Midnight Flyer

Went to Performance Mazda last night to see the 8. The car was "arrest me now and throw away the key" red. When we got there the engine bay was open and we could take a good look at it but the car was locked so we could not sit inside or look in the trunk.

I thought it was kind of strange but 3 of the 4 tires were on wrong. They were directional and pointing the wrong way.

When I asked the price, the sales rep said $46K, which if I am not mistaken is quite a bit more then the MSRP they mentioned a few months back.

Still need to sit and drive one before I put my money down, and the price had better go down some.

Vancouver

Hopefully the tires are on wrong so they can back down on the price.

Wing

WHOA! MAN! They have an 8 at Performance Mazda??? For how long??? Man I gotta get accross town ASAP! THe price is $36K maybe he just mis-spoke? Even fully loaded with Nav, it's not $46K although maybe he meant taxes in, which is about right.

Let me know ASAP how long that Rx-8 is in town!

Wing

SHITTY! I just called, normally they are open till 9 but tonight only till 5:30 and the car will be gone tomorrow morning There's no way I'm making it there in 30 minutes with enough time to spare and there's no way I can get there at 7am tomorrow

DAMN DAMN DAMN!

mac

I went by this morning, it is the pre production model. It does look great but I won't be buying from them. They know nothing about the car (beside the price being wrong, two of the reps said it was a 5 speed front wheel drive). As for the display car, hell they wouldn't open the trunk let alone let me sit in it. Ok so let's see if I have this straight, they want me to put $1000 down for a $37k car that only a handful of people have driven pre production cars; they have a car in their showroom but they won't let anyone get inside nor open the doors or trunk, when they do eventually get the car they won't allow anyone (except themselves of course) test drive the car unless they have bought the car. Yeah like that is going to happen. This is an RX8 not a Ferrari.

Anyone been to the dealership in Hull? Are they any better?

zoom44

you have got to be joking:o maybe dealer guys are the same everywhere. when i went to one near me the sales guy called it the r s -8 several times, even after i had corrected him once. needless to say i am not buying from them.

Wing

Mac, ok maybe no biggy that I missed it then.

I test drove the Mazda 6 and been to Carling Motors twice in the last few weeks. Both times I was treated very well with no pressure what-so-ever!!

The Sales Manager's names is Jason, he is a youngish guy (late 20's? ) Very nice guy, let me take the 6 out alone (hey i'm only 24! so this is rare), didn't pressure me, just told me to come back and test drive the 4 cyl if I wished when I was ready to make the decision!

mac

Hey Wing, thanks for the info on Carling Motors. I didn't know they were a Mazda shop. I will go check them out.

I wouldn't be so offended by the rep not letting me sit in the car or opening the doors/trunk if I was under 25 (age discrimination sucks but it has some basis) but I'm in my late thirties.

They are getting the package I will most likely take (winning blue MT no leather) but I'd rather wait then give my money to a dealer like this one.

Midnight Flyer

Might want to talk to Chris Milke(sp?) at Bank St Mazda. He drives an older RX-7 so he is knowledgeable about the rotary, just had his engine rebuilt. Last time I was there someone joked about him getting rid of it and he said "they can have it when they pry my cold dead fingers from the wheel".

I got my Miata from him and have talked to him several times about the 8. I am hoping to get to drive one this summer if it all works out.

If I get really lucky, my son will be working there as a lot jockey this summer, but I am not holding my breath.

Wing

I have never been to performance Mazda, but bank st. Mazda is pretty sleezy too, just like bank st. Hyundai.

I think I'll buy from Carling, Mac if you get an RX-8 man I want to see it

FritzMan

Having owned a first year build FD for 6 years (VIN #79, Dec '91 build), Bank Steet Mazda was the best dealership to deal with. Let me rephrase that, all of the dealerships in the Ottawa Area (although I never went to Hull) were incompetent in one way or another, Bank Street was simply the least pathetic. Note, they were a PITA to deal with - bitching every time I brought it by and went so far as to accuse me of lying. Regardless, I still managed to get the motor, tranny, turbos, and interior trim warrantied (plus all other recalls). Total warranty cost was supposedly in excess of $12K. As much as I'd like to say I prefer Carling Mazda (in general less sleezy ambiance), they continuously tried to rip me off when I left the RX with them (so far as performing quite a bit of unauthorized work - no, I didn't pay). Don't even get me started on the lack of service from their Volvo branch.

