TJRX8

Autotrader RX-8's

Check out the cars listed for Oceam Mazda in Miami. They are advertised for $2k+ UNDER MSRP!

8_wannabe

Interesting. Hard to assess, though. There's no detail about the cars other than transmission and exterior color. What are these equipped with? Secondly, obviously the dealer does not have these in hand nor would they be in the first shipment. so, when would they be available? It almost sounds like a come on except they've got VINs. So what gives?

brothervoodoo

The first one pans out from Ocean Mazda. Found their zip code, did the 'unofficial' Mazda Inventory search at mazdausa.com and looked up the VIN.

Ocean Mazda (Zip 33172)
VIN: JM1FE173240107493
MSRP: $32959
Price: $30257
Color: Black

Here's the details from mazdausa.com for the car above. Just like TJRX8 said over $2000 off suggested MSRP!!
BRILLIANT BLACK CC
BLACK/RED LEATHER
GRAND TOURING PKG M/T
APPEARANCE PACKAGE
ROTARY ACCENT PACKAGE
REAR WING SPOILER
SPARE TIRE KIT

Sounds like a deal and the best price I have seen listed thus far..

8_wannabe

Very cool; how do you do that VIN search? I'd like to check out the ones at Showcase Pontiac in Phoenix. Close enough to me to make it worth $2000 if they are below MSRP. How can I check out these vehicles?

OmegaBob

https://www.rx8club.com/lounge-4/info-leak-5956/

8_wannabe

Thanks, Bob. Quite a trick. I did a quick assessment of the 8's offered by Showcase Mazda in Phoenix that were advertised in autotrader. They are going at MSRP. I wonder how quickly after the true rotorheads get their 8's that we'll start seeing widespread discounting of this car...

mazdabob

I did an AutoTrader search with my zip code. I sorted by distance. The closest dealer was 623 miles (Phoenix). The closest dealer with a reduced price was Ocean Mazda - 2560 miles. Not too convenient.

rx-ache

My question is, when did these cars arrive, some have nearly 1000 miles on it? How could they have these cars if no production cars have made it to a dealer yet? IBFUBAR, if you are reading this, is there anyway to track the delivery history of one of these?

I am quite annoyed, since I thought I was getting a reasonable deal on my 8 at MSRP, even though I qualify for s-plan pricing. For 2 grand, I can buy a one way ticket to Miami, with the added benefit that the car will be broken in by the time I get back to St Louis!

brothervoodoo

EDIT: Retracting comments, noticed member above is new to forum.....

RX8-U-UP

Did you see the one, brilliant white, I think its in canada for 23,000. U.S. does'nt even get that color. Sounds like a steal for a bare bone 8.

RX8-U-UP

The miles shown on auto trader .com, are miles from you, they are all obviously new cars, with VINs ranging from 1st allocation through their last allocation. Some car dealers list all of their cars this way. If you were to look up other mazda's, you would find these same dealers listing those too.

Wing

We don't get white either!

Charleston

23K in US dollars is a great price for a bare bones 8 but I have not seen anyone here express an interest in such a car. Everyone seems to want at least the "Sport" package for various reasons.

Racer X-8

Does anyone here have any experience with Ocean Mazda in Miami? I really find this hard to believe at this time. What's up with them?

Kelly Blue Book (kbb.com) shows dealer invoice for MT/GT at $28,534, and Ocean has "Dealer Price" at $28,766 for this MSRP $31,100 config. I smell something fishy in that Ocean. $232 more than dealer invioce for an RX-8 MT/GT, at this time??? Yeah, sure. Nothing up their sleeves...

The pricey one, MSRP $32,959, "Dealer Price" $30,257, Dealer Invoice $30,025. =$232 more than invoice (again).

Hmmmmmmmmm........

Edit: Just to be sure, I checked Edmunds (edmund.com) & it gave me the same numbers.

Charleston

I don't have any experience with them but there must be:


A. No interest in 8's in Southern Florida--not very likely.

B. No need for a profit margin at Ocean--less likely

C. A catch.

D. An error at Auto Trader's

E. I would find out for myself right now but David Santamaria is at lunch and the sales people and sales managers are all in a meeting.

Correct answer E, because A through D are just speculation ;-)

I gotta know, cuz I like bargains and sometimes they are real. I'll post the real dealer answer as soon as I get a hold of David. If Ocean Mazda is for real there should be some real firework sales on the web in FL tonight :D

TJRX8

Just spoke to a salesman at Ocean (not David he's busy). Anyway the deal is that Autotrader automatically pulls thier inventory from their (Ocean's) system. He said that all of the cars are sold out except for maybe 2 Auto's that are coming in. He said he could take an order for a Sept. delivery If I wanted. blah blah

I forgot to ask about the price but since I'm not nterested in an Auto it doesn't really matter. He did say they had a "filter" that needed to be turned on in the thier system so those cars won't show up and it should be fixed by Monday. They were getting a lot of calls about this.

