Almost 2 months ago I put a deposit on an RX-8 that had not yet been delivered. It has a Jan. 26 build date, or something like that. It arrived in the port in Seattle on the 13th of Feb, and was originally due here (SF) in the first week of March. It has now, as best as I can tell, been sitting on a truck for 3 weeks, with delivery to the dealership being held off for whatever reason - Mazda told me something about dealer inventory.

The worst thing is, they keep changing their freakin answer when I call them, telling me one "worst case scenario" and then telling me it's coming even later than that. WTF? I mean, there is no freakin reason I shouldn't be able to pick up my car - it's collecting dust on some truck or in some local holding lot - who the hell knows where?. AT first I was just eager and excited, now I'm downright annoyed and sent them an email to let them know that (as if they care)

Meanwhile, it's been over 2 months since I've driven this amazing machine, and I've been dealing with it in the abstract here on this board, losing my mind, forgetting the real reason I'm reading these posts everyday!

Am I being petty for complaining? Did any of you owners who ordered go through this issue of purposeful delivery hold-back?

 

Petty?? Hardly. I would be as annoyed as you. I didn't order so I can't help with that one. Good luck, nonetheless.

 

When I ordered my 8, it took about 3 months to come in. I received it about 6 weeks after the build date.

 

Hmmm. Sounds like our cars shared a boat ride. Mine also arrived at port on 2/13. Since we're both in SF area I presume it was the same port (port of Hueneme). I took delivery in late February. The airbag recall was performed in port. I don't think they'd have it sit on a truck for 3 weeks (pretty inefficient use of a truck!).

Are you getting info from CustomerAssistance@mazdausa.com? They did a pretty good job of answering my questions; usually had the info before my dealer did (vin#, build dates, ship dates, etc).

Good luck, it can't be long now!

 

Huh? Why order now - 8's are sitting at dealer lots in droves I thought?

 

Well Mazda told me that it was on its way down 3 weeks ago, meaning on a truck. Now they tell me that it can't be placed on the dealer lot for whatever reason. So whether it is sitting on a truck or somewhere else, it ain't on the lot and it's just collecting dust for some bureaucratic reason, unless it fell off of the truck and is being repaired. The car should have been hear in late Feb. Another car I tracked also took 6 weeks from port arrival to dealership arrival, so mine is definitely out of the ordinary.

I actually emailed through the site, not through my account b/c I couldn't find an actual email address. Therefore I have no record of the email. I will store that address you gave me, but I'm still going to call. Now that I hear your story, I'm definitely going to give them hell, and try to demand they grant me any rebates/incentives that are due for April, even if I pick it up in late March. It's a long shot, but I should ask for something out of all this hair-pulling.

 

I didn't order, I put a deposit on a car that had been ordered by the dealership but hadn't arrived yet. Try finding a black 6MT w/Sport without miles piled on it and from a dealership willing to cut you a good deal. It ain't easy.

 

Black 6MT 1SP is not a common combo? Or is it that that's generally what the dealer uses for test drives?

Just curious since that's what I have (but a 5/03 build date) and kinda interested to know if it's a 'rare' combo or not. I wouldn't think so, but you never know... Mine had about 200 miles on it when I got it, but most of that was it being 'transported' from another dealership.

 

It's not that rare. There are about 6 in Cali from what I can tell. One in Modesto had 500 mi on it, one was at a dealerhsip near Sacto trying to give me crap about 7K over MSRP (I practically laughed in their faces). One in SoCal wouldn't break 500 over invoice, one here in the Bay Area wouldn't break 500 over invoice (of course 2 weeks later they called to meet my price, but it was too late ). And then there was one coming into Menlo where they met my price, except for that $150 advert fee, but I bit, b/c by then I knew that to get exactly what I wanted, I'd have to eat a couple hundred over what I would pay (relative to invoice) for anything else actually on the lot.

Dealerships did mostly order Touring or especially Grand Touring cars when it first came out, because the more options, the more profit. A woman from Mazda NA basically said she has seen this trend before with the 3, where more base models don't start showing up until closer to the end of the model year for a new car.

 

My guess is sales have slowed and dealers are refusing inventory to keep their "floor plans" down. Mazda should step up and find a way to pull the special orders out of the mix. I would assume if they had enough, they could fill the transport truck.

 

Now I'm concerned. I was planning to order a car next month (Apr.) for a July delivery. Just to insure I get exactly what I want ie., Sunlight/Blk/Red, 6 Sp., GT, Appearance, Chrome Emblems. Of course the dealer didn't mention the $1500 lease cash or any delays. I'm looking for a end of July delivery.

 

JTRX, I wouldn't be too concerned. What WHealy said is basically what is happening with me. I'm dealing with one of those large Mazda dealerships which in theory should have large turnover to match its large inventory. This probably isn't the norm.

The nice thing about ordering is your car will be a later build date and will have no test-drive miles on it. By June/July you should also be in for some nice rebates and/or financing deals too.

 

See if your salesperson can raise a stink with MazdaUSA as well; after all he/she is also waiting to close the deal and has a vested interest.

 

Well Mazda is now in contact with the dealership trying to get me a firm answer as to when it will arrive. Apparently the GM of the dealership told the Mazda rep I'm dealing with that it is indeed being held up. She (the Mazda rep) asked me to call the dealership too to see what they tell me, so I just called the sales guy I dealt with and am awaiting a call back. This is getting ridiculous.


UPDATE:

The dealership is telling me they didn't put a hold on deliveries until last Thursday, so it shouldn't apply to cars that arrived in port on Feb. 13th. The guy said he has been working with his West Coast sales rep to press the port to get my car on a truck for over a week now(apparently it has never been on one), and that I'm only one of a few customers complaining about this. The dealer is stressing to me that it's also in their best interest to get the car too so they can record the sale, yet I'm not sure that's true - they are sitting on my $500 collecting free interest and not having to pay lot fees for my car which they know is a sure thing. So I've got Mazda blaming the dealer, and the dealer trying to pass the buck to the port workers and truckers. Sounds like the truth is quite elusive. ARGH!!