A couple of years ago I wanted to lease a Protege ES to bridge the gap between the FD and upcoming RX-8. Carling Mazda couldn't get within $1500 of the deal at Bank Street and I know the general manager of Carling Motors quite well. He figured Bank Steet was trying to scam me, but the black ES currently sitting in my parking lot has proved him wrong...

Bummer I didn't know the 8 was at Performance, I would have definitely made the trip across town to check it out.

Wing

So..... maybe I'll head to Cornwall or Pembroke for a Mazda??

FritzMan

IMO, I'd first shop at Bank Street to see what their price is. Then shop around. I do like to shop in the smaller twons though, where smaller-marketed models don't move as quickly. As for servicing, I essentially became my own mechanic (replaced a second blown 13B-REW with zero prior mechanical experience).

Here's something interesting. I was told today by a sales rep that within the next 7 days they'll be getting a couple Ti MazdaSpeed Proteges and 2 RX-8s for sale?!?! I asked him 3 times, and he was 100% certain that they were getting 2 RX-8s next week. How they managed to get an RX-8 for sale is beyond me...

wakeech

first, i must say i aspire to one day acomplish what you have: you're my hero :D

and secondly, i KNOW that many dealers confuse the 6 with the RX-8 when they say "V6 5 speed" or "we're getting a couple next week", becuase they AREN'T ANY LHD CARS BUILT YET, they DO NOT EXIST (sorry, yelling at him, not you...) so there's no way he could sell them no worries, they'll come when they come.

...er wait, are there some built?? if they're built, they're not even on the boat yet, and they're not coming to Canada... but i don't think that there're any built yet anyways (May or something, right??) so it's a moot point.

Wing

I'll believe they are getting RX-8's when I see it. LOL

The reason I hate bank st. Mazda is when I went to test drive a Miata, I was told, you know your lucky we are letting you try it (by myself leaving my g/f behind so the salesman could come along!) Because nobody else will let you test drive a "sports car".

Oh and the driving route? Down 40Km/h roads for 5 minutes, WOOHOO! Only right hand turns too, no lefts ?? Some stupid insurance crap, yeah right.

FritzMan

I hear ya on the Mazda6 confusion, what I didn't previously mention was the fact that he also said they were getting a couple of Mazda6 GTs (apparently they're hard to get right now). So, apparently the order coming in is: 2 Mazda6 GTs, 2 Ti MazdaSpeeds (already have a few other colors on the lot), and 2 RX-8 trim unknown (no ****?).

Believe me, I don't expect an RX-8 to be for sale within the next 7 days, but I am 100% convinced that he was certain they'd be getting one (make that 2). He was fully aware of the prototype 8 being at Performance Mazda (b/c they spent lots of coin upgrading their showroom - Mazda wanted to reward them). He was also aware how incredible that sounded because it was a "secret" they'd be getting the 8s. So much for the secret eh?

I'll keep you updated once I get my call to come in and see them. :D (laughing in sarcasm that is...)

wakeech

... no ****, eh?? a reward, eh?? ...

Wing

Well if they are there next week, I might **** myself LOL...

Let us know man, but considering they aren't built I still find it hard to believe. Maybe next week I can trade my tiburon in for a new RX-8! LOL

Midnight Flyer

Don't know if the 8 was supposed to be a secret or not, but I saw a full page add in the paper on Monday saying it would be there for 1 day only. I was out of town last week so did not see if it was promoted in other papers.

Don't know if it is still the same but when I test drove my Miata (from Carling Motors) I got to take it on the Queensway. Bank Street did not have one available for me to test drive.

So which dealer said they would have two RX8's in next week?

FritzMan

What the salesman was implying was that it was a secret that Bank Street would be getting two RX-8 for sale next week.

