HardHitter

Well, I want to pickup an RX-8 and I was just wondering what dealers around the San Jose area do you have the best experience with? I'm looking to either get a base 2005 RX8 with atleast the Sports package for < than $28500 or get a 2004 RX8 with just the GT package for < than $28500.

Let me know the dealer you dealt with and your experience and around the price you got your 8 for. Thanks, and I hope to be driving the 8 soon because of your help!

HaloX

i would check out mazda of oakland. Ask for Simon as they have extremely good prices.

blksf8

just say "no" to Menlo Mazda. Putnam is good tho. Didn't get my car there so I don't know about their prices, but their service dept. is great. Henk is the man!

PUR NRG

I've had good experiences with the Ray in Capitola, if you're willing to go that far. Second the vote against Menlo Mazda.
________
Mexico City

quack_p

Ask for G.I. Joe at Magnussen's Mazda in Newark. Friendly, no pressure, good service. Remember, G.I. Joe. My experience is that no matter what dealer you go to, the right salesperson can make all the difference in the world.

Equis

Stay away from Magnussen in Newark, if you ever have a warranty issue or need an any kind of work done good luck on it being done right or even in a timely manner,

Again stay away from Magnussen in Newark, trust me you won't be sorry.

Blaaz

Hey, I met G.I. Joe at Magnussen also. Nice guy. We had a tire fixed at Magnussen w/o any problems. You guys are making me nervous about Magnussen though.

cgrx

https://www.rx8club.com/west-rx-8-forum-34/treated-like-shit-magnussens-fremont-ford-mazda-51379/

rX8rEdLiNe

Stay away from Magnussen's Fremont Ford Mazda!!! Enter at your own RISK!!!

Xyntax

San Jose? Go to Oaktree. Just make sure you pick a formal salesperson. Watch out for the wacky one out there. I forgot his name though. Oaktree is great, I haven't heard of an RX-8 buyer who said bad things about them too.

silver1_rx8

I really liked my past experiences with Almaden Mazda. My Sales person was Giteah Perkins, great guy and easy to work with.

Have fun with all the options we gave you.

ajg

Ok, I just got an 8 last week at menlo mazda. Why am I going
to end up hating them??

My buying experience was, with one exception, great.
First sales guy - I tell him I'm just looking (car stolen, waiting
for insurance) and he just accepts that; no "buy today" crap. Takes
me for a very long test drive but is politely/firmly insistent I keep
it under 4Krpm - that impressed me.
When I go back next week, I deal with a second sales guy
(the first was there also, they seemed to work together). He
closed the deal with me in 5 minutes (about $300 under invoice
plus a few other concessions to me). To find the car I wanted
(and no arguments about that either, no trying to get me to buy something off the lot) they had to do a dealer trade out of modesto.
I was insistent that not one more mile be put on the car
until I myself got it, so someone would have to get me to
modesto or ship it here. And no arguments, I got driven to modesto.
(Actually I like that better than having it shipped since I
get to put in some break-in miles.)

Now dealing with the "finance manager" - that was a bit painful
Paint protection, warranty, lojack, etching (! almost got that
one by me!) - hard, incessant, sell. But the deal on the car
has already been made by that point so it's just a matter
of sitting back, saying no, and not being tricked into signing
anything extra.

But so far, I'm pretty happy.
I'm getting them do some work on the car next week
(mazdaspeed parts) so I guess I'll see how their service is soon.

ajg

One more thing ... I went to magnussens as well
and got part way into negotiations before leaving.

From that experience, and my actual purchase at menlo,
I feel moderately confident that it's quite easy in
the bay area (beginning of march) to get base + sports package significantly under invoice. If you want to pay invoice (about $26,400 + taxes/fees) I doubt any you'd
need to negotiate the deal at all. At least, based on
what I saw.
I'm quite sure I didn't get as good a deal by far
as someone who really knows how to do this, but
I'm ok with the price I paid.

Eric Schwamb

AJG,

I just bought my '05 from Menlo. Ditto on the "finance manager" experience :D

How much is Menlo charging you on the Mazdaspeed install? They tried to con me into $2000 for the labor. A quick call to Oaktree and I found out it should be more like $600. They also wanted to rape me on the price of the parts.

