Talk about thread resurrection! But yes, my RX-8 is a buyback. Bought it from a 1 year lease return, prior to that it was bought back by Mazda.

The only thing you need to worry about if you buy a car that was in the buy-back list, it's an early production model so you have more recall and general warranty issues that need to be dealt with. Once those are taken care of (at Mazda's expense!) it's just as good, IMHO, as any other slightly used car.

 

I'd be more worried about the fact that it has been sitting around for two years if it is just now getting sold.

 

I have one that I bought last June. It had been sold at auction by Mazda and the car lot that I dealt with (a place that specialized in used sports cars) had bought 4 at drastically low prices. It has been a great car with no unusual issues and the buyback made it a fantastic financial deal as Mazda essentially ate a huge amount of depreciation in the process. There is nothing on the title and the Carfax clearly indicates that it was bought back because of a HP advertising issue and states that there were no service or reliability issues what so ever associated with the buyback. It was a great deal and I would do it again in a heartbeat. It still has a healthy chunk of factory warranty left. I bought it with 14k miles and have about 20 now with only routine service.

 

what? i never heard of this before... how do they buy your car back, how do i know if my car is one of those that lack horsepower?

 

I'd like to know about more about this "buy back" issue? Which vehicle's were affected? Was this information relayed to the public (notices, etc.)

 

Ahhh ...I see. Why would Mazda still advetise the 8 putting out 230+ horses? Is that how the auto industry advertises hp -- at the crank or is the 230+ incorrect?

 

long time ago in a galaxy far far away, the RX-8 was advertised as having 247hp.... then people dyno'd their cars, and realized no way their cars made 247, or close to it, so Mazda had to 're-state' the hp number to today's 238hp... and to appease those that bought the car *thinking* it had 247hp, and to avoid being sued for false advertising, they offered either free maintenance through the full life of the new car warranty, or a full buyback of the car.....

and that's the background of this OLD OLD thread.... die thread die

 

2 yr old thread... let it go...

 

One of the requirements was that the car had to have a factory sticker stating "247 HP", and you had to have taken delivery (I believe) sometime before the middle of August 2003.

I have one of those cars but I did not opt for the buy back. Instead I took the offer of a $500 credit card and free scheduled maintenance for the warranty period.

I would recommend the early builds to anyone. Anything that comes up as a problem is covered under warranty. Reliability wise I would put my 5/2003 RX-8 up against an 8 built in 11/2005 (IMHO).

 

Actually when I ordered mine the rated Horse Power was still estimated to be 250. Mazda settled for 247HP on the window sticker. When I got my VIN, I was able to download a window sticker which stated 247HP, however, when my car came from the Port (over a month later than any other car ordered around the same time I ordered mine) the sticker on the car read 238HP. I took delivery in early October, and the dealer never gave me any trouble about the $500 cash card and free service. I didn't even have to show them the window sticker that I downloaded. The cards were right there, and my wife got a great pair of pearl earrings out of it. After 35,000 miles or so and a couple of rear end collisions, I still love the car, and I have never regretted having taken delivery. (My choice was either to take or not take delviery, but if I took delviery it was with the cash and service cards). Also, I get to have that really cool Lightening Yellow, which somehow seems to attract accidents, but that is an issue I have yet to figure out.

 

During the week of May26th this year I bought what I was told was a off lease 2004 RX8 GT with 27K miles on it. It was loaded with everything from a local dealer here in the Seattle area. The vehicle on a scale of 1-10 was a 9, no chips in the paint anywhere, and the interior and all of the accessories; NAV, Bose system worked great, everything seemed perfect. It did need the normal wear items replaced. Prior to consumating the deal I ran a CarFax on it and it came up clean, no problems as all.

This last Tuesday August 12th, 2008 I received a call from the bank I had chosen to finance the small balance I owed on the vehicle, The woman calling said there was a problem with the RX8 I had purchased. She said the bank had received the title from the State of Idaho DMV office in Boise on Monday, August 11th, 2008 and the Idaho title came back as a "branded" title. She went on to explain that a branded title was issued on a vehicle that had been purchased back by the manufacturer so as not to have it go back under a "lemon Law" claim. She stated further that the bank would not finance any type of questionable titled vehicle and unfortunately this came under that heading. I asked for and received a fax copy of the title, with the previous owners name blanked out, and there was no mistake the VIN on the title was in fact the vehicle I had purchased eight weeks ago.

I then called the dealer and spoke to the used car manager and he was aware of the situation and said it was a error on their part as the vehicle had been purchased at the local vehicle auction and they were not told it had a "branded" title when they purchased it. They did say they would replace it with a vehicle that was similar and we could work out the details.

On Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 my insurance company called and said that they had been notified by my bank that the vehicle I had purchased was a "buy-back" or branded vehicle and they would not insure it due to the fact there was no disclosure on what exactly was wrong with the vehicle and exactly who fixed it and due to liability issues I had four (4) weeks to turn it back to the dealer and/or find another vehicle to purchase. He went on to say I would be receiving a letter from them stating I had until a specific date and/or the insurance would be cancelled.

So the moral of this story is this; I read the other postings in this thread about "Mazda not selling" these vehicles, don't fool yourself, it happens.

Needless to say I am pissed off to the hilt about this and I will be filing a complaint with the Washington State Attorney General's office over this mess. Why you might add? At no time during the two visits I made to this dealership was I told that this car came with a branded title. Neither the dealer or the bank will step up to the plate and reimburse me for the payments I have made or the improvements I made to the vehicle; tires-$829, alignment - $89, trans/diff service - $178, front brake job - $342 etc. and there is more I have not listed.

I am taking the day off tomorrow to go car shopping. Oh fun, getting a tooth drilled or car shopping, choices choices...