Yeah, Bank Street is in a bit of a weird spot for test drives. I usually take HuntClub then proceed to Walkley to get to 417. As far as I'm concerned, we're the ones spend hard earned after tax dollars for their products - there's no reason why we can't be telling them we the test drive will be - especially to test different types of driving scenarios. The secret is to work their confidence that you're genuinely interested. Personally, I spend a good hr talking and examining the vehicle before I actually drive it. That way the salesman chills a bit and you can not only get a long test drive, but you tell them where they are going and how hard you plan to work the car to get there... :D

mac

Does anyone know if the Canadian Winning blue is a similar colour as the Protege 5 or as the Mazda 6? I just wished that Mutant blue was available.

Evolv

iTrader: (1)

r s -8 thats funny, maybe the guy has a hair lip.

Wing

So should we call bank st. Mazda, they apparently have 2 RX-8's to sell this week don't they? Where are they?? I'll buy one tonight if they have them!

Midnight Flyer

I took my Miata in for service on Monday and went up to the show room. No 8's to be seen. The truck had just unloaded a new shipment of cars too.

I spoke with Jeff the service manager and he was not expecting any till June. Is it a surprise for the staff too?

FritzMan

First, needless to say there's no RX-8 in sight (as of yesterday evening), although I don't think the "shipment" arrived because I didn't see any MazdaSpeed Ti color Proteges. I was told by another salesman whom I've dealt with several times (ie: I trust) that they don't expect an RX-8 until end of May earliest.

I took a Mazda6 GS V6 out for a lengthy spin. For a Cdn $28K car, there's lots of features and OOMPH. Interior was surprisingly cheap though. The door handle/arm rest switches felt flimsy. The roof lining, especially near the windshield, had all these bulges which deformed at the slightest touch. The generic grey cloth interior looked very entry-level, black cloth available only on GFX and silver cars are, IMO, much nicer. The lack of back seat head rest is very apparent when sitting in the rear, and a possible safety concern from rear-impact accidents.

Still, there lots of room in front and back and the general driving ergonomics are great with a nice steering wheel, tilt and telescopic feature, and a nice short-throw shifter. Seats where much better than the Protege with better lower back support and thicker side bolsters (although a little too widely spaced for my physique). TCS feature is *very* agressive (almost like the brakes are being used) and something I would turn off.

Since I was able to test drive 30 min all by myself , I was able to get a good feel for the handling which did not disappoint given the package. Power assist was a little too much for my liking but got better at speed. There was surprising grip and handling, although body roll control is less than my Protege, and brake drive during ABS stops was quite noticable. Stiffer springs would indeed help without effecting the ride too much which was quite comfortable. Cruising at 120kph, RPM was much more reasonable than the Protege and overall cabin quietness was great. Engine noise is ideal with some agressive feedback yet not too intrusive.
The engine has plenty of low-end grunt for around town, yet becomes quite peaky as the RPMs rise. There really is a non-linear power curve and throttle adjustments were required to maintain a steady rate of acceleration as the RPMs rose. A set of headers on this car, and for me, the power output would be just about perfect. Due to the relative lack of torque, torque steer was really not too noticable, although I did test drive in the wet so traction was limited.

Without having tested and RX-8, what I know I will like about the
Mazda6 would be:
-Price (10K less)
-Mileage is 20-29, RX-8 is 3-4 MPG lower and needs premium
-Interior room, especially in back
-Fold down seat - have to be able to put the Mountain bike somewhere (IMO, roof racks are noisy, vulnerable to theft, and a pain to install remove)
-Low end torque

What I didn't like compared to a potential RX-8 is:
-Curb weight (3250 lbs)
-Performance parts would be needed (ie: *LSD*, springs, headers, etc) to make it "just right", RX-8 already has those features.
-As nice as the Mazda6 looks it's no contest with the RX-8
-RWD

All in all, a tempting match-up for my personal needs. With the 10K saved getting this car over an 8, I'd be able to get headers (and save 50+ lbs), pulley, springs, light tint, European front grill, and better rubber. The question is would the lack of RWD keep me wishing or not...