I did a search in the forum for something like this, but didn't come up with anything.

What's your story about your Shinka? How did you hear about it? What made you decide to get one?

Ours: We were originally looking for an SUV to replace my wife's tired Saturn. We had left the Saturn dealership pretty much convinced that we were going to get the Saturn VUE, AWD, 6 cylinder. We decided to stop off at the Mazda dealership on the way home, and ended up driving a loaded pearl white '05. That was all she wrote. While the salesman was working up the numbers for the car, I noticed an MT Shinka sitting off to the side, along side an automatic one. The wife fell in love with it immediately. We switched our selection, and that was pretty much the end of it. The funny thing was, thinking back on the whole thing, we never did test drive the Shinka. Just looked it over, and said "We'll take this one instead".:D

Your story?

 

Shinka owner here.

Well, I just wanted to have my "own" car at first, price is not really a concern (well, something around 40K should be fine)

After "I dont even know how many times of car dealership visits", I decided that I will either get a Scion xA (I like the looks ...), or This, RX-8 (I like the Engine AND the looks)

Well, I placed my order for xA first because of 3 reasons :
1. They said they will have it in around 3 weeks
2. The first Mazda Dealer I've been to Bullshit me around and I got really pissed about that.
3. Sorry to say but, I can buy 2 xA for the price of 1 RX-8. I know its diff class of cars but hey, its true about the price diffs too !

But. After 4 weeks, No phone calls from Scion(Toyota), nothing, I called them and said that Im going to cancel, then they said it's in the port and going to come soon. Screw you. Cancel.

Went to another Mazda Dealer and drove it off the lot the same day I made that phone call to Scion.

Why Shinka over the normal version? Well, I mean, I dont like to buy cars with no options. So I was thinking

"Hmm, If Im going to get the GT package /w the normal one, why dont I just get the Shinka? it cost around the same and the color is special (somewhat ...), some special tweak(not much I will say), and the "Special Edition Shinka Name" that normal version will never have. Ok, Here I come Shinka"

end of Story. :-D

 

once i saw a shinka on the dealership floor - it was pretty. the end.

 

Test drove a bunch of cars, STI, 350z, G35..... I just felt most at home and one with the car when driving the 8 (a yellow). I didn't get to test drive the shinka until after I agreed to buy it, dealer didn't want anyone driving it so I got it with 4 miles on it. The interior is what did me in, I love the light colored leather, it gives the 8 a luxury sport feel.

My shinka gets a hymee tomarrow!

 

I was going to buy a used 350Z. Having owned lots of RX-7s in the past, I just couldn't go over to Nissan without giving the RX-8 a try first. I really wanted a 2-seater coupe, so the 8 just wasn't on my radar. I stopped by a dealer and asked to test drive a used '04 RX-8. Uh Oh. It felt like my FC, only on major steroids. That was about the point I forgot all about the stiff, crude 350Z. Since there were only a few used 8s to be had, I decided to just go ahead and buy new again. I didn't like the solid black interiors, and the red/black didn't work for me either. When I talked to the dealer, he was going to get me a new Black 8 with chaparral/black leather, but then I sat in the Shinka in the showroom. That was that.

Now, it looks nice parked in my garage next to my Mahogany/parchment Miata.

 

:D :D :D

 

When i get tired of my 8, I will paint it purple and sell it on ebay as a Shinka.

 

What model year Saturn did you "give up" for your shinka? I was driving a 1991 red Saturn SL2 that I'd owned for almost 15 years @ over 150K miles.

Sold the SL2 to a coworker, bought an MT Shinka. Test drove both the manual and automatic GT model but never drove a Shinka until I took mine off the lot at Byers Mazda.

I got the Shinka over the TiGrey because my wife preferred the Black Cherry color and the tan interior. I wasn't sure I wanted the sirius radio but now that I have it, I *LOVE* it. Mine stays tuned to channel 37 -- bluegrass all the time.

