The cheap dealer is Jay Marks. Are you a Jay Marks dealer spy? Just kidding. As johnclineii pointed out in an earlier post, service and general treatment need to be taken into consideration as well as the price. I would also like a dealership that will be willing to provide a loaner car if I require maintenance. I've had bad experiences with warranty work in the past with Mitsubishi and don't want to endure that again.
Jeff Haas seems to have the friendliest environment, although the initial price quote is 3% over invoice. That's over six hundred dollars for the configuration I want.
I didn't receive a firm quote from Joe Myers, but the guy guaranteed $500 over invoice. He just gave me a ballpark figure of between $22000 and $24000. He's going to have to do better than that. I don't think I'll respond. First impressions are important.
I'm having a great time looking and soon buying this car. The Internet is great. I negotiated my girlfriend's deal on her Accord in 2001 using email. After going back and forth on the computer, we went in and the atmospher was great. We paid a little more than we had to, but the communication and information was outstanding. Since then, we have referred several people to that dealership and have received $750 in referral checks. In the end, this turned out to be the cheapest deal afterall.
I'm curious...why do some of you really think that the dealer's level of service should affect where you buy a car? You can take your Mazda to get it serviced at any of the Mazda dealers, so what's wrong with buying it at one, and taking it to another dealer across town for service?
"I'm curious...why do some of you really think that the dealer's level of service should affect where you buy a car? You can take your Mazda to get it serviced at any of the Mazda dealers, so what's wrong with buying it at one, and taking it to another dealer across town for service?"
You are correct. It really doesn't matter where you buy. The sales people don't really have anything to do with the service people. I bought my last car 200 miles from home, and the local dealer was more than happy to do my warranty work and service. That's where they make most of their money, anyway. They really don't care where you bought the car.
"But it's not like $500 over invoice is gouging! Geeze. Car salespeople gotta feed their families too..."
...and I have to feed myself too. I don't have an extra $500 to take care of someone else. At the same time, I don't think $500 over invoice is too much for this car; however, I'm poor and need the car as cheap as possible.
-mpiatek
Good point about the service. I totally forgot about that. I'm so excited my brain isn't fully functioning. I didn't even consider going to a different dealer for service. See...that's the great thing about having an open forum. Thanks!!
Oh, I agree -- you want to save every dollar you can. I actually misread the original message. I thought the "gonna have to do better than that" was about the $500 over invoice. I see now it was a reply to the apathetic ballpark figure quotes. My bad. :-)
the sales nerd only makes 200 dollars on the car anyways, that is if the sales manager doesn't conjure up some accounting trick to discredit him for the sale anyways.
see that name on the dealership? That guy and the sales manager are the only ones who make the coin. oops, finance manager too......
Imagine you are the service manager of a dealership. You are close personal friends as well as a trusted employee of the general manager. You and your wife have dinner with her twice a month, play golf together, have been to the Carribean, go to DisneyWorld with her, her family, the F & I manager, and the parts manager once every two or three years. Disney gets a little old, but it is the prize for highest customer satisfaction in your zone, and your dealership wins more often than not. Even your kids want to go to Six Flags instead once in a while. Still, you LOVE your job.
Today, though, you are swamped. Really, really busy. Every bay but one is full. One of your mechanics called off. Again. Another is really, really sick, and you are worried about her. Four people come in all at once, and all desperate to get their new cars fixed. You have one loaner left. The rental company is out of cars. You can only get one more into your service bays. Of course you take them all in in the order they came in. And as soon as they leave the shop, the customer who bought his car from your new shop is the one who will be put next in line. If the rental is already gone, the used car guy will lend you ONE demo, and it, of course, goes to the new car customer who bought from the house.
Also, warranty work is a pain. The manufacturers nickel and dime you to death. Service work AFTER THE WARRANTY RUNS OUT is the second or third most profitable part of any dealership. (Parts and/or used cars is the most profitable, depending on the dealership, with service either second or third if the first two mentioned are 1 and 2). New car sales is often operated at a loss, with almost ALL of the money made there being made in the F&I department (finance and insurance)
The SAME customers who shop for the lowest deal price are usually the same who scream the loudest about warranty repairs and leave your shop for service somewhere cheaper after their warranty is expired.