When I showed them pricing on the web (like trussville mazda's website) that proved they were asking too much, they tried to make up every excuse they could to fool me into thinking the pricing on the web wasn't real. I finally pointed out to them that the pricing on the web was profitable for those other dealers, so they should not have any issues. They refused.

My experience with them is that they are the type of dealer who believes that they are entitled to rape you. I will not be taking my car to them for service; if they were so dishonest and shifty with the sale, I can only imagine the crap I'd have to put up with in their service department. And when it comes time to buy my next new car, I won't buy it from them.

ajg

Part of my deal with menlo mazda (in order to buy the car
at that price) was that they'd give me employee discount cost on the parts I wanted (full suspension kit)
and the install. I closed the deal and paid on a sunday,
when they were unable to check what that cost
would actually be - basically I was trusting (!) them
to play fairly straight.

Well, I've already got the parts from then and the price they
charged was significantly less than the online stores like
rosenthal mazda, though once sales tax is added it it's
still less but nominally so (though no shipping either, so...)

I'll let you know how the install goes/costs, though
I'm going to do part of that myself.

But though I haven't had any work done yet,
I've already had a positive encounter with the
service dept. When I was picking up my (blue)
car I noticed a blue front bumper (well, bumper skin)
on the floor of their service department. Someone
had just had a kit installed instead. Well ... after some
discussion with the parts manager and waiting a couple
of days for the manager to check things ... I now have
a free, spare, front bumper (with the appearance package,
yet, which I don't have). I know I'll use it someday
because I always seem to tear up the front spoilers on
my cars as the years pass.
I even offered to pay them something for it!

Some of the experiences at Menlo I'm reading
about sound really bad. I can't explain why I'm
having a much happier time with them - but in
fairness, I've got to say I continue to be very pleased.
(Though now a bit nervous waiting for when/if my luck runs
out!)

-ajg

okarliova

Avoid Magnussen Mazda in Fremont if you can! All they do is throw a rental car and bunch of cars at you thinking it will make you happy... After suffering a 1.5 month of in-and-out of service, I had to write this letter to mazda, you decide..

------------------------------

I am writing this letter to share my recent warranty maintenance service that turned out to be the most disappointing experience I have had in my 11-years driving history.

I purchased my Mazda RX-8 earlier this year and the vehicle is still under the manufacturer’s warranty. After a few months, I took my car in for service at Magnussen Mazda in Fremont, California for an oil change along with some warranty work. The warranty complaints consisted of 1) discoloration of DVD navigation screen, 2) rattling noise from the rear speaker area and 3) a clunk noise from the rear door on the driver’s side.

The rattle noise from the rear was fixed quickly, which was pleasing; but I do not have any positive remarks about the rest of the work performed.

The DVD navigation screen issue was diagnosed incorrectly the first time, and it was still called ‘fixed’ when the car was returned to me. When I brought it back, it took the dealer multiple part ordering attempts before they got the correct part installed. At each of these attempts, I was called back in with the assurance that the correct part was in, and it would only take a few hours to complete the job. After over a month, the DVD navigation unit was finally fixed.

I thought the most straight-forward task was the oil change, and even that turned out to be a lousy job: I am left with a scratched up plastic engine cover after the oil change at an authorized Mazda dealer.

The clunk noise from the door is still NOT fixed, and I have given up trying. The dealer threw many parts at the problem, lubricated other parts, and even sent the car to a body shop for door adjustment. Again, after each of these fix attempts, I was assured that it is taken care of. It was not! I was disappointed to see that the troubleshooting and repair verification against the original complaint is done so poorly.

The more disappointing part is that I took the car back and it took me only 30 minutes to pinpoint the problem and patch it myself temporarily. I discovered that the noise is coming from the lower latch, not holding the door tight enough, therefore causing movement of the door within the latch.

Now, I am driving in the following conditions after having my car in-and-out of the dealer for over a month:

1. a piece of white cloth jammed in the driver side rear door as a cushion preventing the clunk noise
2. a scratched up engine cover
3. grease stains left on the ceiling of the interior from the technician’s work

The only positive note about the service at Magnussen’s Mazda is the responsiveness and proactive approach of the service manager, Yvonne. She came to my rescue after all three Mazda reps dropped the ball on me multiple times. If it was not for her help, I would probably still be driving a rental car!

