Puppy, has it down.

To me it's competition is 4 dr sport sedans. Saab 9-3, BMW 325i or 320i, Audi A4, Mazda 6, Acura TSX.

But the 8 has more power more sports looks. So it has an edge. And it's less expensive than any of those, save the TSX and 6

 

Thank Puppy1, you said what I was trying to say, but you actually made it make sense.

 

of course, the rx-8 is awesome-ly priced IF the dealers don't get greedy and start jacking up the price. i haven't personally put a deposit down yet: i don't like commitments to a car i haven't even driven yet.

hopefully, no markups, and the price will be so right it hurts.

justin

 

Elara,
You're right, I did misunderstand your post. The RX-8 is a unique vehicle that really has no comparison/competition. It's actually a breakthrough vehicle. The only competition it has is the other vehicles the buyer is considering when shopping for a vehicle just like Puppy1 said.

Over the past 4-5 months I've been looking for a second vehicle. My choices have varied from a used WRX, Eclipse, A4, RSX, Mini, and others. I initially didn't consider the RX-8 because I thought it would be over 30k base MSRP. I quickly cancelled my A4 order when I found out the pricing on the RX-8.

So, by Mazda "underpricing", "aggressively pricing" the RX-8, they took a commited A4 buyer and made me an RX-8 buyer. This brings us back to my question at the beginning, did Mazda fix the price of this vehicle in such a way to gain marketshare against the competition, whatever it may be. And my twist is, did Mazda underprice it on purpose to do this. I think yes.

 

yes, absolutely.

 

Unless, like all good marketers you price to create some balance to Supply and Demand. My projection is that pricing will rise
over the next 18 months substantially more than all the
aforementioned competitors.

There is precedence to this. There is need right now to create a buzz factor--a momentum. This Forum is enlargening--you see it daily. I've noticed Honda marketing may have three official revisions upwards in first year for a brand new product.
Watch out all you fence-sitters!

 

Compare RX8 pricing and G35C pricing. (I'd put 350Z in there, but I can tell you right now the options on the 350Z are way over priced)

RX8 6sp Manual:
$27,200

If you want leather seats:
Add $3900 for GT Package

Add Spare Tire
$395

Add In-Dash CD Changer
$500

Add Cassette Player
$200

Total: 32,235.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

G35C 6sp Manual:
$32,200

Base: include leather seats, spare tire, powered, heated seats, in dash CD and cassette player, xenon, dynamic control, fold down rear seats, fog lights, heated mirrors.

Add Moonroof: $1000

Add Homelink / Autodimm mirrors: $300 dealership installed

Add delivery charger: $545

What it doesn't have: 2 extra doors, Bose stereo. (Trust me, Bose ain't all that great on the G35..... some people rather have the base stereo. Rip off)

Total: $34,045

* I'll tell you this, the base G35C is perhaps the most underpriced sport coupe on the market today. Premium package is almost a rip off considering Bose system is pretty pathetic and most items are already standard. (xenon, power heated seats, fold down rear bench, LED lights, heated mirrors.....) If you are lucky enough to find one, BUY IT! If you really need an NAV system, buy an aftermarket one. No stock NAV system is worth $2k*



$32,235 vs $34,045, that's a $1800 difference between these two cars. So the actual price difference is around $2000 (who needs cassettes anyways) So the pricing of these cars are much closer than what is being presented by other members on this topic. Just wanted to clarify that.

Is the G35C worth $2k more than the RX-8? It's your call. Keep in mind, the G35C cannot carry tall adults in the backseat and only has 2 doors as opposed to four. G35 prides itself in being $7-8k cheaper than a comparatively equipped BMW 330ci. Both cars are in entry luxury class with similar luxury/performance/handling characteristics. The RX8, IMHO is in a different class: Against the lighter and smaller sport sedan/coupes such as the Acura TSX / RSX and maybe the IS300. The RX8 beats the crap out of the TSX and RSX in terms of value and performance. :D

 

I do hope you guys are all right and Mazda has done us a great favour by pricing the RX8 very competitively.

Having not seen the car in the flesh my concern is that savings have been made that we are not yet aware of ie paint quality & material. I am going to walk away if upon closing the door the window rattles (having been used the Audi quality).

rael.

 

I've seen, sat in and played with the RX8 in person. Everything appeared to be top notch. Believe me the Rx8 is my underpriced.
Drew

 

You guys in the US are lucky the S2000 is totally overpriced here in Canada as it starts at $48,600! The base RX-8 here starts at $36,795 for the GS and $39,595 for the GT. As you can see it's quite a price difference!

Mazda Canada is pricing is pretty sharp here when you consider that Subaru sells their WRX for about $35,000. Not much cheaper than a base RX-8.

 

...actually, in Canada that's more about the RX-8 being even MORE aggresively priced in a car market where demand is considerably lower in the US (when you adjust for price level, and factor out the exchange rate)

our GT model is about the same price as a low-power Base US RX-8... we're actually getting a friggin' steal on the '8.

 

Yeah but the S2000 is still over priced here. I'd say it's $3,000 to $5000 too much for the Canadian market. The sharp pricing for the RX-8 really puts that into focus.

 

i think s2000 is overpriced nevertheless, here or there. 31k for a tiny car like that (i know, what a car it is!). i really like s2k, but i do think it's way expensive

i think rx-8 is priced JUST RIGHT. 33k fully decked out w/ performance and coolness and gadgets and practicality. 33k isn't pocket change, it's a considerable amount. but considering that nowadays a nice mid-sized sedan (camry, accord, passat, 6) runs b/t 25 and 30k, and decent mainstream suv or minivan up to 36, 37k, the 8 is right in the reasonable middle of that. it's not cheap, but it's not expensive either. and it's likely to be priced similar to whatever decent car you're buying, and it's not that much of a compromise either way...unless you want to tow a boat or a house. so...i probably just repeated what all of you just said :p