Come on Mazda, you can do better than this..

 

broadband2,

I don't think this is a "buyer beware" situation. I believe there are laws about dealers selling cars saying the title was clean but the title is actually not clean. I would expect you to have to sign a waiver before buying such a car.

While I normally don't suggest this, I would suggest you consult a lawyer.

 

Tell them what $$ you want back from their mistake or you will take them to court or call Mazda USA. Take them to small claims if Mazda USA wont help you. Get copies of everything for court or MUSA to see.

 

Don't worry about it you are making a big deal.

The dealer said he would seel you a comparable car. If you want an RX 8 and he doesn't have one then get your money back and buy one from a member here.

 

I would threaten them with getting a lawyer and with reporting them to the state's attorney general in order to get the money for the repairs that you made. You are owed not just a comparable car at the contracted price, but you are also owed the money back for the repairs you made.

Tell them that if they don't make you whole for what you have spent on reliance of their fraud, you will see them in court and file a criminal fraud allegation with the police. I mean come on. It was a branded title. They saw it before they sold it to you. It's a slam dunk in court. Get your money back.

 

You can always ask the dealer to find you the same financing.

Seems like you love the car.

 

so buy-back cars don't have *clear* titles then? i found such a car and in carfax it clearly states what happened. it has very very low miles and can probably be had quite cheaply. i don't mind that the original owner took the buy-back but if the title is a lemon title, then i'd think twice...

 

holy thread ressurection.

 

I am only on here because I kept getting emails from the club even though I gave my car back in probably Oct 2003. But thought my reasons might be helpful to someone. I loved and still love to death how that car looked. A red GT. Amazing, will never get looks like that again from any car I will ever drive. BUT, the six speed had what I thought was a really short and tempermental 1st gear. That, and at 6'2", I just found I was too tall for the car as my head was rubbing the ceiling. Darn that sunroof. And the mileage was the killer with me, I was getting 12 mpg at the best. That left a sting and I didnt like the fraud aspect of that. So one of the best days of my life was when I got that letter in the mail. I garaged it until I turned it in because I was afraid as heck of scratching or getting into a fender bender. The only thing I did was take it out the night before and drive the freaking heck out of it for about an hour to hit 100 and see how it handled. Not abusive, just having fun.

Anyway, I had some time to waste. Love the car, I just couldnt keep it for those reasons. I thought it would be very very popular where I live in Bakersfield yet I see one maybe every month and thats it. If I win the lottery and get a third car garage, I will get an automatic red with no sun roof in a heartbeat.

 

A solution to the "branded" title RX8 I bought was worked out this last Friday, August 15th.

At a meeting Friday night I met with the general manager and used car manager of the dealership where I purchased the original RX8. I believe now, after seeing all of the paperwork they had on the RX8, they in fact did not know the vehicle was a "buy-back" or had a "branded" title. None of the paperwork I was shown had any indication that it was in fact branded. The copy of the title they had received from the State of Idaho did not have the indication it was branded. Remember the copy that I received from my bank that they had just received from the State of Idaho in the past two weeks did indicate it was branded.

The one thing that was disturbing was the fact that in the paperwork was a complete repair/warranty history for the RX8 the dealer had printed out on the RX8 I had originally purchased showing it had the entire engine replaced three times in nine months and the transmission replaced once during that period of time also. That's a bit much considering the speedometer had only 27K miles on it.

A couple of things; before going down to the dealership I prudently decided to see what they would come up with as a solution for this mess, I decided to go down with a open mind and to just listen to what they had to say and what their solution was. And to answer one of the questions that may have popped up in your minds: at no time during the first RX8 verhicle purchase process was it stated this was a problem vehicle or was I asked to sign a waiver/disclosure stating it was branded/salvage/rebuilt.

They next tried to offer me another vehicle; a 2007 Mustang GT. No thank you, I appreciated the offer but the "fun" factor just isn't there as much as it is in a RX8.

Any way they came up with a 2006 RX8 as a replacement for the one I just turned back in for the same price from another dealer. We went to the other dealership, I drove it for about two hours and the used car manager consumated the deal with them and drove the second RX8 back to their dealership. It is the same color and has less miles, 18K. They also stepped up to the plate and did the following things to the "NEW" RX8: did a alignment job on it (the tires were feathered on the edge on the front), put four new Dunlop tires on it, swapped the K&N air filter, new brake pads all around, changed out the MP3 dongle add on I had installed on the radio, and reimbursed me for the red/black Wheelskins cover on the steering wheel.

The general manager and used car manager were cordial and took care of the problem, how refreshing that is in this day and age where usually it a complete battle to have anyone take responsibility.

I got the car with everything done Saturday afternoon and immediately took off for Portland, I wanted to make sure everything was right with the way it ran. Went down to Portland and stayed the night and came back up Sunday morning with no problems, A/C was cold, and everything worked. I averaged 25.1mpg down and back at 75mph. Not bad...

This local dealer has made me a definite return customer because of their attention to my problem and the solution they came up with without any pressure from me.

I am glad I listened first and did not explode prematurely... Problem solved..
This dealership is a credit to the Mazda family. I will be writing a letter to the owner of the dealership thanking him and his staff for the way this was handled.

 

It sounds like they made you whole. I am glad that you and they handled the situation so responsibly. I am also glad to hear that they respected the repairs that you had made to the car by making repairs to your new used car. Good job all around and congratulations on your new 8! Drive it well.

 

glad to hear everything worked out. not all car dealerships are out there to make a dirty buck as it is proven here by yours. I have a similar story with a past certified used but i will not jack the thread or topic since it is not in regards to an 8. My only point being again, there are creditable car dealerships and a reason why my last 4 cars have come from that dealership.

 

Mind sharing which dealership is that?