Pre-order jitters
 

I am thinking of going to put some money down and ordering my RX-8 this weekend, and I am a little nervous. I definitely love everything I've seen and read about this car, and am not one bit leary about the quality of a Mazda first model year car.....but what happens if I hate the thing once I am able to sit in it, drive it, and find out how shitty the stock stereo is in it?

How does that work when you pre-order a car that you have not even been able to drive or see in person and you end up not wanting it? I read on another post where somebody mentions refusing delivery after a "verification drive".

Do dealerships actually have you come in after the car gets there and have you drive it to make sure it is really what you want before signing the final papers?

Anybody got any experience with how this works?

I think about other things we order from catalogs or over the internet, and if we don't like them when they show up on our front porch we send them back. I wouldn't think that it is quite that easy with a car.

I definitely don't want to be stuck with some car I will not enjoy.

Just ask them to put in writing that the deposit is fully refundable and you will be fine. Most dealers will do this if pressed. Heck they shouldn't even cash the check you leave with them.

I don't have any actual experience to draw upon since this is my first time doing this, but the dealer I went to told me that when the car comes in, I'll be able to test drive it, and if I don't want it, they'll refund my $500 deposit. They said they'd have no trouble selling the car if I don't want it!

My dealer in Pittsburgh told me the same thing.

You are from Pittsburgh, Fëakhelek? Me, too! You may know me... I have a weekly column in the Post-Gazette.

What part of town are you in, F? What dealer do you work with?

I was ready to place my order right now... that is why I logged on here, to get some more info before doing the deed. When I read about the RX-8's cheap interior in the other thread, it scared me off again LOL. According to Herc the RX-8 was supposed to have a BMW-grade interior. Maybe I should just get that Z4 if that is something I want, just to be sure....

OK...here's what I found out. I work with a gal whose hubby is a salesman at the local Mazda dealership. I have been all over her the past few days to dig for some info for me. She told me today that she asked him about it last night and:

- They are taking orders now for cars to be delivered to them in June
- They are not sure yet what their allocation will be, but nobody has even put down a deposit yet at their dealership.
- They will take a deposit, but she thought he said it was not a requirement
- Upon arrival of the car at the dealership you will go test drive it, and if you decide you do not want it your deposit (if made) is fully refundable and you walk away and let them sell the car off the lot.

Sounds too good to be true doesn't it? I am going over there tomorrow to see how much of this is true, how much of it I can get in writing from them, and to PLACE MY ORDER.

Don,

Actually I don't live in Pittsburgh, I live in Johnstown. There is a dealer in Altoona and one in Indiana I think, but they are nearly the same distance as Monroeville so I went there. I was looking at a '93 FD at one time. The owner only wanted 11k for it so I thought I'd check it out. Took it to Smail Mazda in Monroeville and they found oil leaks in the turbos and suspected one at the apex seals so that was that. I was pleased that they had a mechanic that was familiar with rotaries and customers who owned them so I think that I will probably go to them if I go through with the RX-8 purchase.

I'm still not sure if I can afford it or if so what options I can afford. It depends on how much I can save up by summer and whether I trade in my '95 Probe that I have now. In any case I can't see driving the RX-8 in the winter around here. It would be sad to see an 8 looking like a powdered doughnut from the salt or encrusted in ice.

Well, I'm off to check the posts on the interior. I share your fears.

Steve

I am starting to get a few jitters myself... not over the interior, just over the driving dynamics. Of course, I will have a verification drive, but some of the adjectives used in Car "unemarkable...flywheel heaviness... feels like a saloon (sedan)", and Automobile "doesn't feel particularly entertaining" are what worry me.

I want that sharp Miata feel. If the majority of reviews are to be believed, the car soundstoocompetent, almost laid back in its handling and response. My old GTI 1.8T had a feeling that made you want to get in and fling it, and the engine had an exciting, not unremarkable, torque curve. Didn't read that about the
RX-8. Gotta have an edge!

Time will tell...hopefully Mazda was listening. There is more to fun than high limits and speed... you have to design in a fun feel, too.

I'm still very concerned about the true nature of this car as well. To be honest, I'm don't care too much one way or another about the interior. I can live with plastic (as long as it doesn't break every time you touch it), and would only be concerned if there was a tacky appearance (fake wood trim..comes to mind).

I share your sentiments after reading a lot of those articles. Some of them seem to portray the RX8 as a comfortable, sporty car, with some pretty high limits, but not especially spectacular or fun. Another post on here showed Mazda preliminary spec sheets showing a 3,011 lb. curb weight. There was another post on s2ki.com with a similar story (i.e. asked dealer for weight and recieved this exact figure). Again, I will wait for a the full road tests and a personal test drive, but based on what I am seeing so far, it does not look to good for me.

Right now, from what I have seen so far, it looks like the RX8 will offer competant performance, but not groundbreaking. I think it will be a very stable, comfortable car, with high limits, but not offer the "razor-sharp", "breathtaking" handling characteristics of some other sports cars within and close to its price range.

Buger's excellent analysis (assuming a 2920 lb. curb weight) showed 0-60 and 1/4 mile times of approximately 6 seconds and 14.5 seconds, respectively. With a 91 lb. increase, I think we are going to approach the mid 6s in the 0-60 and the upper 14s in the quarter mile. Based on this weight, the Car and Driver article seems to be right on the money (they predicted 3000- 3050 lbs.) and their estimated performance is the same as what I just posted.

I've been incredibly impressed with the Renesis. Its high reving nature, torque and power curves, and fuel efficiency (combined 24.2 based on the post mentioned above) are spectacular. The question I have is the shell around the powerplant deserving of it.

Again, I could (and I truly hope I am) be completely wrong. Perhaps, this car's long, drawn out roll-out (I've waited two years and postponed my new car purchase during this time) has led me to have high expectations, but if the car ends up being like this I will be really disappointed. Hopefully, the testing at Laguna Seca will prove me dead wrong!

That's My Opinion, But You're Welcome To It!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DonG35Miata
[B]I am starting to get a few jitters myself... not over the interior, just over the driving dynamics. Of course, I will have a verification drive, but some of the adjectives used in Car "unemarkable...flywheel heaviness... feels like a saloon (sedan)", and Automobile "doesn't feel particularly entertaining" are what worry me.

Stop the Jitters! In a week the elite journalists of the world will have a chance to drive the hell out of the RX-8 in production form. Check the March issues of most if not al major magazines aroound the world and you'll see what they think. (March mags usually come out some time in Feb).

Boowana

With the pics we have seen, these "auto" show cars seemed to have arrived along with the ones from the spy photos from Laguna audio shop. Every RX-8's in detroit was marked that they were pre-production units on the dash.

I would venture to guess that these elite journalists will be driving similar. A small point, but one that should be made.

I talked with Tim Suddard (editor of Grassroots Motorsports) a couple of weeks ago. He told me that he will be at Laguna Seca this month to drive the car. I value his opinion highly because, he is an autocrosser and a road racer. Look for his evaluation in the next issue.