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The Mazda Club Chat is on tonight. The chat room opens at 8:45PM ET Hope to see YOU there! Check out the schedule
One store did pass along some helpful information - in addition to the $2500 cash rebate and the $1000 additional rebate (if financed through Mazda Credit) there is reportedly another $500 in cash from Mazda to dealers. This makes some recent posts more understandable. It would seem that the minimum discount one would expect in this region is over $6000 if financed through Mazda.
While I was there got them to look at the grooves in the brake rotors. They made some calls and said it was normal.
Also got them to check out a vibration I am having in 6th gear below 2500 RPM or 65MPH. The service manager took me for a trip. I guess he thought I was hearing things like the exhaust or something. He heard it and he thinks it's the drive shaft. Taking it in next week so they can check it out and talk with Mazda about it. Looks like the drive shaft might be out of balance. I have read in another forum about a problem but it was at 45MPH.
Will post the results when I found out.
I just bought a Mazdaspeed6 and the dealer offered to install a sunroof as a dealer accessory. How does that affect my position at the end of the lease. This is my first time leasing so any information would be helpful.
Thanks,
Krzys
But a MS6 without a moonroof is no fun and the GTP was not possible.
Thanks,
ZZZ
When I leased my 6S a couple of years back they told me that I could modify or accessorize in any way as long as it ADDED value to the car. I believe a sunroof would qualify.
Good luck!
Yeah, and they will be the final judge of that.
I was cross-shopping the Mazda against the Mustang GT. Ford's current financing offer makes the latter hard to resist. Now I just need to find the right one....
I'm looking into this on the MS3. Looks like shipping is $1000 to go 1/2 way across the US. Probably not worth it on the MS3 where at best you could save $1500 with a dealer willing to do S-Plan. But it might be on the MS6 where you can potentially save several $K. Of course, you have to factor in risk/uncertainty of a the long distance transaction.
Be careful about dealerships arranging the shipping because they may try to add profit into that too. It should cost about $1k to ship across the country East to West for a 4000lb vehicle and closer to $800 to go West to East. These are retail prices. FYI: carmax charges about $700 to ship from their East coast dealerships to Sacramento. If you ship about 1000 miles it should not run over $500. Just shop it around...
There is less risk if you get all the details on paper. Get the initial milage and option set; have your insurance company run the VIN too... just to make sure that the option set checks out. If you are getting your own shipper, they will gladly call you once they see/load the vehicle. You might also recruit a friend or a relative if you have local one. Anyone can walk around, check for scratches and read the odometer.
Since you are already in an MS6, you will be throwing more good money after bad by purchasing a new MS3. Are you ready for an encore performance?
FYI: the price on '07 MS6 is already posted here at Edmunds and there are no changes but: no more white or cherry and '07 will come with all black interiors. The invoice on NAV and moonroof are also a bit lower. However, it is hard to imagine that selling prices will be any higher given more competion from LGT Spec B and the newer G35x that is expected in a few weeks...
Anyone on the fence should move now. The '07s have no significant changes, and the factory warranty is being cut to 36K miles. Invoice minus the $3500 rebate on the '06 is unbeatable...the price was within $1000 of a standard WRX, and a Speed6 Sport can be had for less than a WRX TR. Thousands less than a Legacy GT Turbo.
Krzys
My point is, cars that sell best aren't always the best cars (and they usually aren't made for auto enthusiasts), but they hit their intended market on the nose, so they justify their continued, profitable existance. This also applies to music, movies, food, etc.
The MAZDASPEED6 has several perception problems working against it:
1) It's based on the Mazda 6 which, while a nice car, isn't generally perceived as a performance car. Toyota could release a truly sporty Camry (not the lame SE model), but it still wouldn't sell to enthusiasts. Note that Toyota dropped the Celica and MR Spyder last year and they're dropping the Celica-engined Matrix XLR and Corolla XLR for 2007. Toyota is smart enough to know that nobody considers Toyota to be a sporty, youthful brand, hence the creation of Scion.
2) It's not flashy enough or promoted properly to appeal to the youth market. Subaru, Mitsubishi, Scion and Volkswagen spend ample $$$ to make sure their cars are featured in movies, video games and other youth-oriented promotional vehicles.
3) On the flip side, it's not luxurious enough or prestigious enough (for those who care) to compete with BMW, Audi, Lexus, etc.