People, I know. I have MANY friends who are GM's of dealerships. I get and READ Automotive News and a passel of other dealer and manufacturer trade papers, cover to cover, every week. I have dinner with these folks. I go to their conventions. I have business relationships with many of them.
The customer who buys from the front of the house gets the best service from the back of the house. And professionalism and politeness works both ways. As the Marines teach, Attitude dictates response.
Remember that. And whatever business you are in, how would you like it if your customers tried constantly to nickel and dime you to death? Oh, yeah. If you are in retail management, you know they do. The car business is no different, just maybe a tad worse.
Yes, there are many consumer stories of rip-off treatment, many if not most of them true. But not all customers are honest, forth-right pillars of integrity and wonderfulness either.
Mazda6? Moral of all this? You do what you want. As for me, I will buy my Mazda6 at a very good price from a dealership I respect and trust and will have it serviced there, at 10.000 miles and hopefully at 110,000 miles. If you do your own service work AND have the equipment necessary to do so, none of this applies to you as far as the service department is concerned. Otherwise (and that equipment these days costs hundreds of thousands of dollars for the typical garage), you might want to think about what I have said. It's reality. It DOES matter where you bought your car when you show up for service. Almost, but not, everywhere.
What about using the Internet Sales Manager? You can get the same type of deal without falling prey to the floor salesmen. While I can understand dealing with a salesperson that has been helpful in the past not all of us have that type of a relationship with a salesperson at a dealer. Also, your assumption fails if you cross shop car brands.
While it's not my idea of good business, it's the way business goes. I know of a couple dealers who actually refuse to perform warranty work on vehicles not purchased from them. It's wrong, but it's also their choice.
I thought any car's warranty is good at any (brand name) dealership in the US and Canada? How can the dealers legally get away with refusing warranty work? Wouldn't this be considered a breach of contract?
I think some manufacturers let dealers refuse work if the they are less than 100 miles (or whatever the number is) from the purchasing dealer.
In other words if you bought your car out of town and want to have it serviced no problem, but if you bought it in town, then you may have to go to the dealer you purchased from. This is to prevent the professional dealer with excellent service from losing sales to the fly by night guy accross town, and then doing warrenty work anyhow.
Regardles - this is just a policy that the dealer can use, but does not have to. After all if you get serviced there it gives them a chance to impress you and bring you in next time for the purchase.
I have been refused for warranty service at a Nissan dealer because I did not purchase my car there. Funny, they had no problem doing $600 of customer-paid work on my previous car even though I didn't buy it there.
I reported them to Nissan corporate and got the following response: "We sincerely regret and are concerned to learn of your unpleasant experience at *** Nissan. Please let us assure you that courtesy and prompt service is important to Nissan and its dealerships. You may be certain that every step will be taken to prevent a possible reoccurrence. Warranty service can be done at any authorized Nissan dealer in the United States or Canada during regular business hours."
Needless to say, I chose to have my service performed at a different local dealer, which has been excellent. I plan to have all my service done there in the future because they have treated me very well even though I didn't buy the car from them.
I have taken all of my cars to at least 2 different dealers (I work a good distance from home, that's why). I have never been denied service. This was on a Chevy, 2 Mazdas, a Pontiac, a Dodge, and a VW. No denies on any of those brands.
There is nothing in their franchise contract that says they must perform warranty work. The corp office can put pressure on a dealer for such actions but legally, they have no obligation to respond.
Doesn't the service center get money from Mazda Corp. for doing warranty work? Well...I guess if they're overcharging Joey-Joe-Joe for non-warranty work, they make more money that way. Great system for the dealer, crappy for the customer.
I can't see a dealer outright denying warranty service. But a dealer can set their own appointments. Our new or used certified sales customers do get preferred appointments, a loaner for any service (except an oil change) ect... People often go elsewhere to save $100 and then complain when we can't get them in immediatly for service. On the other side of the coin we have people who have purchased 10 vehicles from us just because of our service dept.
Doesn't the service center get money from Mazda Corp. for doing warranty work?
