Strange "inspection" talk from the dealer
 

my friend (who wants to get an rx8) and i just went to the dealer the other day, and we found a red sport package (the one he wanted). but when we looked at the odometer there was about 150 miles on it. we asked the head salesperson why there were 150 miles on it, he said that it went through a random inspection that tested the car for faults. we didn't believe him and he didn't blame us, but does it actually happen? or is that sales rep just a shady guy? he does seem to have a pretty good rep. any input would be cool. thanks.

Couldn't tell ya...but from the amount of supposed incidents of bad engines and transmissions that there have been as of late, it would not surprise me. That would go back to Mazda actively trying to alievate problems. Did you by chance find out when that 8 was manufactured?

I wonder if that might not actually be one of the early "demo" cars that is now eligible for sale, in accordance with the MNAO directive to dealers?

No, all the demos that you're referring to were GT packages with black/red interior. This one is a Sport package.

our dealer had the red gt demo but the owner was driving it. my yellow sport pkg. had about 160 miles on it when i bought it. I'm sure it was test driven a few times, It has been a great car though 2000+ miles so far.

When I got my car, it had 230 miles on it... it wasn't a big deal, but I bitched about it anyway and was compensated for it.. no biggie, they gave me $200.

They went through alot of trouble to get the car I wanted, and I really wanted the car, but still felt I should be compensated for the lost mileage. I certainly wasn't going to walk. The car was gorgeous and I wasn't leaving without it.

If it's been through a "random test" by Mazda, there must be a documented set of test results available as proof.

I've read about a few less than perferct dealer experiences with the 8 in the US on this forum ... Unless the dealer can prove that the car hasn't spent those 150 miles side ways at 9k rpm I'd probably avoid the car.

On the other hand, if the car has gone through 150 miles of manufacturer testing, it would be one of the most thoroughly tested cars about - it would not have remained on the lot if there was a problem, making it a good car to buy.

I wouldn't believe the random testing story. Waiting for my RX-8, I was following my dealership's actions very closely when the first RX-8's started to arrive. In the 1st and 2nd shipments, the owner of the dealership took at least one of the RX-8's not immediately spoken for and drove it around (maybe it was from one of his Mazda dealers to the next) as his own personal "promo" car and I believe sold it later on, as new, with a couple hundred miles on it.