IN the end, the MAZDASPEED6 is neither here nor there -- it's difficult to pigeonhole, which makes it a hard sell. Is it a WRX competitor or an A4 competitor? Would it sell better with an automatic and wood trim or with a flashier spoiler kit and wheels and a louder exhaust? Mazda has done a poor (non-existant?) job marketing the car -- I have never seen/heard a single ad for the car and nobody I know has ever heard of it. It is a car in serch of a market.
In the end, I don't care. I was able to take advantage of the fact that they're not selling well and strike a great deal on a great car. I've driven Nissans, Hondas and Acuras before, but this is the first time I've ever purchased a Japanese car and I don't regret it -- the Mazda feels 50% German to me!
The only downside: when my lease is up, I highly doubt Mazda will offer another car that I'll be interested in, so they'll probably lose me back to Audi/VW or another brand.
-monkeymobile
History repeats itself: last year 9-2x Aero was selling for less than WRX with better warranty and nicer exterior
BTW: MS6 can be had for about 7k off MSRP :surprise: if you shop hard enough and if you live in a competive market. Many dealerships start negotiation with $6k off. There are more incentives than the advertised $3.5k but they are tied to volume...
That car itself is great, fun, and most of all unique. There has been great to better than decent cars that companys failed to promote properly. That's just a fact! And this is one of them.
I wondered the same thing, when my lease ends to I get another Mazda interesting enough for me? Although I love this car enough to buy it out right.
BTW, I was to the Mazda road show & talked to a rep about the tires (short milage life of low profile tires & high price) and he tried to assure me that they should go 40k miles if driven easy. Well, I'll see for sure - 2yr 40k mile lease. I had to replace one tire at 1400 miles due to a nail in the side wall @$270 = over $1000 for a set of 4.
Resale on the MS6 will be abysmal because Mazda is (sadly) dumping these cars like like they have the plague. Worse still, the poor sales and poor margins on the MS6 will probably prevent Mazda from offering a follow-up car that's anything like the MS6, at least in the US.
So, 22 months from now, I'll be in the market for a new car. Mazda will either 1) dump the residual on this car and pray I take it off their hands, or 2) try to sell me something else I clearly don't want. The MX-5 is beautiful, but impratcical for me, the RX-8 isn;t my cup of tea and the mileage stinks and I'm not interested in a FWD 3, 6 or SUV.
Seriously, any chance Mazda will make another AWD sports sedan any time soon? I don't think so, which is a bummer considering how much I dig the MS6 (especially the suspension and brakes).
-monkeymobile
The secondary issue with the Speed6 is marketing. And it may not be that much of an issue, since Mazda is only importing 5000 of them, and they got a late start this year. A few dealers in CO have several left, but many dealers have sold out. But then, manual transmissions are much more common here, and not as much of a knockout punch.
Once you get an aware consumer who will accept the 6 speed, the issue is positioning.
The car falls in a performance niche between the WRX and Evo/STi, and a luxury niche between the Camcord/Legacy/VW and the Audi/Volvo/BMW. It is probably most like the Legacy GT Spec.b overall, with more power, better handling and braking, traction and stability control, and is less expensive (even at MSRP). But it is not a Subaru, and Subaru has a lot of brand loyalty.
When you go down the list of cars that are similar (which I would define as AWD performance cars), you see WRX and STi, Legacy GT, Evo, R32, Infinity G35x, various Audis, Volvos, BMWs, pretty soon you realize that the Speed6 is an incredible bargain. I guess you could go so far as to include the 300C/Magnum Hemi AWD's in the list, but I won't go there.
I think a more minor problem is that once you get above the $30K threshold, really little things will keep people from buying a car. In the case of the Speed6, things like lack of a boost gauge (serious omission), no aux input on the stereo, no power on the leather passenger seat, no backup sensors, and a dozen other things that may be on other cars 'in the 30's', can be used as an excuse to go elsewhere. Once you get all of those features though, you are usually looking mid-30's and up.
Bottom line, if you look at what you can get in a performance sedan for $22-25k (what the Speed6 is going for right now), you will find absolutely nothing that comes close. Only once in a while does a truly great car bargain come along, and this is one of them. I'm sure it hurts Mazda to be selling them this low, and it really hurts those who bought early and paid near MSRP...
