How is the dealers at Almaden Mazda, I went to their site today and priced out a 2005 Mazda RX8 6speed with all the options I would love to have but thought it'd be over $35,000 and look what they are quoting me.

Invoice
Base 24,844.00
Options 6948
Destination 560
Total 32,352

This is a lot cheaper than I expect it to be. It is a 2005 6spd black RX8, with GT appearance package, rotary accents, indash 6 disk, rear spoiler, and navigation.

In my opinion, that is a pretty good price, plus hopefully I'll be able to talk them down . What do you guys think, any work with almaden mazda?

 

Wow, that's pretty good. They're quoting you at invoice price, and it's not even February yet. You can run the numbers yourself at kbb.com.

 

It was online that they gave me that price, but I went to their dealer today to check out their RX-8's and they had basically a 2005 GT RX-8 for around $31500 with a $2000 markup, so they were around $33500 sticker price is what they were asking for. That is 6spd, gt, appearance package, rotary accents.

$35000 sticker price on that, and then when I do basically the same car, with the addition to a indash 6disk, and navigation, it gives me $32,352 invote. How does that work?

P.S. None of the cars that I saw there had the navigation, would I have to special order it or what?

 

I guess I'm confused. A quote means they offered to sell you the car you want for $32,352. Who cares what the sticker says if they've already quoted you a price? Personally, I'd take it.

I'm a little concerned that these cars are selling so poorly that a dealer is already quoting invoice price over the Internet. You'd think at this time of the year, they'd be holding out for a little more profit. Hmm, bad news for the RX-8.

Regarding the nav, that's a factory-installed option. It can't be installed by the dealer.

 

Nah sorry, if you go to www.almadenmazda.com and then build your rx-8, that's the price it gives me with all those options added and everything. So would they give it to me at that price or would they mark it up?

 

I bought my Rx-8 and Mazda6 from Kathi Greene, the Internet Fleet Director at Almaden. She's probably the one that gave you the quote. Call her or ask for her when you go there. Tell her Mazdabob recommended her. Hopefully she will give you a good deal.

 

We bought our RX8 from Almaden although we live in Union City. I talked to a salesman on the phone and the next day he got me a good buy (below invoice). Nav is a factory option. The car either has it or doesn't. We have Nav and like it, but others don't care for the RX8 nav.

I thought I saw RX8s advertised for $6K under MSRP in Oakland.

 

Don't know about this specific dealer, but it's not unusual to be quoted a price through the internet that is lower than either advertised or sticker prices. Several factors contribute to this phenomenon. (1) Dealers recognize that if you're contacting them, you're probably shopping price at other dealers. (2) You probably know more about a specific model than someone walking in off the street. (3) Internet sales are usually "easier" from the dealer's standpoint. Buyers are motivated, knowledgeable, and not likely to require extensive hand-holding to get the deal done. The deal is "cheap" from the dealer's standpoint since it usually can be handled through email and a few phone calls.

Internet sales are similar to fleet sales. The dealer wants to make them quick so they can move large volumes of cars. You'll notice that many dealers have dedicated "internet sales managers" and ask you to deal with them when you call or come in.

IMO, it's the only way to do business unless you have a special relationship with a specfific dealer.