Newb here, need serious advise
 

I live in Los Angeles. I found an 04 Silver Rx8 6m GT w/ navigation and appearance package. It has 39000 miles. As of now, i have the price at $17545 including taxes, licensing, etc.

The dealer is swearing that he cannot go any lower and that he is basically selling at wholesale. Im not sure if there is truth to that because it doesnt seem like this particular RX8 could sell at auction for as high as $15.8k (which is where im at before taxes). However, the owner of this dealership keeps emphasizing that either i buy the car or it goes to auction.

I havent visited this dealership in person, or even seen the car yet. Hell, i can barely drive stick. Its a really small dealership that sells mostly high-end luxury cars. The owner says that the car has been on his lot for months and no one even knows what an RX8 is, and they cringe when they hear the word "mazda" and that is why it isnt sold. That, and the car is actually listed for $20k.

I think my plan of action is as follows: im going to go into the dealership w/ a cashier's check for $16k and up to $1000 cash in my pocket. I will start off by trying to get the car for as low as $16k incl. tax license, etc, and no higher than $17k.

I think if i straight up gave him a check, the dealer is anxious to sell the vehicle.
Opinions please? I really need feedback. im thinking this is a good deal.

your jumping the gun already first thing is to look at it in person. are there any mods? how many owners? service history? how are the tires?brakes etc... once you have all that information you may have some leverage. if the car needs new tires for example you may work that in somehow.

its a trade in at a dealership. service history is excellent, for the most part. i had them send the papers. i havent looked at it because its 300 miles away. anyways, brakes are good, i dont know about tires, but all that is minimal wear/tear issues. How much could new brakes/tires cost? 800? Anyways, the car has had one owner, no mods whatsoever...completely stock. The car has papers that it was looked at, at an independant mechanic. The dealer seems REALLY legitimate. very very nice people w/ excellent service

overall, is that a good price? thats my question

have you searched kbb for other cars that are selling for in with that mileage. for its equipment level it sounds like a pretty good deal i would rather come down take it to mazda pay 100 bucks for an inspection just for more peace of mind. independant mechanics can only do so much. tire may run you about 400 + depending on the quality. if the car checks out ok with mazda then jump on it

that sounds like a very good price to me.....keep in mind its an 04 so it may have bugs....and see if you can pull up the service history at the dealer...as for tires i would say closer to 7-800 for the set and another 200 for brakes are closer for a decent set

04's dont have bugs. and if they do, the bugs have remedies that include reflashing the ecu, which isnt a big deal, and most issues are under warranty or recall anyways. how much does mazda charge for extended warranty? anyone know anything about that?

I'm not sure I can think of another item worth $17K that I would purchase, sight unseen, based on papers that I had received from the seller, and from opinions, however knowledgeable, from Web forums.

But that's just me. Maybe I'm cheap.

It's been said here before: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

Have you driven yet?

do you own one?.....i do....and most of the people i know that have them have the same bugs....yes they are stupid but they are there....i still have warantee to deal with them but with a car that has mileage it may be worth looking into....

I wouldn't buy an 04 with so many miles on it. You basically have only 9K miles of factory warranty left. And remember 04 is the first year this car came out. Most cars have more issues in their first year. If you spend some time here, you will notice that 04s indeed have a few more issues than 05+.

I am not sure why you think that particular car is not worth 15.8K at the auction. Did you lookup on intelliprice.com or do you have access to the "dealers only" black book? I had an a** offer me something similar for my car. Shocked me - because CarMax offered me a lot more than that.

warranty was extended to 60k miles..

beers :beer:

^ yeah, you are right. Powertrain coverage is now 5yr/60K miles now. forgot about that. my bad...

wait, i dont understand why people are thinking im buying this car sight unseen. of coarse im going to see the car, drive it, inspect it before buying it. these are the beginning stages of the buying process, and im asking if $17k is a good price for that car. its not too good to be true, the car is worth that much, i mean it has 39k miles. as far as the bugs, i dont consider then something huge, so its not a matter to me. i plan on extending the warranty too

you need to decide if it is worth it to you... we are not in you hood.. i have know idea what cars are going for there.....

a good price for the car is what you are willing and can afford to pay for it.. you have seen the car. done the research... dont ask us to decide for you..

the best price is usually the one that got away. good luck..

beers :beer:

i dont understand. out of 9 comments only one was regarding the price of the car. i know its my decision, but is $17.5k including tax license, etc. Is that a good price or should i try to do better?

it's a good price.

I would say your strategy is sound. I think 17.5K is reasonable. Stick to your guns and be very critical of the car when you see it and test drive it. If it's not running the way you think it should or the condition seems suspect call it out and walk away if you think it has issues or doesn't seem right. Cash will help your case and the willingness to make the deal on the spot. Push them with that. When you get down to the last $500 ~17K and they won't budge get up and walk out and tell them you're going to walk away from the deal and you can't go any higher. They will cave if you walk away. They won't throw away a deal over $500.

shaun, thanks for your advice. i honestly think the price is good. i would have loved to have a car with very low miles, but my current car has over 100,000 miles, and ive never owned a vehicle with less than 50k miles anyways.

The car is a very good deal, though. especially if i get it between $16500 and $17k. And thats out the door

Yes, that's good price, especially if that's +taxes/title/tags. And ditto what Shaun said.

That's a good price indeed. Mine is roughly around the same as the one you're describing but without navigation, and I paid around the same amount for it. Buuuut mine only had like 10k miles on it :x

But to answer your question, I would take it. It sounds like a good deal to me. And definitely try to get it for 16k, that would be a pretty good steal.

If anyone minds, what are some of the bugs that that 04's have had? Just so I can keep an eye on it :/

So far I've had my sun visor just split in half at the seem, and the dial to turn on the front window defrost, half of it broke off :Eyecrazy: I'm not saying these are bugs, but thats just been my problem witht he car so far -.- Minor annoying, but hey, they can be fixed.

1 bug I know most of the 8's share is condensation in the tail lights. Which I have too :mad:

I've had all that and it was all fixed under warranty. There is a thread with the TSB's for the 8. Check it out and read through to see if you have any of the symptoms. Also you should make sure all the recalls are done.

shini, you got the same price as myself, for a 10k mile car? then what im getting isnt so great. but wait, the $17k ill be paying is including my tax, license, etc. you paid $17k for your 10k mile vehicle, and that included tax, license, etc?

in actuality, before tax and license, id be buying the car for around $15.8k.

Do what Shaun says ,show them the check and say that is it ,,Deal,or no Deal.
Sounds like a good price.

We have a red one here in temecula that is a sport model (no navi), but about $15000 would take it

oh ya . . $17 for that silver one would be a very fair price

the car in question is a grand touring package, navi, and appearance package, 39k miles, for $15800. i wouldnt buy a red one for $800 less. Not to say id actually pay the full $15k for it.