Yes, but parts and labor (labour) are at a reduced rate. Also, labor (labour) times are predetermined by the manufacturer. Customer Pay is king anywhere.
As I said earlier, I was outright refused warranty service at a Nissan dealer. It's not that they couldn't give me an appointment soon, they would not give me an appointment at all! I called the dealership to schedule an appointment, and after I described the problem the service writer asked if I had purchased the car there. I told him no, and he replied, "We're not taking warranty appointments for cars not purchased here."
Regardless of what the corporate policy on warranty service may be, stuff like this does happen. Just be aware of it if you plan to have your car serviced somewhere other than where you bought it.
I live in the Boston area and it seems like all the dealers here are asking MSRP. Even Carsdirect quotes MSRP. Does anyone know which dealer in the area will give the best price? Any experiences? I'd be interested to know how much discount you managed to get. I'm looking for a 6s with Auto and no options.
Got a baby so my BMW 325 Ci coupe isn't practical anymore. I sprained my back getting her into the car seat yesterday.
This board fills up fast! Those Tributes are flying off lots. Wow the car is in its 3rd model year. I wonder how those P5's are doing saleswise.
As far as Mazda selling 70K 6's thats what I would think would be a good number for them. 80K is their target but I don't think they are going to hit it. I here Mazda is selling the 6 like crazy in other countries but than again they don't have the Accord and Camry to deal with heavily in other countries like they do here.
As far as the Camry Commercial thats a different audience than the 6 anyway.
Mazda has nothing to do with selling the car at or below MSRP. All the dealers have room to move around. It appears that most have decided not discount at this point.
Mazda is not in that kind of position where they can sell cars for MSRP. Honda/Acura can sell the MDX and Odessy for MSRP because of the name they hold in the auto industry. Mazda doesn't hold that kind of name. I'm sure when the Protege came out in 98-99 dealers weren't charging MSRP. Actually, the same thing happened when the Pro 5 came out but that was by accident. I don't think Mazda planned on the Pro 5 being a big hit. They just planned to sell a few alongside the Pro Sedan. I don't think they knew it would become that big of a success for them. Look at the 6's competition: passat, Camry, Altima, and Accord. None of these cars are selling for MSRP. All these car company sell more than mazda.
We can't get enough 6s with the Sport pkg. until supply catches up with demand, some dealers are going to ask MSRP. We aren't asking MSRP but we are one of the larger dealers so we have access to more vehicles than the smaller guys. If I'm a dealer and I only get 5 loaded Mazda6s models I will sell them at MSRP, because I can't replace the ones I have right away.
Frankly, the dealer-applied additions to the bumper fascias look bad (you can see the poor fit between the two pieces on any of the lighter colors), not nearly as nice as the one-piece fascias.
I waver on the sport kit by color. On some, I think the base car looks better (black, grey, dark blue), on others, I think the sport kit looks better (yellow, red, laser blue).
Since the sport-kit-equipped ones are more in demand, I can see why many 6 at local dealers have the add-on pieces on their bumpers.
Saw my 1st 6 on the road today..but it was white and had dealer's tags...I'm trying to get a good deal and I'm contemplating waiting until late in the year to get a "gently used" one...I want one bad, but for now I'm patiently waiting...
I agree with post 8038....in my experience, the local dealers don't seem too eager to sell me a 6, not even a base car. One dealer has 60 6's (both s and i) on his lot; the salesguy never called me back. I emailed another dealer from their website, using their submission inquiry form; never got a response. And the carsdirect.com price has been stuck at MSRP ever since intro.........I don't know what Mazda is thinking. The 6 is not moving here (I haven't seen one on the road yet), but that doesn't seem to be the car's fault. The dealers just don't seem to push it.........on the other hand, Mazda just started a sweet lease deal on the 6 ($239/mo.)..........I think Mazda can easily sell 80k 6's. Honda sells 5 times that number. so does Toyota.
Maybe Mazda should up the MSRP by 5k, then discount it 4k when consumers start whining. That way, Mazda makes more money and the consumer is happy because of the fantastic deal he got. Sheesh.
just because you haven't seen them on the road doesn't mean they are not selling. How many cars in MA a million. Even if there were 1000 sold that is still only 1 out of every 1000 cars.