I wish I was writing this memo to praise this wonderful car, but unfortunately my driving experience has been ruined by the horrible technical service. I am very sorry to say this, but I have nothing positive to say about the Mazda service to my friends and family when they ask about the piece of cloth hanging from the door!

I hope that you can help me to get these outstanding complaints fixed. I have neither the time nor the energy left to visit a Mazda dealer any more! I also hope that you can put this complaint letter to use so that other Mazda owners do not have to go through similar experiences.

rX8rEdLiNe

Man, I know what you mean. I had a horrific episode at this dealership about half a year ago. I love my RX-8 but will never ever buy another Mazda vehicle as long as I live. Just do a search for "Magnussen " and you will find my thread along with many other complaints about this place. How do these people even stay in business?

sfRXgr8

Got mine @ Menlo Mazda from Sedgewick.... ask for him, you'll be happy

Latch

Something to add: Magnussen's was bought out by someone else, and a lot of the staff changed. I don't know if it changed the sales department at all, but they've been nothing but awful as far as service goes for me. I have an 04 Mazdaspeed Miata and an 87 RX-7 TII. They left the coolant resevoir cap off of my Miata, plus they overfilled the oil. I had them do a pre-purchase inspection on the RX-7, and I'd be surprised to find out if they even looked at the car at all... there were tons of obvious problems they missed. Hell, they didn't even look at the brake pads -- which were all worn down to the metal.

What's the present state of Bay Area dealers? I'm selling the Miata and considering buying an RX-8... is anyone getting really good deals? Fremont Ford (used to be Magnussen) is the closest dealer to me... how's the sales staff there?

chAi

bought my 8 from "Fremont Mazda" or Magnussen's as they were used to be known as... at the end of January, the sales department was good to me =)

dunno about the service department though... =/

CarAndDriver

Since this was the longest thread on South Bay Mazda dealers....

I'll be heading to Almaden Mazda (Capitol Expressway) in San Jose soon for a standard oil change. I couldn't get into Oak Tree (sister dealership), but Almaden said they would match other Mazda dealer coupons. Oak Tree has a $28.88 oil change coupon. Almaden's was $29.95.

Seem to get mostly positive reviews on here. The service advisors seem to be more spot on than some of the tech guys though. Will update after completed.

CRX Millennium

iTrader: (1)

Sorry to burst your bubble, but Almaden is not great at all regarding the service dept. We have two Mazdas, one RX-8 (under warranty) and NB Miata (out-of-warranty). I would never bring my RX-8 to Almaden, based on the poor experience we had on Miata at the same dealership. Things you can expect from Almaden -- run-arounds from service advisor, lack of follow-ups, and hard-lined attitude toward applying customer goodwill on valid Mazda TSBs when out-of-warranty (though reported and documented while under warranty).

8rotor8

iTrader: (2)

That's why I trying to tell everybody to go to Hayward Mazda, Jeff is the best service writer I have had so far.

dontfeedthenerd

Fremont Mazda ain't bad int eh sales department.

Go through the internet and you can land a damn good deal

I got a 07 Sport with MT Performance package for $23,500

Ask for Paolo if you guys buy from there, he's solid


As for service, the only service I've required so far is a damn busted in windshield (damn Berkeley crime) and I didn't go to the dealership for that.

CarAndDriver

Well I had my oil changed at Almaden Mazda on Capitol Expressway in San Jose.

The good:
1. Andy and Peter at the service desks seemed nice.
2. Matched Oak Tree on Stevens Creek Blvd. (same owners) online coupon for a $28.88 oil change. Almaden's online coupon was $29.95. The $1.07 saved can go toward gas for my 8.
3. Oil change was finished in about an hour.
4. Topped off fluids.

The bad:
1. Do all service desks try to con you into buying some inflated service extras and packages? Andy tried to convince me to spring for an injector flush and a 15K service for $230+. The upside was that he wasn't too pushy and never said another thing after I declined.
2. When I asked for 5W-30 oil, Andy said I'll write it on the service order and see if it can be done. The car has a range of acceptable oil weights and we'll see what we can do, he said. Lame....
3. Icky greasy hand print on my beautiful but dusty engine cover!

I'd grade the experience a B. Positive, but not perfect. For the price, I'd consider going back.