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Comments
Excuse me??!!
The guy then proceeded to explain that unless I was willing to sit down and make a deal that he was unwilling to go take a test drive.
I was ansolutely appauled.
Then. realizing the significence of what he had said, he replied that he'd be "happy" to take me for a spin. Yeah.....
Needless to say I want be buying a Mazda6. That's too bad because I really liked the car. But I am unwilling to spend 25k+ CASH and be treated with total disregard. I'm still trying to convince my self that he didn't have the audacity to approach me in such a manner.
Boggles the mind...looks like I'll be getting an Accord (where I've always been treated with nothing but dignity and respect, not to mention no-pressure sales tactics).
Happy Driving!!
Why not try the next-closest Mazda dealer? Or talk to the sales manager at the dealer you visited the first time and explain to him how the salesman has lost you as a customer, but that you like the 6 and if you're treated with proper respect you'd like to give them a chance?
(I'd try option #1 if there's another dealer within 40 miles, IMHO ;-)
Of course, telling a dealer you've already put a deposit down on another car does imply you're not serious, so I have no idea why you'd do that. But that doesn't excuse this guy's behavior.
While the salesman is letting you tool around, or fool around as the case may be, he may be losing a sale to a prospect waiting in the showroom.
His only hope of selling you a 6 is three or four years down the road. I think it is rude and inconsiderate to say the least.
Would you put a deposit on a house and then call a real estate agent to show you another house, wasting that person's time? Same thing.
This is something like the sailor in the Navy who thought it would be funny to enlist in the Air Force, as a joke, while home on leave. He had to serve 4 years in the Navy and 4 years in the Air Force. Uncle Sam says a contract is a contract. Suppose you had made a downpayment on the 6, too?
fowler3
I'm supposed to be waiting to get this car, but it is getting so hard. I have a chance to get a decent raise in a few weeks, and if it's better than expected, I may be pushing hard to get the car next month. Turns out I qualify for the college rebate ($500) because I finished grad school just under 2 years ago (which is the time limit). So that's something that favors getting the car sooner. But I can wait, if I have to. I know what my next car is, no matter when that may happen
Had to pay MSRP $35000.00(still great value for this car) but did get a couple of things thrown in. Also got a got a great Trade in value on a 2000 MPV van.
Saw somewhere on the edmunds sight that the heated seats do not work as well as they should. As my new 6 is on order did not get a chance to test the seats. As any of you 6 owners experienced trouble with the heated seats. We live up here in the great white north, (temperature as I type this is -23C or -9F) so this is an important feature in any car with leather seats....
Capitano: Yes, I did put a down deposit on another car and he knew this because he "overheard" a conversation between his associate and I.
Skyray: I do realize that this may be a problem with just this dealer and not others. But, from what I hear, some Mazda dealers are turning into real jerks when it comes to selling the 6. I suppose I could try another dealer, but frankly, when I have a bad experience with a salesman of a particular car brand, it tends to carry over to other dearlerships (read: Chevrolet, Pontiac...er, GM!). I could also see why telling them I'm buying an Accord would be trouble, but the day before the other salesman seemed pretty interested. Besides, coming back 2-days in a row must say something...and the fact that the 1st guy convinced me into a drive says something too...
Fowler 3-
When my new Accord was put on order (from another dealer), I asked if my money could be refunded if something were not as I wanted. Of course the answer was yes, and so I decided to put the deposit down because the Accord coupes are selling ridiculously up here in Chicago. So shopping the competition seemed like a logical thing to do in the event of the car not being what I specified.
Also, there were no other customers...the place was about as empty as Paul Ruebens' bedroom...so I was the only potential customer. Regardless of my situation, if I'm willing to pay cash, meaning I have the financial means capable of purchasing the automobile, you should want to sell me the car...right?
Maybe I'm just delusional...
Happy Driving!!
But my own experience is that things can be dramatically different between dealers. When we bought our Saab 9-3 in 2001, one dealer made us go through haggling h-e-double-toothpick. The second dealer just offered us a very reasonable price straight off.
My Mazda Miata purchase in 2000 was totally painless, with an amazingly helpful salesguy who did the whole thing over the phone/internet and held the car for me without even a deposit.
With the Mazda 6, I worked with three dealers. One was a stereotypical car dealer, with all the annoyances that entails, while the other two had very helpful staffers. I ended up buying from a dealer across state lines simply because they had the car I wanted, while "friendly local dealer #2" would have taken a couple of weeks to get it.
Interestingly, I've found small town dealers to be a lot more helpful than the big city behemoths. They have more interest in individual sales.
Big time.
I've heard (and experienced) bad things with Mazda dealerships, but even more so with Honda dealerships. The typical comment is that the Honda dealerships are getting ego problems. I know I went one time where I simply wouldn't be helped after an hour of paging a guy I had an appointment with!!! The Mazda guys accross the street even helped me find the Honda guy! In the meantime, my friend, who was shopping for a new Accord, drove (and loved and bought) a Protege.