Tyler8
2005 6MT Shinka

PS: Can't wait to see the 2006 Shinka. Supposed to be "Red Copper" for the paint.

 

There's the thread "What the RX-8 says about you"... I never would have put "Blue Grass" and the "RX-8" together. Just goes to show we're a diverse bunch.

 

Eh... Dude, it's not only about the color.

When you're done slapping on parchment leather all around, piano black trim all over, injected foam in the front cross-member, installed beefier shocks (14mm vs 12mm), brighter finish wheels, gave free Sirius Sat subscription, and changed the bezels to satin finish instead of dull gray then you come get me and I might buy it from you...

can you say "color envy" :D

 

After having a VR RX8, I wanted to get a pearl white one. For ***** and giggles I called several dealers in my area to see if they had a Shinka on display to look at. Only two dealers had one. I walked into the dealer and she was there in the showroom. The color looked much better in person than in pictures and then I sat inside. I just fell in love with the interior and completely forgot about my plans to get the white, which I still think looks awesome. A couple of hours later I bought her :D

 

Sorry, i hurt your feelings. I guess if I had added one of these... , you might have caught the joke in my post.

 

um this dumb lady ran into the back of my silver 8, totalling it...so i saw the shinka and thought, um yes please...the end

 

lol is that your dog in your avatar?

He's/She's funny-looking!

 

After 11 years in a 626 (a good experience), it was time for Dad to get a new car (wife has gotten 2 minivans in the interim). After looking at what was stylish that could hold more than 2 people, I was back at Mazda trying to decide between practical (another 6) and fun (RX-8).

Saw the Shinka in the showroom with the parchment seats and that hard to describe finish. Scoured the internet and this site for info. I didn't want black seats (especially after listening to all the gripes on this site about the a/c) and none of the others colors struck a chord. I couldn't think about anything else after that. I was obsessed. I was constantly checking local inventories to see who I could play off against.

That dealer wouldn't haggle (and the interrior was a little "beat up" from showroom use). I went to another dealer and was able to drive the Shinka I was buying and the price was right!

 

I drove a 325i at first, then went over and tried the Audi A3 which was a nice car, and then I drove the 350Z, which was stiff but beefy on the line and I liked that engine growl. I was pretty convinced that the Z was for me, but I had always loved the 8 in the commercials, and it looked pretty sweet so I went to the Mazda dealership and drove the 8 - a stock one since the dealer wouldn't let me touch the Shinka. I sat in it, and while I was a little disappointed at the low-end torgue, but whipping around the turns was oh so sweet. I sat in the Shinka for about 2 minutes, called the wife, and told her I was going to spend a "little more" for a Shinka. I treat the car like the rest of my kids (cat, dog, bird)... and she gets babied like no other car i've ever had.

I will never look back...

 

It's a '97 SL1 with 170K miles on it. We ended up not trading it in 'cause the Saturn dealer was going to give us about $1000 more on the trade-in should we go with them. We think we'll hold on to it til we settle on the VUE next year.

 

well, I just dont know where to begin......I think I got the Mazda fever when I bought my first Mazda 6....03 speed yellow.....it was a really great looking car....handled well, V6 3L with a lot of get up and go...a year later I adopted a greyhound.....which didnt fit really well in the back seat and left a lot of hair on my black interior....so I decided to trade it in on an SUV.....at that time Saturn came out with the VUE Red Line....V6 3.5L with ground effects, 18'rims and low profile tires....I fell in love with it....plenty of room for 5 people and put the greyhound in the back...a year later, I started getting the urge for something sporty....my oldest son was graduating from college and the other son was half way there...I made some good sound financial decisions and decided it was time to treat myself...I decided I was going to keep the SUV....so no matter what car I chose, winter weather, etc wouldnt be an issue...
Color is a very important priority for me...I dont choose colors that are common for motor vehicles....ie black and silver....so I looked at the 350Z but didnt like the availble colors....I had always liked the 8 but never drove one....so I went on-line to the MazdaUSA website and low and behold there was the Shinka.....it looked like it was close to a burgundy color which I also loved...I checked the website for dealer availability and found that a dealer nearby had one in stock...so I went to look at it...well, I was pleasantly surprised at what it looked like in person....not at all what it looked like on the web....totally different color....but the black cherry was definitely impressive....it was sitting on the show room floor...looking mighty nice and I must have walked around it 20 times if I did it once...I kept saying to myself "I gotta have this car"......so I test drove another 8 6MT just to make sure I liked how the car handled.....that was the icing on the cake....of course the price was right....perks of my company (ford partners plan)......
-P
PS....I still stare at my car everyday....and shake my head...."damm it looks fine" :D