I agree about the dealer calling back. I test drove a 6i about a month ago, and left my number for the guy to call me back about driving a 6s from his lot. About 3.5 weeks later, he called. I just hit 'erase' on the answering machine, I lost patience with him.
I've only seen two so far. There's a steel gray 6s with Sport package parked along the street near my place in Arlington. It really looks sharp. Maybe a smaller dealership in RI or NH would be willing to deal?
Although I likely won't be buying a car until early 2004, I have set my sights squarely on a Mazda6s.
I have a 98 Olds Intrigue that has served me very well and still runs perfectly, but at 100K, it's now time to start looking for a replacement. Though I don't need a car yet, 2 weeks ago I was close to buying a loaded Olds Alero, simply because I could have received $5250 in rebates. I did the test drive, and came back with my car cleared out & title in hand, ready to buy. I had a very bad experience at the dealer, who made an insulting trade-in offer and seemed to think that my rebates meant that he didn't have to do much with the sticker price (with a car - and company - that is being phased out, no less)
But I digress...
So, after the Olds debacle, my wife and I agreed that I would wait until next year, put together some more down payment $$, get another year from the Intrigue and then get something a little nicer.
Which brings me to the 6.
I have been liking the Altima SE for a while, and I suppose that is still a possibility, though getting more remote everyday. (I guess the only way it happens is if the demand and pricing gets out of hand for the 6)
I stopped by the dealership on Saturday just to sit in one and get the literature, and last nite I drove a loaded Lapis Blue 6s Sport. Simply amazing. The car feels like it's a 30K+ car, from the high quality leather on the wheel & shifter to the amazingly cool cockpit to the smooth power to the "I'm NOT a family car" styling. And the rear seat fold down release should be required on every car sold that has split folding seats (but then the Mazda wouldn't be quite so unique, would it?)
The car I drove was the only 6s they had, although they had about 12 6i's. Although we didn't talk numbers, it sounded like there wouldn't be much wiggle room off the sticker, at least not yet.
Which I think is a good thing, for me, since I'll be waiting a while before I buy.
I still have yet to see a single one on the road, as others here have said (I'm in northwest NJ)
But come January, there'll be at least one guy riding aorund in one up here.
I'll be lurking mostly, but be paying close attention here, seeing how the rollout unfolds, and all the issues.
Not to beat this subject to death, but dealers make a lot of money on warranty work. I have had two new cars in the last few years - Mazda and Olds, and in both cases I had warranty work done at dealers other then where I bought the car. The were both happy to have me bring the car in. Neither one asked me where I bought the car, though I'm sure they had that info in their computers. If any dealer ever gave me any crap about this I would be on the phone to the manufacturer ASAP. If it was not resolved I would never go back to that dealership after the car was out of warranty either.
mrblonde49, you're lucky (and smart) that you didn't buy that Olds, and held out for the 6 instead. Olds is offering tremendous deals, but they depreciate faster than flood-damaged Yugos.........my impression is that dealers won't deal much on the 6s (6 cyl). The 6s is at least equal to the Accord V6 and clearly superior to the Camry V6--in that smaller, performance-oriented segment, the 6s shines. The 6i is not so powerful a player; it'll never make a sizable dent in the mass-market 4cyl sedan market against Acc/Cam. It should be easier to deal on the 6i (although they don't seem to be dealing here in MA, bizarrely)..........but I shouldn't really gripe. Car dealers are businesses, after all. They buy the cars, then they sell them at whatever price they want. On carsdirect, the Mazdaspeed Protege is going for 3k over MSRP!!! But as consumers, our weapon is choice. If Mazda ain't dealin, we can walk to the Honda barn.
I originally couldn't find any 6's less than MSRP. Now imagine trying to find a dealership that would let me get a 6 at S plan pricing. I went on Mazda's website and found some dealers near Western Massachusetts and emailed all of them. The first one to respond was Modern Motors in Thomaston, CT. Told him I was a Ford Partner and if their dealership offered this pricing on the Mazda 6 and he said absolutely. He didn't have all the options I wanted for the 6s but I ordered it from the factory and it should be here next week.