If that is the scenario, no wonder he didn't think you were serious. In the world of sales, you were salesman number 1's customer, Even if you bought, number 1 would get all or at least part of the commission. And you already told him you had bought something else. Put yourself in their shoes.
I don't see that the sales people did ANYTHING wrong, if this is the way it happened. If I understand it correctly, you tell YOUR sales associate you already bought a car, then go to a different associate and ask for a test drive.
And of course salesman number one had been pretty interested on day one. It looked then he might sell you a car and make a commission. Never, ever make the mistake of thinking the most important thing in a deal is that you love and have a great relationship with the sales rep. The rep is there to sell. If that means feigning interest in your horses, then you will usually find the rep to be a horse lover. Or fountain pens, your kids, the sports world, whatever appears to be of common interest. The more the rep can be your friend, the more apt s/he is to generate a good commission for themselves. There is nothing wrong with this. It's human nature.
By the way, if I had been salesman number 2, I would have smiled at you sweetly, and said:
Tell you what, bring by your Accord, and the general manager and I will take it out for a test drive. You can even go with us if you want. (Never once would I have done anything but be sweetness and light, but you would have gotten the message).
http://www.mazda.ca/fre/down_the_road/2004_mazda6/gallery/forSave- /mazda6_14.jpg
The pictures shown on edmunds have a regular trunk, whilst this picture is from the Mazda Canada website (no mention of hatch AND sedan being available in canada though...!!)
[Edmunds: http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com//pictures/- VEHICLE/2003/Mazda/100195195/007122-E.jpg ]
2) Why does some pictures show the M6 with transparent rear light covers, while other show it with "regular" red covers? Is it a Mazda option?
http://www.mazda.ca/fre/down_the_road/2004_mazda6/gallery/forSave- /mazda6_16.jpg
3) How intuitive / usable is the console interface (heat, radio and al.) ?
The clear tail lights are Japanese/Euro-spec. For NA, they decided the buying public here likes red tail lights.
Too bad. They look very cool. You could probably get them from an importer.
I get an e-mail reponse yesterday and they list my new car as a Mazda ES 626~!!!! what??? Just because the car doesn't exsist on their web screen doesn't mean it's something else>.
anyway. Maybe a 626 is cheaper, and for now anyway, as long as I'm insured, I don't care. But if it's wrong and something happens and I need coverage will I get "Whoa there lady... you didn't tell us you were driving a 6!!!"
And yes, they have the VIN number.. so I guess that's all that matters.
Call State Farm- I found them to be the least expensive, most friendly, and most comprehensive. The few friends of mine who actually comparison shopped have discovered the same thing.
Or, join the military so you can use USAA :-)
I'd have to check, but I think I'm just over $1k a year for a 22y old male living in a metro area, clean record, great coverage.
I'll agree with that. I currently have them, and it's costing me $1400 a year. 23/M, with no tickets/accidents and three separate discounts! Talk about expensive!
I did check with them about the 6. They said my rates would go up $100 per six months. I'll be going with a different company come July, especially if I order my 6 by then. $1600 a year for the 6, with all it's safety features, is ridiculous.
34yo female, Michigan, $500 regular collision, $0 comprehensive, can't remember the other stuff. This is also including the safety feature discount, multi-car discount, and multi-line discount we get 'cause we have our other vehicles and our house insured by them. I didn't think that was too bad for a brand new car.
GEICO and AARP insurance is much higher than State Farm. AARP everything is a lot higher than an individual can buy on his/her own.
fowler3
State Farm is best for younger drivers, I have always been told. I have had one claim with them from a hit-and-run, and they handled it superbly. I just dropped off my car for repair, picked up my rental, and that was it. They even sent me a check for the extra $ on the rental car, because I upgraded to an intermediate from compact.
My insurance is 233.16 a month on an 02 1.8T Jetta. I am 24, live in a large city (Baltimore), have one point, and have my house insurance with them too. That's actually the cheapest I ever got quoted. One company (I forgot their name - for obvious reasons) told me my policy would cost $501 a MONTH! No kidding, I almost fell out of my chair when I read that!
I was pleasantly surprised that my insurance on my 2003 6s was only $36 higher/6 months than my 2000 Miata.
Geiko is cheaper than our AllState was. But I think it depends on your age, record and where you live.
Also, the law in oregon is your insurance company CAN NOT tell you where to get your car fixed. If you take it to a good shop (and they have to let you take it wherever you want) the good shop will use good parts on your car.
If I bang up the hood and take my car to Kadel's Auto Body (best place in Portland-area in my opinion) Geiko HAS to pay for the parts Kadel's uses.
I don't know about other states, but that's how it works here.
Of course, if they get me a hood from a 626... guess it might look funny.