I only have had one other great deal like this on a new car..ironically it was a 1988 Mazda 323GTX, which was a pretty similar car in concept (high performance AWD turbo) in a (much) smaller package. I paid $13K for a car that stickered at near $17K, drove it 100K miles, and when it was totalled, I got $9K from the insurance company! GTX's are serious cult items now. They only imported 1200 or so of these over two model years. I haven't seen one in years, although when they were new, there were several in my area. Like the Speed6, the car was totally under the radar, but it totally rocked, and everyone I ever talked to that had one loved it to death. It was an AWD turbo go cart with absolutely incredible handling and genuine Recaros that were the best seats I've ever seen in a factory vehicle.
Maybe the Speed6 will achieve similar cult status. The GTX was so rare it barely had enough owners to make a cult....
The future of the Mazdaspeed6 in North America will probably be similar to that of the Ford Contour SVT. The latter was a great car with poor marketing. Ford killed it in NA while in Europe, the same car (the Mondeo)is still and well alive.
In Europe, the Mazdaspeed6 (called MPS 6) is doing very well.
Both cars come with a manual tranny only...
I think if people can find a WRX with an auto acceptable, the Speed6 would be fine with one. The Speed6 engine has more torque at lower RPMs than the WRX, especially the older 2.0L version.
I love the feel of the 6-speed. I have a late '06, and the clutch woes have been fixed.
Use 80401 (Golden, CO) and over 100 miles for the radius of the search, and you'll see 22 Speed6 GTs remaining in the Denver/Co. Springs area.
Use the 'request a quote' part of the webpage, or use Edmund's similar capability. Negotiate via email, because then when you go in to sign, you can have a copy of the emails stating the price. No surprises. Be sure the person with whom you negotiate gives you a bottom line, including any dealer prep fees.
Invoice minus rebates. I know you can get at least that, maybe better if you try really hard.
McDonald Mazda in Littleton (Denver suburb) has Titanium and Red GTs.
...and yes I know that MPG is not the greatest
The Mazda Club Chat is on tonight. The chat room opens at 8:45PM ET Hope to see YOU there! Check out the schedule
Hope that helps...
Oddly enough, the MS6 has better suspension damping at freeway speeds than my wife's Audi A4 Avant (and she doesn't have the optional sports suspension). The ride is significantly better than my old R32.
Potholes and other pavement imperfections are felt, but day to day, it's not at all bad. If possible, I recommend a test drive on a freeway and city streets that you know.
-monkeymobile
As far as fuel economy is concerned, if you use the cruise control on the highway, and stay out of the boost as much as possible, your gas mileage should stay relatively the same as the 6S, maybe slightly better. Of course, you need premium fuel instead of regular, and with a car like this, it's REALLY HARD to stay out of the boost! :shades:
Do NOT tell them you are Canadian! Or if you do, tell them that you are in process of moving to the US (under NAFTA
You may have to buy it for cash so it might be rather difficult to get $1000 MAC rebate. You will have to front all the money and finance it later if need be. Get ready to fork over 6.1% in duty + roughly $200 for the Canadian Tire inspection on top of the GST, AC tax ..(and probably PST). Those folks are nice enough to take credit cards but you will need some room on it. You will have to get daytime running lights but the spedo is actually optional (may help with tire warranties
Good luck from a BrainDrainer! My folks are driving a US spec Highlander in BC... The savings do justify the effort!
At any rate, I would have to front the cash (debt...lol) for the US model. I've gone back and forth on this, and the appeal of low financing rates in Canada, and the "no-hassle" factor of buying at home has a great deal to be said for it. I found a PearlWater White (my favourite colour and NOT available in Canada) with a nav system (again, NOT available in Canada)for $28K (with doc fees and transfer costs). After currency convert and 6.1% tax, it works to about $33,300. The fees for Canada,and modification, plus a grand for the trip to vegas and back driving add about another $1500, so I'm close to $35000. I have a price from my local dealer for $37000(No nav and liquid platinum, my 2nd choice), and I can finance at 1.9%...I just don't know :confuse: :confuse: :confuse:
Conversion should be under $100 for day time running lights... Nothing else will be need because MS6 is on the import "list".
Look into shipping to Seattle as that will be under $500 from most of Western US compared to your cost of driving. Shipping from East cost to Seattle should run around $1k so that gives you access to all US dealers. Email them all if you want too...
MAIN POINT: How are they going to offer 6K off of MSRP? According to the numbers that I've seen, they only have about $3000 of juice in the msrp. It seems Mazda is rebating $2500 which I would direct back to the dealer automatically. I really have appreciated your input. Maybe I should just get you to buy it for me, and then flip to me??