 or 3 dedicated test drive cars. other dealerships for whatever reason cant afford that luxury i guess.

Haze

Just got back from a test drive at my dealer. I should be picking my pre-ordered car up this week or next, and I wanted to see if I wanted to complete the sale. I would say that I am DEFINITELY completing the sale. I love the car. It drove brilliantly and it was extremely comfortable.

However, the only reason that my dealer has a demonstrator at all is because a pre-order customer refused to take delivery of the car and the owner of the dealership wanted to play with it. Otherwise my test drive would have been in my pre-ordered car.

I would guess that the dealership wants to make sure that the cars on their lot remain very low mileage and NEW for the people who buy them. That's my guess as to why you were denied a ride,

ALMOST8IT

I am taken by the 8 and was almost taken by the local dealer. The deal I thought I had was just under MSRP but not much under. 5 year loan at 2.9% from m credit union. After 3.5 hours, I was finally in the finance office signing over my trade in and signing other papers down to the last few, including the loan doc, when they tried to sell me the extended warranty to tack on to my loan, thats when I learned they prepared the loan doc for 6 years not 5 at the same payment, thus increasing the cost by almost $6000. All stop. The finance guy calls the manager and salesman, the salesman swears 6 years, the manager says no cars without a significant markup. I ran the estimated numbers by the finance guy who actually agreed with me, then shut up after looks fromt the other two. Then I was told even the new deal was a great deal because everyone else pays $5000-$10000 over sticker (I thought what bullsh*t). I got the good guy bad guy routine, followed by downright charater attacks (with a chance to redeem my good name). Anyway, this was complete bullsh*t. The manager threatened to break the deal, to which I replied what deal, we have no deal since we don't agree on the number. The manager then called me a liar and it was over.

I drove home put my plates back on my car and cleaned off my windshield, since they were already prepping my trade when the BS happened. Maybe it was an error or miscommunication, but I know I was clear and the original deal was fair to the dealer.

All the Mazda lots in Vegas have common ownership, so I'' have to travel at least 120 miles to the next dealer if I want a Mazda at a fair price.

Anyway, great car, horrible dealer in a closed market. Would be driving an 8 right now, but for the dealer. Also makes me wonder about service for such an exotic car, after my experience with the front end.

JeRKy 8 Owner

Guys my dealer was awesome man. Theyhad like 10 Rx8s on the lot and nowthey probably have even more and the guy let me choose from any of the 10 to drive except for two that had the GT package. I test drove the onlyone I could afford and I ended up buying it toosince it had 55 miles on it already. If it werent for the 50 miles I dont think I would have got my deal. The dealership my Rx8 isfrom is run by really cool latino guys. I guess you haveto be lucky andfind a place with salesmen who really want to get the cars off the lot!

mikeb

1st time I've of dealer saying no to test drive
maybe you got a new guy or something

cebat

Your dealer experience was exactly like mine, no test unless I plan to buy. Same dealer? well, I went to other dealerships, one in Spokane gave me a 1 hour test drive:D This was also where I bought my RX8 for $1000 below MSRP, fresh off the truck with only 10 miles on it.
Moral, shop around, they arent the only dealer in the world.

renotse

I live in the Houston TX area. I went to 4 dealerships around town and they all had 6 or 7 on the lot. The car is for my wife and she did not know if she could handle the MT so we test drove both MT and AT at one dealership. We picked a winning blue MT and tried to make the deal but they would only discount $300 from MSRP. The dealer said no one was dicounting deeper. I looked at him and laughed then we walked out.

The next day I made some calls around town and got several sales offers from $800 to $1400 off MSRP. I made a deal yesterday for a winning blue MT with spoiler. The drive out (including TTL and destination charges) is $28025. I put down $8025 and financed $20k @ 3.94% for 60 mths. Payment is $368 / mth.

Everyone is happy and it just goes to show you that some dealers are talking YANG while others are selling cars. It's up to you to choose which you want to deal with.

BillK

It also depends on where you are in the country and what you want; here in Denver no one will sell a 6 MT Sport for under MSRP because, frankly, none really exist and there's a five month wait to order one. The local AutoNation dealer has a "low, no-haggle price" of MSRP + $3K, but like almost all dealers in this area, they also ordered nothing but GTs.

Chuck Clifford

Our dealer lets most everybody test drive an RX-8. He has had 16 come in this year and has 4 left. He says thay are selling themselves at MSRP, no sales tactics required. Only 5 of the 14 got the 500 dollars and free scheduled maintenance. Shop around, the test drive is what sells it.

renotse

This is friggin INSANE in the age of the internet.

