I'll just throw this out there as a buyer beware...

When I was doing paperwork on my 8 last night, I was getting ready to cut a check and I looked at the purchase order we had filled out - and I said, "hey, what's this $199 dealer services fee?" He told me it covered road hazard on my tires and if I damaged a wheel by hitting a curb it would replace it. I said isn't that why tires come with manufacturer's warranties, and wheels are covered by insurance? I said - I dont want to pay for it, and he was very nice and said we can go ahead and take it off.

So he fills out another purchase order, I sign it, and he says, "so you'll be writing a check for $XXXX?" I said that was fine, but he forgot to correct for the $200 we just took out. He told me that the credit union/bank usually will adjust to cover that difference. To me this sounded like somebody wanted real badly to get paid twice.

So I said, now wouldn't it be stupid for me to pay you and have the credit union never adjust for this? Then I'd be stuck paying for your "dealer services" and I'd never get anything for that money. He didn't say anything but he started working up another purchase order. So after I fine-tooth'ed everything, signed all the papers, checks, et al - I was out.

It seemed really sneaky the way it was never explained to me what that was for, how they tried to get paid twice, and so on. Just look out when you guys sign - and question every little charge on there.

Oh yeah, the car rocks!!!

 

glad t0o see you finally got your car boozehound,you have to be carefull with those finance people.i know ill be going over my paperwork with a fine tooth comb.my car is in tacoma with a delv date aug week 1.whats your first driving impressions of the accelartion of the car?ive spent some time in a 225hp audi tt and im hoping that the rx8 will match that but i have not been able to drive one yet.

 

Pay close attention to Boozehound's comments. This is why dealer suck so bad. He knew exactly what his was doing. One time, when I bought my H2 from Pompano Cadillac, I actually had my friend pick it up. I did not do this as a tactic, I was actually out of town -- but it worked! No BS, No financing schemes, no business manager talks, no fine-print "errors", no delivery delays, a ten minute tooth and nail inspection (mainly for minor body damage) and one check. It worked great. When I flew into Miami, he picked me up and took me right to my car which me had safely parked at his condo in Palm Beach. Best car buying experience ever

My Moto: If you can't eliminate the middle man, assign one to your side too

 

Addendum to last post:

A spouse works great for this. Figure out at home what the check should have (price, tax, etc) Hand the check over low-balling about $100 from the most you would be willing to pay. Have him/her deliver it and spend most of the time looking for minor imperfections in the car, scamming a free first oil change by visiting the service guys etc. When the sales manager comes out and say it isn't enough -- ask why -- if is it $100 or less they want give it to them in cash right there . . . any more, act distraught, make a cell phone call to the absent spouse, take the check back, and tell them to stop all delivery proceedings . . . They will freak out. If they don't, your absent spouse will. Either way, your just the middle man. Works great too.

 

Hey Boozehound,

Congrats on getting your 8 and checking on the contract details. I know a lot of people who have purchased cars that have paid thousands in BS fees and were afraid to ask questions. How can someone be afraid to ask questions? IF IT ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THERE, ASK THEM WHY IT IS ON THE CONTRACT!!!!!! If the dealer says MSRP. then brings you a contract with additional fees, it isn't MSRP. Question them.

BTW, my hubby saw your name on the forum and thought it was me! I really wanted to kick his a$$.

 

Its good to hear people are going over their contracts closely. I just hope nobody on this forum will willingly submit to BS dealer fees and so on.

As for the car - it's fantastic. I've let my family drive it, and they all love it. The accelleration is plenty quick enough to get me in trouble. For comparison's sake, I'll compare it to my brother's GS400 - I think without having broken mine in all the way, he might squeak me in a drag, but if there were corners involved, goodbye RX-8 by carlengths. That's not to say the Lexus isn't good handling and fun to drive, but the 8 is phenomenal when it comes to handling.

Most of my experience with performance cars has been either with hopped up mustangs, Lexii, or the occasional F-body. This car just seems to be in a league of its own when it comes to handling - I just wish I lived somewhere that had something other than 90 degree angles in the road every 5 miles. I drove the G35 and IS300 as my main competitors and this car beat them handily when it came to either performance (IS300) or interior quality (G35), and when you're driving the 8, you probably wont notice a lack of torque or acceleration, you'll notice how fast you just broke the speed limit - how quick you can take corners, and how each gear is goading you into reving higher and grabing the next one (this little manuver almost got me pulled over twice yesterday - this car begs to rev and keep pushing).

Long story short - and I did diverge quite a bit on this thread - the RX8 feels like my 1983 RX-7 GSL grew up and made extensive use of the gym while at finishing school. Unless you're a harda$$ for flat out acceleration, or kidney punishing rides - go take a test drive through some twisties - you won't be disappointed. :D

 

Another Boozehound!?! I won't hear of it....

 

Don't forget those wonderful hills that some call freeway ramps... I've never seen a place so flat.

 

Boozehound, how much did you pay for your 8? Did you pay yours for msrp? I ordered Titanium GT which $31,100 for msrp, but excludes tax, title, and license fees. Therefore, the out-door price is $33,966.46. My qustion is, which is the fair price i should get for my 8? Should i talk about the price with my saleman if i can get more cheap? I am wondering the RX-8 new owners got their fair price for theirs. Please, every new owners give some suggestion. My car may be is coming this week, and i want get ready for that.
:D

 

I would call around to other dealers and see if someone could deal... tell them you have an 8 on order and you're interested to see if they want to be competitive. Then when you get some offers, take that back to your dealer and say, "look, here's what I can get down the road - work with me..." I personally paid MSRP minus a college grad rebate and the 100 from mitsubishi. I dont think you'll beat MSRP by a lot, but I've heard of some dealers going 500 below. When I picked mine up, there were 3 there that weren't sold yet, so very shortly I would guess the dealing will begin.

 

Nothing like apexing the U-turn lane under the Katy Fwy...

 

Thank you, Boozehound, i have a little confusion that may be my English not that weel. So you paid yours for msrp+tax+title and license fees, OR the only the msrp as outdoor price.

 

MSRP + tax + title + liscense - $500 college graduate rebate - $100 mitsubishi promotion = What I paid

 

Thank you very much, Boozehound