Ordered the Mazda6s 5 speed AT with sports/comfort package, bose, moonroof, in steel grey metallic.
One more week!
The dealership was very friendly (ask for Jeff Fabian).
Funny that you say about the MSProtege, I saw one going for MSRP. Also, look at the MP3 Proteges on the used car market now. People paid +MSRP for them (some did, anyway), and now they have held their value about as good as the regular Proteges do.
I had a similar experience with my local salesman. I'd driven the car mid-Jan (left my number). By mid-Feb I'd driven it again with my hubby and kid in tow. I asked the sales guy that day to locate a 6 w/sport in any of three colors, no leather. He told me it would be hard to find, and I agreed. I'd not seen one within about 35 miles of my home (probably 4 good-sized mazda dealers and 4 smaller ones) But I'm a hound dog about this sort of stuff and I kept checking Mazdausa.com for this car. I found it 6 hours away. And when I called my local dealer to tell him about it, he basically said: "Well, you call them and deal with them directly, I can't do anything about getting that car." Hello???
whatever. I guess once again we find that "you are your own best advocate" sigh..
I originally couldn't find any 6's less than MSRP. Now imagine trying to find a dealership that would let me get a 6 at S plan pricing. I went on Mazda's website and found some dealers near Western Massachusetts and emailed all of them. The first one to respond was Modern Motors in Thomaston, CT. Told him I was a Ford Partner and if their dealership offered this pricing on the Mazda 6 and he said absolutely. He didn't have all the options I wanted for the 6s but I ordered it from the factory and it should be here next week.
Ordered the Mazda6s 5 speed AT with sports/comfort package, bose, moonroof, in steel grey metallic.
One more week!
The dealership was very friendly (ask for Jeff Fabian).
The original dealer probably couldn't get the car you wanted. Dealers do not have to trade with each other. If I have a vehicle I know I can sell that nobody else has I'm not going to trade. The dealer should have offered to order one for you. There is NO excuse for bad customer service.
When did they order your vehicle? Mazda is on a 90 day production schedule for Mazda6s. I can't imagine a dealer not willing to order an S-plan vehicle for you.
Mazda Balise in Western Mass wouldn't offer me the S-plan pricing (for whatever reason). This was after a test drive and multiple conversations with the sales person. Balise's motto is "You'll do better at Balize". I think they should reconsider that one.
I ordered it about it about six weeks ago. They said the first week in March.
I have vehicles taht we ordered the last week of Jan. that are scheduled to arrive the 3rd week of April. These are all sold units so they are prioritized. If the dealer ordered your car in the begining of Jan. you're probably looking at the end of March. When did they provide you with a VIN #? Once you get that you know that it has been built and your only waiting for shipping.
Try Autex Mazda in Keene, NH. When my local dealer was unable to get the car I wanted in a timely manner, I contacted them and they made me a very fair deal on a 6s with auto -- well under MSRP.
Driving over to pick up my car on Friday! Gray 6S, auto, lip spoiler, and (ordered but not coming till March) MP3 player. Woo hoo!
Comments
Jeff Haas seems to have the friendliest environment, although the initial price quote is 3% over invoice. That's over six hundred dollars for the configuration I want.
I didn't receive a firm quote from Joe Myers, but the guy guaranteed $500 over invoice. He just gave me a ballpark figure of between $22000 and $24000. He's going to have to do better than that. I don't think I'll respond. First impressions are important.
I'm having a great time looking and soon buying this car. The Internet is great. I negotiated my girlfriend's deal on her Accord in 2001 using email. After going back and forth on the computer, we went in and the atmospher was great. We paid a little more than we had to, but the communication and information was outstanding. Since then, we have referred several people to that dealership and have received $750 in referral checks. In the end, this turned out to be the cheapest deal afterall.
Mike
You are correct. It really doesn't matter where you buy. The sales people don't really have anything to do with the service people. I bought my last car 200 miles from home, and the local dealer was more than happy to do my warranty work and service. That's where they make most of their money, anyway. They really don't care where you bought the car.
