Well, I did it
 

Got my new 8 today Black w/Sport + Rotary.

I'm admittedly a bit nervous having just laid out all that money, but hopefully I'll get everything out of it I wanted to. IF not, hey, I'm young enough, and now's the time to f*$$ up if I'm going to. I go from excitement to textbook buyer's remorse to excitement - argh I'm a mess :)

I've definitely got the clutch release bearing noise - I can hear it at idle and at speed. Strangely enough I didn't notice it when I took the car for a drive before signing any papers. I tested at idle when I got home and it definitely goes away if I disengage the clutch, and gets louder if I rev it. Just to refresh, this is something that Mazda and servie techs are telling everyone is normal, right?

I know Baller got parts of his tranny replaced and his sounds clean now, but I haven't heard any other 6mt drivers say there is no noise in theirs.

Thanks, and thanks again for all the great info.

Re: Well, I did it
 

Mine does it too- so far, no problems. Guessing it's normal. I didn't even know it was there till one of the other local 8 owners asked to check my car, and he pointed it out to me.

Congrats on the car! Glad to hear that even the crappy service you were getting didn't discourage you completely.

congrats and good luck with your new 8. post a pic when you get a chance.

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Congrats!

Be sure to stop by the Sunnyvale weekly pizza get together to show off, not to mention buyer's remorse tends to disolve easier when you're in a room full of RX-8 nuts.

PM me if you're heading over to the southeast bay and want to meet another 8er.

too funny...got my 8 at Menlo from Dave and Sean....but had some problems as the car I wanted wasn't on the lot. I ended up getting the loaded Black 8 in the showroom.

It had some scratches from being in the showroom that they assured me they would buff out. It's been a little over 2 months now and my car has been detailed by them 3 or 4 times now. Most of the scratches didn't come off, they were just filled in by sealer or wax. Even worse, they buffed the hell out of my paint on the doors that some of it is dull now (unless I wax it to fill it in).

sorry to hijack your post, but just wanted to let you know that I haven't had a great overall experience dealing with them.

congrats on your 8 and hopefully we'll run into each other. (my black 8 still has the menlo plates on the back too)

I worked with Pedro, but spoke with Sean and Dave too at various points in the process. Overall I'd say my experience was positive, and the service head Keith assured me that he would reflash my ECU if I asked - he said not to worry if the sales people tell me "only if there is a CEL." (which is exactly what they told me) The only reason he didn't do it right then, so he says, is that the person who normally does that stuff wasn't there.

PM me if you want more details on my buying experience.

Congrats. Nothing worth having comes easy. Good things come to those who wait. Blah blah blah.

Go drive the hell out of it. You earned it.

Congrats! I was wondering how your buying problem turned out and then I see a post "why are there Dunlops on my new 8"!! LOL :D

Did you end up changing dealers or did Menlo finally "find" your vehicle? Just wondering what the delay was but I imagine we may never know. Ah well, I'm sure the pain has faded dramatically. :p

Well, when I got there to buy the car my salesperson told me he was really pissed when he found out that Mazda was blaming them. I didn't know whom to believe. Then I got home, checked under the hood to see about the L reflash and airbag recall. I don't think I have the L reflash because I pumped the brake 20 times and nothing happened.

HOWEVER , the kicker is that the sticker under the hood said "Port Campaign," mentioned a part number, and had a date in March (I can't remember the exact date, but it was early-to-mid March).

I'm guessing this is the airbag recall - I'll have to cross-check the P/N with the service bulletin. However, the fact that it was done in March for a car that arrived on Feb. 13 indicates that the delay was probably due to lack of availability of the part - in other words - MAZDA'S FAULT! And those bastards tried to pass it off on the dealer, even after the dealer denied it to me - that's not 100% proof, but it certainly suggests that Mazda f'd up big time.

lol when i sold my lightning i thought i would get better mileage but its like its teh same damn thing only drawbback buts this car rocks