I was pleasantly surprised that my insurance on my 2003 6s was only $36 higher/6 months than my 2000 Miata.
http://www.badfaithinsurance.org/
I've been with AMICA for about 3 years now and have been very happy with them so far. They are a little bit more expensive than some other insurance companies (though I think Geico was more expensive than AMICA), but I think it's worth it. After all, the whole reason you have the insurance company to begin with is so if something happens, they'll take care of things.
Anyway, my two cents.
Mike
I'm a 19 year old male (purchasing a 6s) who has never been insured in the US before. I got quoted $3000 (for 6 months) from Progressive and almost withdrew my order for the car! Then State Farm quoted me $1500 for a comprehensive plan, and i decided to take it. It's a lot of moeny for 6 months, but hopefully i'll be able to get them to reduce it significantly after that time period. Who knows.
let strangers crawl all over your car, and answer all their questions, even the silly ones :-D
Until more 6's were in dealers' hands insurance companies did not update their computer programs. When I had State Farm give me a quote on a 6i it was based on the 626, which cost more.
Mazdamarla, you had better check again, but then, maybe the $389 is correct.
North Carolina has a law that car owners can have parts replaced anywhere they choose. Insurance is higher in NC than Virginia because of the large number of rearend collisions. It didn't take long for this to sink in when I saw two accidents like that at the same intersection within one hour. In both cases an SUV had hit small cars.
NC also has a law that states when following another vehicle and you come to an intersection, or traffic light, you have to maintain enough clearance to see the tires on the car ahead of you. Many drivers obviously don't follow the rules. It took me four months to get use to the way people drive here -- read CRAZY.
Insurance rates are based on other peoples' driving habits.
fowler3
I thought I read that sporty cars usually have crossmembers behind the rear seats to provide stiffer structure, thus some of them don't even provide the rear-seat fold down feature because of this. It seems the hatchback would be sorely lacking this kind of structural reinforcement.
I have been following the 6 ever since I first heard about it and I love the looks of this car. Most of the comments I've read, on this board and other places, have been overwhelmingly positive. The only thing I'm not sure about is whether or not the ride is on the harsh side because of the sport suspension that gives it the great handling.
Now that I just got a great new job with Ford Motor Company (I guess I'm following in my Dad's footsteps after all), I'm seriously considering trading in my Camry for a 6 later this year. Those of you who have read some of my earlier posts, may remember that while I really like my car because of its great reliability and smooth ride, I long for something more stylish and with more confident handling. I think the beautiful new Mazda 6 may be just the ticket, especially with the available discount and as a Ford employee. However, the roads in Detroit are pretty rough and I don't want to feel like I'm bumping around in a go-cart as I tool around town. That's my main concern with the 6, is that the ride may be too hard for me.
When the 2002 Camry first came out, I test drove the SE version and I really liked the tighter handling and the other improvements compare to my 2000 Camry, even though the ride was not quite as smooth over rough patches. I just didn't like the style, so I passed. However, I'm wondering if the Mazda 6 ride is similar to that. If so, I think I can easily live with that, for a beautiful, better handling vehicle. If anyone out there has driven both the Camry SE and the Mazda 6 (this may be unlikely, but I'm throwing it out there anyway) would you share your impressions? Am I on the right track thinking that the ride quality, if not the handling, is similar between the two?
My Camry is a V6 and I like the engine. I'd be torn about whether or not to buy the 6i or 6s, if I decide to buy the Mazda6. I'm not interested in driving a stick, so it would definitely be an automatic, which makes me lean more toward the 6s. Costwise, the price of the 6i is more appealing, no doubt. Of course, a test drive will be in order and that would be the deciding factor and the only way I'll really know if this is the car for me. Although if I bought cars solely on looks, I'd already be sold. I just wanted to get some other opinions first.
Any and all thoughts are welcome. I love this board, there's always something happening and I'm sure I will get some responses. Sorry for the long post. :-)
Sam
Obviously you're going to have some compromise in "mushy/cushy" ride if you want sport handling. But the 6 is dramatically smoother and quieter inside than our 2001 Saab 9-3. It's certainly no Miata (which channels every bump directly to the spine for maximum driving enjoyment :-). I've had zero complaints even driving over the frost heaves here in Vermont, but again, I don't have a Camry to compare to.
As for 6i vs. 6s, be sure to look at all the options that are standard on the 6s that aren't on the 6i -- ABS brakes, alarm, power driver seat, etc. It essentially comes with the $800 "Premium Package," as well as automatic climate control. So the price difference doesn't end up that dramatic in the end if those are options you'd want anyway.
They promise their full write up on the 6 next month. In the meantime, since this was their annual auto issue, they had their laundry list of cars and little blurbs for each. The blurb for the 6 (with a recommended check mark on it) mentions the "ford-supplied" V6. Not very helpful.