djseto

I got an 04 Thanksgiving of 04 with that exact setup with all packages. Sticker was $35K something. I got the car for $29K. After seeing what people are paying now, I think I could have gone lower, but I also knew the dealer, so I know I got a damn good price then...but this is now and I think the car isn't as hot or in demand as it used to be, so I think you can push lower for the 05.

Cool-Blue-Dad

People who were buying this time last year would disagree. I got such an `04 for exactly $27 (not lower) in September of 2005. Another member reported looking at the car I bought a few weeks earlier and they were trying to get thousands of $$$ more.

However, griffe, if you don't know the full MSRP for that car then you should not buy it. You haven't done your homework. If it is brand-new, never titled the window sticker should be around there someplace. Be sure to check for the two final prices, one is factory MSRP, the other may have dealer add-ons like undercoating or clear-coating or pin-striping or door guards or local market advertising and they'll raise the price another $1,000.

You should also ask for a copy of the vehicle's invoice so you know the true invoice price also. The dealer that sold to me faxed it to me. I have in turn faxed it to other members here so they knew what to look for.

I would say anything lower than "MSRP - 20%" is a great deal on a 2005 right now. There are no 2006s on the lots so you can't expect there to be the same sort of deep, deep discounts that some folks got on 2004s when the 2005s were on the lots and getting old. Mazda corp was giving the dealers uber incentives on those 2004s to get the pricing that low - you can't expect Mazda corp to be doing that on the 2005s yet.

Obviously, you want to get the best price you can, but if you insist on an absurb, low-ball offer with no basis in reality you won't get a car. Remember, the NAV is a $2,000 option. You can't expect to pay the same price as people who bought the same car without NAV (and without CD changer, etc, etc).

djseto, I think you got a great price for Nov 2004 too. From listening to the other members actual purchases I'd say you couldn't have paid much less until Sep 2005. However, waiting 10 months is never a guarantee of a better price - it could have turned out that the 2004s were all gone by then and you'd have been stuck paying more for a 2005 or 2006.

Cool-Blue-Dad

Shouldn't have to be a Houdini to get it. Tell them the features don't match what you've read about `04 vs. `05 and you'd feel better if you could see the invoice sheet saying `05. They shouldn't refuse to show you the invoice unless they have something to hide. There's nothing for them to hide regarding the equipment so that would mean that have something to hide regarding pricing.

If they have something to hide regarding pricing you have a problem.

I could fax my invoice for my car to you so you can brandish it innocently and say, 'my buddy gave me a copy of the invoice for his car that *his* dealership gave to *him* and see, it shows the model year.'

Regarding build dates and model years. My 2004 has a build date on the door sticker of 12/03 and an original invoice date of 12-08-2003. I'm certain it wasn't the first of the 2004 model year to be built. Most manufacturer's model year 2005 cars were first on the lots ~August 2004. That means they were built somewhat before August, especially if they were imports.

Cool-Blue-Dad

Open your driver's door. There is a sticker on the end of the door. That is the wrong sticker. Turn around and look at the end of your driver's side suicide door. There is another sticker. The month/year of your build will be there.

Cool-Blue-Dad

Then he's being deliberately evasive. I would insist to see a break-down on the price to understand all the applicable incentives.
There's your angle to insist on getting the invoice.
First OEM batteries were weaker. Mazda has been paying for dealers to install higher Cold Cranking Amps batteries (usually due to flooding). The dealership where I purchased replaced my battery and brought it to my attention as a 'service extra'. However, my 2004 had been on the lot for more than 12 months and they'd likely flooded it at some point so it's almost a necessity, not a bonus. New FLASH updates have been said to reduce flooding risk and also the more powerful starter motor - see any of the 6 active flooding threads for more details. All you need to know right now it don't shut it off cold and read up on flooding in detail later.
Another reason to insist on the invoice. Invoice will show real MSRP, not dealer's final selling price.

Here is how the invoice looked when it was faxed to me:
.................................................I nvoice Amt....Retail Amt
RX8 6P......................................$24,659... ......$26,680
In-Dash 6-CD Changer.............$400..............$500
Cargo Tray................................$40........... .....$50
Carpet Floor Mats.....................$0..................$0
Portfolio....................................$0... ...............$0
Moonroof Wind Deflector...........$36...............$45
Navigation System....................$1721............$2000
Rear Wing Spoiler.....................$285..............$355
Alarm Shock Sensor Upgrade....$48................$60
Spare Tire Kit.............................$320.............$ 395
Wheel Locks..............................$0............. ....$0
Touring Package M/T.................$2409...........$2800
Appearance Package.................$775.............$970

Transportation $520 $520
Baltimore Assessment $100

Total: $31,313 $34,375

Then the magic words written in the margin:
$31,313
-$4,000 Dealer Cash
- $534 Holdback
Sale for $26,779
NY Sale - $25,995

I have no idea why they dropped from $26,779 to $25,995 - they must have thrown in more trunk money. I didn't finance through MAC and I don't think the $1500 applied to those 2004s because they had the other $4000 from Mazda.

Regarding the higher than $34k pricing you said he claimed was the MSRP: My car had a 2nd window sticker to the right of the large, main new-car window sticker. It listed 'Paint-Prep Lustre Coat, Custom Pin Striping and Door Edge Guards' as dealer-added equipment it drove the Total Sales Price to $35,365. The manufacturer's invoice sheet won't show the dealer-added equipment so you'll see the *real* MSRP. His higher price is not MSRP it is 'Dealers Final Selling Price' or 'Total Sales Price'.

Cool-Blue-Dad

Glad to help. Buying a car is a big purchasing decision and usually a big hassle.

If he's really playing games you don't want to buy there anyway. Vote with your dollar - try searching around on cars.com. If you want TiGrey or Sunlight Silver those are the most common and you should find some within a few hours drive. If you expand your search that far you should find a more straight-forward dealer.

Dude, you're the buyer. You've got the money. You don't have to take cr@p from anyone.

One more insiprational story - Last weekend I was trying to buy a Vibe for my wife. A used car lot had a 2005 with 10,000 miles on it. The sales lady offered me full 2006 invoice price for it and we left without another word. I ignored her follow-up calls for a few days then called her back and told her (politrely, but clearly) what I expected to pay for last year's model with 1/3 of the warrenty gone and she agreed to look around for something that met my price point. If she doesn't give me what I want we won't do business together. There are a lot of cars for sale within a 200 mile radius.

Cool-Blue-Dad

They were hand-written on the invoice. No idea who - could have been the sales manager, finance guy, or the lady in internet-sales (S&S is a mega-dealership with many franchises, but appears to use one centralized internet sales department). It was interesting to see the details. The internet sales lady had only told me the bottom line price of $25,995. At that price I really had no further questions (about price, we talked in detail about other subjects: trade-in, travel logistics, mileage on car, etc).

Yeah, that was a contender for 'best-day-ever'.