I'm curious but how many of your dealers knew anything about the rx8 when you got it. The dealer selling mine didn't even know if it had a navigation or not, what its technical specs were, or even what packages there were. Actually he didn't even know it was in the lot. Gave me a decent deal though so I guess hes alright.

 

Yup, mine had no clue about the car. I purposely tested him to see if he knew anything had he had to keep looking at the window sticker. lol
I asked him how many speakers it had and what kind they were and all he says is that it has a premium sounds system. got a good deal though

 

Yeah, most aren't current with whats going on with the car.

I had one salesman that knew nothing about the recalls of the older models, Knew nothing about the engine specifics, suspension, weight distribution ............ etc...

He may as well been selling VW beatles totally not with it.

 

Yeah, similar experience. I actually was selling the car to the dealer... talking about the Wankel engine, apex seals, how the combustion process worked, the 50/50 weight distribution, etc etc. I even told him "See, you don't have to sell the car to me, you just have to sell yourself!"

Needless to say, I purchased the car.

 

i thought sells men seldmonly go to meetings to learn about the car or do they just hire them and throw them out their the next day? seems like it.

 

My dealer (Rosenthal, Tyson's corner) knew all about the 8. I dealt with a salesman and the sales manager. The demo 8 that I took the test drive in was the sales manager's ride. They told me about checking the oil, and even demonstrated pulling the engine cover off to get at the dipstick the official way.

Ken

 

I get the feeling that most car salesmen, in their heads, are "percentage" people, figuring how much effort leads to the most sales.

So… spending hours learning all about a car that's very different from all other cars—a car that will appeal to only a very small number of people—and then explaining all that to a potential customer who, in all probability, won't be interested—is thought to be a "waste of time".

Pity.




The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be allowing easy access to non-hunting, assault weapons.
-- New Yorker (and a few million police officers), July 25, 2007

 

Usually salesmen dont even want to negotiate with an educated buyer. They want the easy "I can just baffle 'em" deal. It's rare that you find a knowledgable saleman.

 

Every single dealer that I dealt with when looking for my 8 (about 6) had very little knowledge about the car. One guy even tried to show me what he thought was the most impressive feature of the RX8 - the turning radius. Afterwards, I was like "WTF??"
Another dealer was about 19 years old. I was with some friends and we decided to stop and look at some 8's. This kid came up behind us asking if we needed help. I told him we were just looking and that they didn't have the color I was looking for. I really don't think he knew what to say, so he replied with "Would you like to take it for a test-drive?" "Hells, yeah!" I thought, and calmly said "sure". This car was brand new with 0 miles on it.
I took the inexperienced n00b on the ride of his life; 85mph in a 25mph zone, weaving around like a maniac while driving through an industrial park. My friends said he looked like he was gonna cry. I thought "serve's 'em right."

I do think it's funny when I go to the stealership for something and they're a bunch of complete morons. ....did I mention I hate dealerships??

 

I went to my dealer about 2 weeks ago and they told me i have to be 22 years old to test drive any car on the lot. That was surprising but i rode by today and found NO cars on the lot whatsoever. I have no idea what happened but that particualar dealership has been in some money trouble and it won't surprise me if that is what happened. So much for test driving an 8 in this town.

 

Mine knew a lot about it, the sales manager even owned a white Shinka at the time and had a Greddy Turbo on it at the time.

He declined my request for a test drive =(

 

the first time i test drove an 8 i still had my permit. the guy let me go all over the place too. when i bought it i actually had my license though.

 

awwww u suck bobby. i guess i'll have to go to the next town over to drive one. it's a pain driving about 40 mile to do so but thats the only way.

 

My salesman was very knowledgeable. He was a former RX7 owner and enthusiast. Nice guy.

The service departments at three local dealers here in Middle Tennessee are another story completely. They were annoyingly clueless about my car. One dealer didn't even have anyone on staff that had ever worked on a rotary I would say things have improved because now they have hired knowledgeable people, but knowledge means nothing without action. The last time I took my RX8 in with a complaint of power loss, they kept it all day long and didn't even bother test driving it Just hooked up the computer and told me nothing was wrong. I wound up diagnosing and fixing it myself. They've also managed to fumble warranty work twice on my wife's MS6. No local dealer will ever see my RX8 again.

Great car. Sorry TN service departments.

 

This is not a "Mazda" problem... Look at any salesman selling anything.... There are a bunch of them that don't even know their own product! I experience it everytime in retail stores, dealerships, etc..

 

I hope no one goes to a dealer hoping to learn something about the car they are going to buy from the salesman. I dont think i have ever bought a car where the dealer rep knew more than me. That is why i never really talk to them anyway about the car i just want to know about the price and the test drive.

 

I work in sales, just showing up for work everyday counts for a lot. Giving your customers "warm fuzzies" usually counts for more than having great product knowledge.