I did an invetory search of 150 miles of Denver zip 80202 and found 172 vehicles, 15 of them were below $29k.

If you want to search your area follow these instructions:

First go to one of your areas OVERPRICED dealers and get a test drive to see what you like.

Then get on your computer and go to

http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/vlSt...ehicleCode=RX8

Inter your zip code and search radius. The search radius peaks at 150 miles so you might have to enter several different zip codes to expand your available inventory.

Pick you model from dealer stock.

Make your deal over the phone. Pay to have it delivered or buy a plane ticket. Your savings will be well worth the trouble and your wait will only be what you want it to be.

RX22

Blow it off, go buy one at another dealer, then take it by and show the salesman and his sales manager. That's rediculous!! Especially since you drove up in an A4. You might want to give Mazda a call about the dealer, too. They would probably want to know about it.

ciccone376

the dealer by me, in Tysons Corner VA. had a red 6mt, cloth...

Markup was $3k!!!! for : Pinstripe, Wheel Locks, cloth protectant and door guards!!!

$3k!!! for that crap!!

I asked how that price broke down and nobody could answer.

i have now gotten into the habbit of emailing the dealers that have these insane dealer installed option lists to see how the prices breakdown and I have yet to get an answer.

the local Nissan dealer does the same thing.

of course...the management at the Acura dealer I worked at did the same thing also. And we hated it (yes, even the sales guys hated it).

O.R.A.

Mazda does have some control. They give the dealers incentives and money for promotion/marketing, for example.

Elara

What is with this putting pin-stripes on the 8? YUCK! And the wheel locks come with the car, don't they? Or are they only a GT package thing?

I can't believe dealers are being such jkerks about test drives- how do they expect to sell the stupid cars?

Chuck Clifford

There was a guy on another thread that said he got his GT 6 MT car for 1000 below MSRP, but in his options he listed wheel locks and RX8 mats, which are both standard with the GT package. I think that this is a ploy by many of the dealers who find people unfamiliar with the standard packages. Plus his GT had all the factory installs, spoiler, appearance package, strakes, accents, which are massively marked up when installed at the dealer. So in fact he paid twice for a couple of things and then they deducted 1000 dollars from profit off the options. the dealer still got MSRP by a long shot. Buyers beware, know what your buying, what is standard and what is truly an option.

CruelNewb

This is where I picked her up, the first week I went there to look at the 8 I told them I would be getting one in 2 weeks. They said why don't you test drive it? I was like "wow OK I will!" ,test drove it, talked a bit. Then I had the feeling they were gonna pressure me, the salesman just said ok man I need to make some money, I'll see you in 2 weeks. I was like "WTF!" isn't he gonna try and sell me the car. So I thought he probably knew he wasn't getting my business that day. For some strange reason he calls 2 weeks after just 3 days before I was to get her. He said "Hey we still have the Tit grey GT here it's almost end of 2 weeks you gonna come to pick it up?" I swear this guy was good, so I went over there they have a test vehicle, he offered me the car I wanted for test drive. 0 Miles on it. Man with that service I bought the car with a couple of discounts and adons. Very nice guy, professional sales man, be nice to him and he'll be nice to you.

I'm not advertising, just a great dealer to go to, and I think all dealers should be like this.

Look for Louise tell him Bryan J. sent you.
Don Kott Mazda
21243 Avalon Blvd
Carson, CA 90745
800-273-5688

Tresch

:D

Our mazda dealer is on and off. The sales guy I've been talking to is really good. They have a couple guys there who aren't so good. Needless to say the good one will get the commission on my purchase if I buy one.

jimbo_gixxer

sorry to hear you didn't get a test drive. i've been to many dealerships and all 3 offered test drives. btw - the car drives great for a 1.3 litre engine! it's not an A4 3.0 but it does more than enough for such a smallish power plant.

my guess is that the 7 cars on the lot were not test driveable because NUTS like me are so **** about the number of miles on the car. mine only had 4 on the odometer when it came of the truck. i would NOT have bought mine if it had over 10 miles.

so in the end i thank the dealer for not allowing the car to have miles run up on them by folks who would NOT have purchased the car anyway...

cheers and cograts on the AUDI...


edit: this does not excuse the dealer for the 3K markup...yes this was indecent...

Tweety-nator

I would not call that control, more like trying to sell the vehicle and rewarding dealerships that have good customer support. As far as how the dealer treats the customers, as I said earlier Mazda has no control over that. They are not employees of Mazda.

You could complain to MNAO about the dealership experience I guess. Maybe Mazda could reduce the allocation for that particular dealer if enough customers complain? I dont know, just guessing here.