...and I have to feed myself too. I don't have an extra $500 to take care of someone else. At the same time, I don't think $500 over invoice is too much for this car; however, I'm poor and need the car as cheap as possible.
-mpiatek
Good point about the service. I totally forgot about that. I'm so excited my brain isn't fully functioning. I didn't even consider going to a different dealer for service. See...that's the great thing about having an open forum. Thanks!!
see that name on the dealership? That guy and the sales manager are the only ones who make the coin. oops, finance manager too......
Imagine you are the service manager of a dealership. You are close personal friends as well as a trusted employee of the general manager. You and your wife have dinner with her twice a month, play golf together, have been to the Carribean, go to DisneyWorld with her, her family, the F & I manager, and the parts manager once every two or three years. Disney gets a little old, but it is the prize for highest customer satisfaction in your zone, and your dealership wins more often than not. Even your kids want to go to Six Flags instead once in a while. Still, you LOVE your job.
Today, though, you are swamped. Really, really busy. Every bay but one is full. One of your mechanics called off. Again. Another is really, really sick, and you are worried about her. Four people come in all at once, and all desperate to get their new cars fixed. You have one loaner left. The rental company is out of cars. You can only get one more into your service bays. Of course you take them all in in the order they came in. And as soon as they leave the shop, the customer who bought his car from your new shop is the one who will be put next in line. If the rental is already gone, the used car guy will lend you ONE demo, and it, of course, goes to the new car customer who bought from the house.
Also, warranty work is a pain. The manufacturers nickel and dime you to death. Service work AFTER THE WARRANTY RUNS OUT is the second or third most profitable part of any dealership. (Parts and/or used cars is the most profitable, depending on the dealership, with service either second or third if the first two mentioned are 1 and 2). New car sales is often operated at a loss, with almost ALL of the money made there being made in the F&I department (finance and insurance)
The SAME customers who shop for the lowest deal price are usually the same who scream the loudest about warranty repairs and leave your shop for service somewhere cheaper after their warranty is expired.
People, I know. I have MANY friends who are GM's of dealerships. I get and READ Automotive News and a passel of other dealer and manufacturer trade papers, cover to cover, every week. I have dinner with these folks. I go to their conventions. I have business relationships with many of them.
The customer who buys from the front of the house gets the best service from the back of the house. And professionalism and politeness works both ways. As the Marines teach, Attitude dictates response.
Remember that. And whatever business you are in, how would you like it if your customers tried constantly to nickel and dime you to death? Oh, yeah. If you are in retail management, you know they do. The car business is no different, just maybe a tad worse.
Yes, there are many consumer stories of rip-off treatment, many if not most of them true. But not all customers are honest, forth-right pillars of integrity and wonderfulness either.
Mazda6? Moral of all this? You do what you want. As for me, I will buy my Mazda6 at a very good price from a dealership I respect and trust and will have it serviced there, at 10.000 miles and hopefully at 110,000 miles. If you do your own service work AND have the equipment necessary to do so, none of this applies to you as far as the service department is concerned. Otherwise (and that equipment these days costs hundreds of thousands of dollars for the typical garage), you might want to think about what I have said. It's reality. It DOES matter where you bought your car when you show up for service. Almost, but not, everywhere.
While it's not my idea of good business, it's the way business goes. I know of a couple dealers who actually refuse to perform warranty work on vehicles not purchased from them. It's wrong, but it's also their choice.
In other words if you bought your car out of town and want to have it serviced no problem, but if you bought it in town, then you may have to go to the dealer you purchased from. This is to prevent the professional dealer with excellent service from losing sales to the fly by night guy accross town, and then doing warrenty work anyhow.
Regardles - this is just a policy that the dealer can use, but does not have to. After all if you get serviced there it gives them a chance to impress you and bring you in next time for the purchase.
I reported them to Nissan corporate and got the following response:
"We sincerely regret and are concerned to learn of your unpleasant experience at *** Nissan. Please let us assure you that courtesy and prompt service is important to Nissan and its dealerships. You may be certain that every step will be taken to prevent a possible reoccurrence. Warranty service can be done at any authorized Nissan dealer in the United States or Canada during regular business hours."