False alarm... I would have dropped my local order and drove 280 miles to save $2700. And I would have been getting that Black GT 6sp with Red/Black interior, App Pkg. Rotary Accent, Rear spoiler, and Spare tire kit. Even if I had to wait another month.

Charleston

Okay, this is my promised follow-up on the Ocean Mazda dealership in Miami, FL. See TJRX8's post above for other details.

They are selling all cars at MSRP only if you pre-order them. If they arrive and are not spoken for they will be marked up over MSRP. Right now all of the cars listed on Auto Trader are sold but they were not sold through Auto Trader. Instead most were pre-ordered just like every place else. The only RX-8s coming in that have not already sold are two automatics. So if you want an automatic in South Florida at MSRP (or thereabouts) and you want it real soon, call Ocean cuz they won't be there long once the cars leave port and arrive in Miami. I spoke with Harold, a nice guy who obviously loves the RX-8. He knew the first allocation was in port at Jacksonville and he can hardly wait til they arrive.

On an intersting side note he said that first year RX-8 production was slated for just 15,000 vehicles and will ramp up from there. As a contrast he said Nissan built 35,000 350Z's and 15,000 Infiniti G35's in their first year of production (same basic vehicle according to him). If true, the first year RX-8 will be hard to find and collect later.

Oh and the final correct answer is:

D. An error at Auto Traders.

Elara

They're only building 15,000 this year because they were halfway through the year before starting production. There are 15,000 slated for the US, which is half as many as they expect to sell per (full)year of production (someone correct me if I'm wrong on this number- this is what I've read in Automotive Week several times now). So, it won't make them much of a collectible, aside from being first-run production models, unfortunately.

Racer X-8

OK, thanks for that investigative work there. I had to fire-up the barbi, so this is my 1st op to check back.

It figures - bad info. This thread is hereby worthless I guess. Moderator?

While we drifted in this Ocean thing (sorry, couldn't help it), this IS a 2004 model. There's a whole bunch of time between now & Fall, 2004 (2005 model intro, right?). I'm sure Mazda will pump out as many of these as they can until the 2005 model supercedes it. I wish it were limited production. The only limit is how many their facilities can make of it, I'm sure.

Charleston

I am no expert at exactly what makes a car collectible. I do know a lot about comic book collectibility though and I would think that there are some similarities. So in the interest of a little fun--In comic books it goes something like this:

1. Issue number 1
2. Sustained interest in the comic book e.g., Action comics is on issue number 805 (real staying power)
3. First print edition of issue number 1 (second prints are not worth much)
4. Print run
5. Condition (Near mint really makes a difference)
6. First appearance of major characters.
7. The artist
8. The writer

Well you get the idea. But the first four rules above dominate collectibility and the first print run status is a major controlling factor.

Ultimately, though I collect a comic book because I like it which happens to be a darn good reason to buy a car

Racer X-8

I wish I had a mint '65 Mustang. (Did I get the year right?) Anyway, that first year model didn't seem that impressive to me at all back then. Yet a mint condition model is about priceless now. My family had one. It wasn't much to me at all, just a bit nicer than the Maverick. I would have prefered a Dodge Daytona (remember that huge rear spoiler?) or a Superbee (remember those bee stripes around the rear?) a whole heck of a lot more. Oh...ah.....yeah, baby!

I keep wondering about the MSRP of the 2005 RX-8, and, if much higher than the 2004, wouldn't that make the 2004 models worth more? Like, if your average 2005 is $42,000, wouldn't the 2004 hold its $32,000 price? Alright, maybe not $32k, but maybe $29k, better than average depreciation. I dunno.

Charleston

I have wondered the same thing too. What I imagine they might do if sales are hot, is come up with a couple new "to die for" options while raising the price significantly above the real value of the new options. There is very little inflation right now in Japan as well as here in the U.S. so that will really be Mazda's only way to raise the prices too much. However, if the car turns out to have been underpriced in 2004 compared to its real value which I believe to be the case then it should hold its value pretty well. Time will tell. I won't be letting mine go anytime too soon given the excellent Mazda warranty. Mazda has done enough homework to know they have a winner with this model and its major engineering upgrades from previous RX-7 models. It's gonna be just plain fun to drive! :D :D

rxeightr

The first Mustang was a 1964-1/2.

Racer X-8

Yup. Based on the recent value of the "drool factor", by those who have been fortunate enough to actually see one, I totally agree. RX-8 pricing will be interesting to keep up with. I know one thing though, it won't be going down.

Racer X-8

Ah, gee! Darn!

I stand corrected :D