I just bought an 06 rx8. Grand Touring manual. I don't feel this everytime but about 70% of the time. When I shift into first after coming to a stand still, or even while still moving a bit, I get a bit of a thud when moving the shifter from 2nd to 1st or neutral to 1st. The dealer said this is fine but it feels pretty rough and I can't imagine that is ok. The first few I drove didn't seem to have this issue which brings me to the conclusion something is wrong with this one.

Should I be concerned about this? Should I take it back and have them check the tranny/clutch?

 

completely normal, basically the input shaft is still rotating when you are shifting into first, the gear causes it to come to a stop so it makes a noise.

 

Great, thanks.

 

Yea, that's a common "scare" but nothing to worry about.

Now if you hear grinds or have a hard time getting it into gear, that's a different story.