Needless to say, I chose to have my service performed at a different local dealer, which has been excellent. I plan to have all my service done there in the future because they have treated me very well even though I didn't buy the car from them.
People often go elsewhere to save $100 and then complain when we can't get them in immediatly for service. On the other side of the coin we have people who have purchased 10 vehicles from us just because of our service dept.
Yes, but parts and labor (labour) are at a reduced rate. Also, labor (labour) times are predetermined by the manufacturer. Customer Pay is king anywhere.
Regardless of what the corporate policy on warranty service may be, stuff like this does happen. Just be aware of it if you plan to have your car serviced somewhere other than where you bought it.
Got a baby so my BMW 325 Ci coupe isn't practical anymore. I sprained my back getting her into the car seat yesterday.
As far as Mazda selling 70K 6's thats what I would think would be a good number for them. 80K is their target but I don't think they are going to hit it. I here Mazda is selling the 6 like crazy in other countries but than again they don't have the Accord and Camry to deal with heavily in other countries like they do here.
As far as the Camry Commercial thats a different audience than the 6 anyway.
I waver on the sport kit by color. On some, I think the base car looks better (black, grey, dark blue), on others, I think the sport kit looks better (yellow, red, laser blue).
Since the sport-kit-equipped ones are more in demand, I can see why many 6 at local dealers have the add-on pieces on their bumpers.
I have a 98 Olds Intrigue that has served me very well and still runs perfectly, but at 100K, it's now time to start looking for a replacement. Though I don't need a car yet, 2 weeks ago I was close to buying a loaded Olds Alero, simply because I could have received $5250 in rebates. I did the test drive, and came back with my car cleared out & title in hand, ready to buy. I had a very bad experience at the dealer, who made an insulting trade-in offer and seemed to think that my rebates meant that he didn't have to do much with the sticker price (with a car - and company - that is being phased out, no less)
But I digress...
So, after the Olds debacle, my wife and I agreed that I would wait until next year, put together some more down payment $$, get another year from the Intrigue and then get something a little nicer.
Which brings me to the 6.
I have been liking the Altima SE for a while, and I suppose that is still a possibility, though getting more remote everyday. (I guess the only way it happens is if the demand and pricing gets out of hand for the 6)
I stopped by the dealership on Saturday just to sit in one and get the literature, and last nite I drove a loaded Lapis Blue 6s Sport. Simply amazing. The car feels like it's a 30K+ car, from the high quality leather on the wheel & shifter to the amazingly cool cockpit to the smooth power to the "I'm NOT a family car" styling. And the rear seat fold down release should be required on every car sold that has split folding seats (but then the Mazda wouldn't be quite so unique, would it?)
The car I drove was the only 6s they had, although they had about 12 6i's. Although we didn't talk numbers, it sounded like there wouldn't be much wiggle room off the sticker, at least not yet.
Which I think is a good thing, for me, since I'll be waiting a while before I buy.
I still have yet to see a single one on the road, as others here have said (I'm in northwest NJ)
But come January, there'll be at least one guy riding aorund in one up here.
I'll be lurking mostly, but be paying close attention here, seeing how the rollout unfolds, and all the issues.
To all the 6 owners: Congrats. I'm jealous
Ordered the Mazda6s 5 speed AT with sports/comfort package, bose, moonroof, in steel grey metallic.
One more week!
The dealership was very friendly (ask for Jeff Fabian).
But I'm a hound dog about this sort of stuff and I kept checking Mazdausa.com for this car. I found it 6 hours away. And when I called my local dealer to tell him about it, he basically said: "Well, you call them and deal with them directly, I can't do anything about getting that car."
Hello???
whatever. I guess once again we find that "you are your own best advocate" sigh..
Ordered the Mazda6s 5 speed AT with sports/comfort package, bose, moonroof, in steel grey metallic.
One more week!
The dealership was very friendly (ask for Jeff Fabian).
I ordered it about it about six weeks ago. They said the first week in March.
Driving over to pick up my car on Friday! Gray 6S, auto, lip spoiler, and (ordered but not coming till March) MP3 player. Woo hoo!