 

We really liked the VUE also. Test drove the 2WD one first, wasn't really that impressed. Then tried out the V6 AWD next, and what a difference! We would have one parked in our driveway right now had we not stopped off at the Mazda dealership on the way home.

We're hoping to get into one next year.

 

moonlighting one night a week to pay for the shinka.....only drawback is 2 car payments! :D

 

haha... everytime after parking in my garage I take a quick look back at my car too!

 

Drove my brother's 2005 S2000 and decided I wanted a six speed MT too. Considered the S2000, but when I test drove a used 2004 Blk GT (btw the dealer let me fly in that baby), I just had to have an 8.

I visited two other dealers first. I was dressed pretty raggety... one dealer only let me drive around the block and tried to sell me a AT base model. The other dealer told me to come back in the morning (it was 9 at night and felt I needed to test drive an 8).

It was at my third dealer that I drove the 2004 Blk GT.. I first saw the Shinka on the web, liked the parchment, but wasn't a fan of the "purple". Only in person did I fell in love w/the parchament and the blk cherry just looked so clean. Never test drove the Shinka, bought it and drove it off the lot that day. THE END

 

A common trend I've noticed here is that because the Shinka is a limited edition model, many of the dealerships are reluctant, if not, flat out refused, to let anybody take it for a test drive.

Ours was a "show" model, that is, it was taken around to shopping malls and car shows to show off. It had a little bit of soil on the seats from people getting in and out of it, but that came up pretty easily. Also, someone stole the shift **** while it was at one of the shows. Cracks me up to think of someone walking around with a shift-**** around their neck.

Because of the slightly 'used' condition of the vehicle, the dealership knocked off about $800 of the asking price. But, it didn't really matter 'cause we got the price offered through the Ford's Partner Plan, probably the same as the one that Shinka213 took advantage of.

We have to admit being put off a little with the non-Shinka interior seating decor. The body color of the Shinka was really nice, but it was the interior that really clinched it for us.

 

Mine is a Sad / Happy ending story. I crashed my 911 in June and the car was beyond repair (even slvage title) . For almost a month a went to at least one dealer every other day, test drove every car I could think about but either didn't like the interior or the exterior colors or something about them. I have decided to get an M3 and actually was on my way to the dealer when I saw a Shinka on the street (It happens to be owned by somebody at work) and fell in love with the look of the car. Call it faith if you want, but I went to the Mazda dealer and they have 3 in stock. I told the sales guy my story and he let me drive the Shinka for a nice 20 minutes test drive reaching 3 digits speed.

I was so impress with the handling, the look and the overall feeling of this car that I bougth it right there. I was able to negotiate the price of the one that only had 15 miles on it (still wrapped in plastic in the back lot) to $500 over invoice

I couldn't get it of the lot for over a week due to the recall which drove me nuts. I stopped almost every day to look at the car I couldn't drive home

I can tell that I'm as happy as a clam. Porsche slogan is "There is no substitute", but if you have to replace one of only 4 Arena Red factory GT3 look 911's in the area, this is the perfect car.

 

sweeeeeeeeeeet!!! welcome to the world of the shinkas :D